Ellie, Linda is right in regards to your research needs and area of focus. I wanted to just let you know you that your Scotch-Irish focus may not be too far of the beaten path. There are 4 documented McClary families in early 1700's in New England 1718- Thomas McClary (b.1706) from Londonderry, NIR to Windham, New Hampshire brother of 1718- Daniel McCleary (b. 1708 in Maghera, Londonderry, Ireland) of Methuen, Mass. died same 1788. 1727- Andrew McClary from Londonderry, NIR to Nottingham, NH 1751- David McClary from Ireland, living Boston, Mass. died Bedford, NH A John McCleary and Alexander MaClery are in Boston, Mass 1730 to 1739 There are online Pennsylvania records that may give you access to McClary family info. Google is also a major FREE source. try McClary and Lancaster and you'll find the easy ones quickly. DON'T spend a lot of time reading every hit. Just get enough to find proof the family was in the right place and see if you get lucky and someone mentions a specific family going south to VA and NC. I have the exact same problem in VT in 1804. Bastard or abandoned son living with Mom but who has no father. I did the same surname searching. So... I can state his grandfather with about 95% proof, but can't connect to the five sons. I may never find it but I know it's there :) A miracle DNA match may be my only hope. So you got the right ethnic group on face value. Follow Linda's ideas and some general searching like above and you may hit paydirt. If not you'll be an expert on early McClary's in America :) Colin Brooks The 1718 Project In a message dated 3/30/2010 12:09:51 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: Hi Linda, thanks for taking so much time to answer my, I don't know what to do comment. I should have let you know why I have a snag in the McCleary family search. I have traced them back to North Carolina during the civil war and even one tax list after, and then other census from then till now, but my snag is I can't figure out how to go further back to tie the McCleary family elsewhere to the one in North Carolina. The North Carolina county courthouse where the McCleary family lived was bombed during the civil war and burnt down. all records lost, and then it burnt 3 more times... I can not seem to find who the father of Jefferson McCleary, also spelled McClorry, and MCClary on different census papers. Not doing such a hot job of figuring out who his wife is either. she must have been dead by the time the records that have survived were taken. I did read a bit of a history book online that said a lot of Scotts that came to North Carolina actually came inland through Tennessee, but Jefferson lists he was born in North Carolina. I have found records in other counties of McCleary or some derivative thereof, but no one claims Jefferson on their family . I'm stumped. I figured I would just suearch out every MCCleary etc I can find from Pennsylvania to North Carolina and I might get lucky and find something. Right now it is guesswork. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If I could only find that connection in the McCleary family from Jefferson on back. I found a Thomas Jefferson McCleary age 26 on an 1830 Maryland census... but my Jefferson was born in 1814, as per the 1860 census that lists him as age 46. It calls him McClorry on that one, but it's him. The batches of first names in the family tie together the various census misspellings of the last name. I even found people that may have been his brothers or cousins, but haven't found them back further either, yet. I was hoping if I couldn't follow his trail, I could hit on it with extended family from the same area and census. The area I found them in was Cool Springs, Washington County, NorthCarolina, Post office Mackeys Ferry, and also Harrington County Div.2. dist. 1 N.C., and the northern district 1850 Census Rockeartto, County, N.C. or something like that, can't read it very good. If you have any idea how to look back farther I'm all ears....or in this case eyes since we are writing, not talking. LOL. There are some colonial ancestors on my husbands side as well, but none on mine.. the hardest part of waiting so long to start hunting is I forget what I've found and where I found it so quickly... I am trying to document it all as I go along... but I have gone so many directions in such a short time I have well nigh driven myself crazy!!!! In your business do you only hunt Scotch Irish, or do you hunt other countries too??? Well thanks again... Ellie