Note: as of July 2007, this history is over 10 years old. I have a lot of information that I haven't posted yet, so a new Mecklem history should be posted at my site toddmecklem.com sometime later this year. There will be major changes, especially as it now seems that Samuel Mecklem of Beaver County, PA is connected to a Macklem family in Newcastle County, DE, bringing direct connections to the British Micklems into question. Please check back later and feel free to write to me at the address above if you have any specific questions.
The surname Mecklem is one of the rarest in the world, being used at the present time by, at most, perhaps 100 to 200 people in the United States, and some dozens of people in Australia. In addition, there are hundreds of people using the surname Macklem in the U.S. and Canada, and a number of Micklems in the U.S. and Great Britain. The exact connections between the three main Mecklem families, and their relation (or lack thereof) to the Macklems and Micklems has yet to be proven. This is one of the issues I will discuss in this document.
There are two lines of Mecklem descent in the United States, one from Samuel Mecklem of Beaver County, Pennsylvania (born circa 1767?), and the other from George Mecklem of Newburgh, Orange Co., New York (born ca. 1791 in Ireland). The Australian Mecklems, or at least some of them, descend from James Mecklem of Caboolture District, Queensland, Australia (born ca. 1823 in Dynmore Co., Ireland).
That the three families are related seems almost certain, and all three branches of the Mecklems have family traditions that their ancestors migrated from Scotland to Ireland to the U.S. or Australia; but only a few records have been found of Mecklems in Europe, and the family history in Ireland, Scotland, and perhaps England still remains to be worked out.
This document is meant to summarize the records and family traditions that I have collected, and to summarize work that other researchers have done. It is very much a work-in-progress, and I hope it will serve as a catalyst for further research. Of course I would love to hear from anyone with information about Mecklem families or descendants, or with any comments about these notes. Please feel free to contact me at any time.
There have been a number of theories about the origins of the Mecklems. I will discuss them very briefly here, in descending order of likelihood (my opinion only).
It is possible that the Mecklem family is descended from, or related to, the Micklem family of Berkshire, England, perhaps being a branch of that family that migrated north to Glasgow, Scotland, and later to northern Ireland and onward. The original source of the Micklem family may be the de Mickelhams of the village of Mickelham in Surrey, England, south of London, who first appear in local records in the year 1219. See pages 16-19 of this document for more on the Micklems and an excerpt from A History of the Micklem Family by Ralph Micklem (1954). One branch of this family moved to Virginia, and there are a number of Micklems living in that state at the present time.
The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames states that Micklem derives from Mickelham, a place name which comes from the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) words meaning "big homestead/river-meadow."
If the Mecklems do descend from the Micklems of southern England, the surname spelling change over the centuries was probably something like: (de) Mickleham -- Mycklem -- Micklem -- Mecklem (and maybe Macklem as well...more on that below).
Some have theorized that the Mecklems are a branch of a Scots family named Meiklam or Meiklem, who are said to have been affiliated with Clan Lamont. This has to be considered as a possibility, and a search of recent phone books from Scotland and Northern Ireland show no Mecklems, but a few Meiklems.
One researcher has suggested that we are an offshoot of a MacCollum family in colonial New Jersey. I am skeptical of this theory, in light of information I have uncovered of Mecklems in colonial Pennsylvania, in Ireland and in Scotland. I believe that he has connected Samuel Mecklem to the wrong families, an easy mistake to make while sifting through 250-year-old records.
Complicating things further are the Macklems. At least two men with this surname traveled from Ireland to Pennsylvania during the late 1700s before moving on to Ontario, Canada. Macklem is a not uncommon name in Canada, and in fact a Yahoo! Internet Database search of U.S. telephone listings turn up 122 Macklem listings in the U.S. alone, compared to 26 Mecklem listings and 16 for Micklem. The Macklem family traditions mirror those of the Mecklems; that their families traveled from Scotland to Ireland and then onward. We don't know what the connections are. Only direct research will reveal the facts.
