Family History Research–and Friends of Hastings Cemetery– case history

M’Clelland, John and Sophia Swaine - a very busy man, spent most of his life in India. He was a surgeon with wide ranging interests, including metallurgy,  geology and biology.  Sophia was his widower, and although remarried, was buried with him.

Inscription on grave clearly reads McClelland, though this could be an error by the mason. Sophie’s name also is variously given elsewhere as Sophy and Sophia.

  Note: This involved a lot of research amongst records variously giving the name Sir John McClelland (Wikipedia) John McLelland, John McClelland, and his name as given by him on his publications, John M’Clelland.  All later records record it as John McClelland, but whether he changed this himself on his coming to England is uncertain, as I haven’t seen any original census records.  Another problem was Sir Joseph Hooker’s assertion “John McClelland, “a persevering Scotchman,  without  much  ability,  or  power  of  perception”.  Other records, correctly, show him as born in Ireland.  Birth and death dates also vary!  Initially it was thought two people had been conflated, as it seemed unlikely one man could have achieved so much.

This idea was put to rest when coming across the following:

“Dr. M'Clelland forgets that he holds, or did then hold, three offices,  Namely Deputy Apothecary; Assistant Opium Examiner and Secretary to the Coal and Iron Committee - all salaried appointments; - a short time before this discussion he was Curator to the Museum also, to which he had no objection to be re-appointed [sic].  The first of appointments above requires actual attendance at office from eleven to four daily. ….”  Books on Google Play - Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Volume 8, Asiatic Society, 1840