The Callans and McClarys, by John Edward Callan - Callanworld

Chapter 17
John Robert McClary
and Mary Nancy
Brownfield
John John Robert Robert McClary McClary was
born on 31 Oct. 1852 in Jackson
County, Mo. He died on 23
June 1943 in Cooper County,
Mo. He married Mary Mary Nancy
Nancy
Brownfield Brownfield Brownfield on 10 Feb. 1874.
She was born on 27 Feb. 1856
near Pilot Grove, Mo. She died
on 23 June 1893 near Pilot
Grove, Mo.
Mary Nancy “Nannie” was
one of five children born near
Pilot Grove to Jonas Brownfield
and Jael K. Collins. Nannie was
never well, as she had “rheumatism”
and “heart trouble.” Her
mother Jael stayed with her after
Jonas died. Nannie died at age
36.
John Robert McClary was
the eldest son of James and
Cynthia McClary. The family
moved around quite a bit when
he was younger, at one time
living just past the Prairie Lick
store. After John Robert’s father
James died, the family did not
have much money, and not
much variety in meals, living
mostly on fat meat and fried
potatoes. Even though they
always had chickens around, they
never had fried chicken.
One time John and a hired
hand, while employed by a
neighbor, sprinkled chicken food
in front of the barn door and
scared the mules out, and two or
three chickens were trampled to
death. Instead of eating the
chickens, their employer dressed
the chickens and took them to
town to sell. The same employer
would feed them breakfast when
they stayed overnight instead of
going home, but his wife would
put out butter only for her
husband.
One morning John said
“I’m going to have some butter,
I’ll take half and you take half.”
The employer said to his wife “I
guess you better get out a little
more butter.” In the fall before
they started wearing shoes the
boys would scare up the geese in
the morning and stand where
they had been nesting, to warm
their feet.
John had very little school-
~ 69 ~
John Robert McClary, ca. 1930.
ing and could not read and write
at age 16, but he learned later
from his employers. He stayed
with his mother and brothers
and worked as a farm laborer,
returning his pay to his mother.
He married Mary Nancy
Brownfield (Nannie) in 1874.
He asked his mother for money
to buy a new suit and “she
kicked him out.”
John and Nannie had seven
children: William Edward
(Will), Charles Franklin, Everett
Robert, a daughter who was a
twin to Everett who died at age 5
days, John Raymond (“Ray,”
who was Bert’s grandfather),
George Curtis (Shorty), and
Pearl May, who died at age 6
months.
Nannie died about one
month after giving birth to Pearl
May. After Nannie died Pearl
May was kept by a relative until
she died. John had helped to lay
out the cemetery at Wesley
The Callans and McClarys
Chapel and received a free plot.
After Nannie died the older boys
were old enough to work out on
their own, but still came home
sometimes.
John would take Ray and
Shorty, who were about six and
four years old, to the field with
him, then come home, clean
them up, cook supper, and fix
lunch for the next day. Sometimes
his sister-in-law would help
him take care of the younger
boys. John could not trust Will
to help take care of the boys;
Will had quite a temper and was
mean to the boys. At that time
they lived west of Peninsula, near
Chimney Rock.
After the boys left home
John moved to Kansas City and
worked at Mt. Washington
Cemetery. He helped Will build
a house in Independence, using
a large carpenter’s hammer with
a long hand-made hickory
handle, which has been passed