A search of the International Genealogical Index (IGI) compiled by the Mormon Church reveals several records of Mecklems in England and Scotland, although the two English records seem to match people listed as Micklems in A History of the Micklem Family.
The IGI states that on 31 August 1724, Nathaniel Mecklem married Mary Cotterell in Wokingham, Berkshire, England. There were a number of Micklems in Berkshire at this time, including a Nathaniel Micklem who died in that county circa 1759. The other record: On 11 Sept. 1834, Charlotte Mead Mecklem, daughter of John Henry Mecklem and his wife Charlotte, was christened in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England. But John Henry Micklem (1798- 1885) is listed in A History... as well. Either the two spellings of the surname were more-or-less interchangeable, or there was a mistake in the transcription for the IGI.
Even more tantalizing are the following records from the IGI. On 3 Sept. 1749, Michael Mecklem, son of James Mecklem and Agnes Neisbet, was christened in Glasgow, Scotland. Also in Glasgow, Eliz. Mecklem, daughter of Jas. Mecklem and Agness Bowie, was christened on 24 May 1752, and Rot. Mecklem, son of Jas. Mecklem and Janet Miller, was christened on 23 Sept. 1752.
These Mecklems in Scotland could definitely be ancestors of any or all of the three surviving branches of the family! They could have migrated to Ireland and then to America by the 1760s or 1770s. Or they may be part of the family that stayed behind in Scotland while the rest of the Mecklems moved on to Ireland.
The earliest records of Mecklems in America are of two men who fought in the American Revolution on the rebel side: John and William (their surnames transcribed in the Pennsylvania Archives as Mecklim and Meklim) served in the London Britain Company, Second Battalion, Chester County Militia, in 1778. Chester County is in Southeastern Pennsylvania, not far from Wilmington, Delaware.
A year later, in 1779, a Patrick Mecklem appears in a tax list in Bucks County, also in the Southeast corner of Pennsyl- vania, next to the border with New Jersey line.
Two Mecklem families are listed in the first United States census in 1790, both in Chester County, Penn. (transcribed in the printed list as Mechlems): that of Easter Mecklem in London Britain Township (one male over 16 years old, two females), and that of William Mecklem of New London Township (4 males over 16 years old, and 4 females). This was probably the same William who had served in the Chester County Militia in 1778.
Samuel Mecklem, ancestor of most American Mecklems, is thought to have been born about 1768, so he would've been in his early twenties at the time of the 1790 census. He may have been a son of William Mecklem of Chester County. Written queries to the county officials in Pennsylvania have not turned up any additional records of these families, but an intense in-person search of the county archives might reveal more clues.
I'm aware of a theory that Samuel Mecklem was a son of a John Maclem of Delaware, who married Betty Clark on 1 March 1768. The researcher has listed various Mac Collums, Mackcollums, MacLums, and Maclems, and has postulated that they are all one family, without showing any real evidence for this. He has ignored (or perhaps is unaware of) the presence of Mecklems in Chester and Bucks counties between 1778 and 1790.
One history of Beaver County, Penn. (dating from 1899) states that Samuel was born in New Jersey; other accounts state that he was born in Pennsylvania. It's possible that the family moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania sometime before 1778. My own hunch is that Samuel was a younger son of William Mecklem of Chester County, Penn., who had to leave the old home place on the death of his father, probably during the 1790s, got married in nearby Wilmington, Delaware, and made his way to the recently opened frontier of Western Pennsylvania.
There are a some records of a possible Mecklem family in 18th- century Massachusetts. The IGI lists a number of records of a Meklem or Maklam family residing in Pelham, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, between 1741 and 1802.
A Robert McLem appears in the book Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America in a list of residents of the village of Rutland, approximately 40 miles west of Boston, circa 1719. Robert is also listed as being one of the Rutland settlers who is believed to have emigrated from the village of Ardstraw in County Tyrone, Ireland (Bolton 191-192).
