The Callans and McClarys, by John Edward Callan - Callanworld

Chapter 18
John Raymond McClary
and Stella Brownfield
John John Raymond Raymond “Ray”
“Ray”
McClary, McClary, McClary, the fifth of seven
children of JohnRobert and
Mary Nancy Brownfield
McClary, was born on 3 May
1888 in Cooper County, Mo.
Ray died on 26 Sep 1967
in Kansas City, Mo. He married
Stella Ida Brownfield on 19 Jan
1910 in Cooper County Mo. She
was born on 28 Apr 1887 in
Cooper County Mo. She died on
15 Mar 1983 in Boonville, Mo.
Stella was the youngest of
six children of Abraham
Brownfield and Surilda Gourley.
Stella did not have much of a
social life as her parents were
old, and they did not go out
much. Her father was crippled
from a childhood illness and
died when Stella was 18. There
were some friends and family in
the neighborhood that she visited
with. Her school was about 2 ½
miles away. She went to school
until she was about 16. After she
quit school, she stayed at home
and worked until she married
Ray in 1910.
After Ray left in 1937, Stella
and her son Clinton moved to
Boonville where she worked at
the Hamilton-Brown shoe
factory for 13 years. In 1950 she
married a long-time friend Albert
H. Alley, who was a widower.
They made their home southeast
of Peninsula for several years.
Bert, Nancy McClary’s
father, enjoyed visiting them
because they had an old plow
horse he would let Bert ride, and
Grandpa Alley would also let
Bert drive his tractor all over the
farm and up and down the road.
Once he ran out of gas and had
to walk home.
Later they moved to
Boonville near Clinton’s home.
Albert died in 1970. Stella lived
for a number of years with
Clinton and his family, suffered a
broken hip at age 88, and died
just before her 96 th birthday.
Ray McClary was the
second to the youngest of the
surviving children of John and
Nannie. He had known Stella
Ida Brownfield, his future wife,
~ 71 ~
The Callans and McClarys
John Raymond “Ray” McClary and Stella Ida (Brownfield) McClary..
since they were children. Stella’s
Uncle Isaac lived near the John
McClary household, so when
they went to visit they played
with the neighbor children. Ray
and Stella married in 1910 and
lived primarily in the Peninsula,
Pilot Grove and Blackwater
neighborhoods. They moved to
Independence for a short while
because Will, Everett and John
were there. Ray worked in a
grocery store, but he did not like
inside work. Stella had a goiter
and was nervous and sick. She
had thought she wouldn’t have to
do so much work if they lived in
town. Since they did not like the
city, they moved back to Cooper
County. They had two sons,