Relative research: A Missouri's woman's quest to untangle the roots of her family tree brings her to New Castle. Oct 26 2000 12:00AM By Judy Hruska: News Correspondent Jane McClelland Kelsch traveled across three states to piece together her scattered ancestry and to locate long-lost relatives living in the New Castle area. Kelsch, 81, of Oakville, Mo., was accompanied by her granddaughter, Laura Smittick-James, on the mission to dig into records at the New Castle Public Library. While poring over documents and books, Kelsch and Smittick-James slowly unraveled the history of the McClelland family. Kelsch's great-grandparents, Alexander and Jane McClelland, immigrated to the United States and settled in Schenectady, N.Y., in 1832. Alexander died 12 years later, when his son David was only 11 years old. David was Kelsch's great-grandfather. David came to the New Castle area in 1853. At that time he settled in Union Township and married Mary J. Stewart and soon after became the township tax collector. Smittick-James, of Canfield, Ohio, noted they couldn't find a paper trail, but Kelsch was told as a youth that someone in her family originally settled New Castle. "We might even be related to the man who founded New Castle, John Carsyle Stewart," Kelsch offered. The women copied a 19th century map at the Lawrence County Historical Society, which shows that a farm in Union Township, which includes the present day McClelland Avenue, was listed as being owned by a D. McClelland. One of the children born to David and Mary was David Stewart McClelland (1856-1921), who was referred to as Stewart, they learned. "It was really tricky to find the information because we had two David McClellands both married to Mary Janes. Then one had a daughter named Mary Jane. But we found out that Grandma's grandfather went by Stewart instead of David, because his father was named David," Smittick-James said. She added that D. Stewart McClelland kept popping up in all the research because he was a tax collector. When they discovered that his family was originally from Schenectady, N.Y., they knew they were onto something. Offspring from this family may still be living in the New Castle area. "I know that I have a lot of relatives here somewhere, but I don't know who they are," Kelsch said. Kelsch and Smittick-James also visited First Presbyterian Church on Jefferson on North Jefferson streets, where they believe their ancestors worshipped. They also toured Greenwood Cemetery seeking and finding some McClelland grave stones. Smittick-James hopes to further investigate her family roots in New Castle and plans to organize findings in some type of book for family reference. "I'm the oldest living member of the McClellands and who knows how long I'll be around," Kelsch said. "So I want to pass this information on to the younger ones." She is interested in hearing from anyone who might be a part of the McClelland clan. Anyone with information can e-mail Smittick-James at lsmittic@umich.edu or write to Kelsch at 5008 Flamewood Drive, St. Louis, Mo. 63129.