A Robert Macklim was a private in Capt. Joseph Hooker's company, Lieut. Col. Samuel William's regiment in the Revolutionary Army. He was a Massachusetts resident who enlisted on 15 Dec. 1776 and was discharged 18 March 1777. He probably enlisted in Morristown.
Samuel Mecklem purchased land on the undeveloped western edge of Pennsylvania (near Brush Creek in Beaver County) around 1800. According to James R. Harris he married Rachel McDaniel in Wilmington, Delaware, in 1803 (his surname supposedly being spelled Macklam in the marriage records). He may have been the Samuel Maclim who was fined for non-muster by a Delaware militia commander twice in 1797.
Family tradition is that Samuel Mecklem's ancestors came from Scotland via Ireland. The ancestor of the Australian family of Mecklems was born in County Tyrone, which is in the heart of the province of Ulster, now called Northern Ireland by the Protestants there. By the early eighteenth century the Celtic Irish had been stripped of most of their rights by the English conquerors, and the English king had encouraged Scots to migrate to Ireland to work confiscated lands. These Scots Irish, as they came to be called, lived a simple and difficult life in this new country; difficult enough that there was a slow but steady emigration of Scots Irish to the North American colonies, a trickle that became almost a flood after 1718. One estimate is that eventually one third of the Protestants in Ireland emigrated to America.
Rachel's birth name is given as McDonald in some accounts and McDaniel in others. The descendants of her son give his name as Archibald McDonald Mecklem, making it seem likely that her birth name was McDonald. It seems that the early history of this couple, Samuel and Rachel, is a puzzle of conflicting clues. Perhaps in a couple of years we will have more answers.
Samuel Mecklem, b. ca. 1767, Pennsylvania or New Jersey (?), m. Rachel McDaniel, 23 Aug. 1803, Wilmington, Delaware (?). Moved to Brush Creek, Beaver Co., Penn., ca. 1804. Died ca. 1847 (?) Rachel, b. 6 July 1783, d. ca. 1847.
1 Jethro J. Mecklem, b. 29 Jan. 1805; m. Ellen --; res. New Brighton, Beaver Co., Penn.; d. ca. 1837.
2 Archibald McDonald Mecklem, b. 8 June 1806, m. 1st, Rachel Barris, 30 June 1831 (all children died in infancy); m. 2nd, Margaret Thompson, ca. 1848 (five children); res. Pittsburg, Penn., grocer; res. Darlington, Penn., 1855-1869, owned general merchandise store; res. North Sewickley, Beaver, Penn., 1869- 1874, store owner; d. 28 Mar. or April 1874; bur. North Sewickley Cemetery. Margaret Thompson b. ca. 1822, d. 1881; daughter of Joseph Thompson, farmer in North Sewickley, Beaver, Penn.
21 Rosannah B. "Rose" Mecklem, b. ca. 1849, m. C. T. Crawford, res. Esplin, Penn. Four children.
22 Millard Fillmore Mecklem, b. 15 Oct. 1851, Pittsburg, Penn; m. Nancy Ellen Jackson; d. 1934. Five children.
23 Joseph T. Mecklem, b. ca. 1854; res. Franklin Twp., Beaver, Penn; m. -- Weller. Three children.
24 Ross D. Mecklem, b. ca. 1857, d. in infancy.
25 Eliza Jane Mecklem, b. ca. 1860; m. S. S. Bennett, res. Rochester (Penn.?).
3 William Mecklem, b. June 1808; m. Nancy Strock; farmer, Brush Creek, Beaver, Penn.; in 1850, res. Marion Twp., Beaver Co., Penn.; d. 8 Feb. 1885. Nancy Strock, daughter of Mathias Strock and Lydia --, farmers at Brush Creek, Beaver, Penn.
31 Lydia Mecklem, m. -- Barto. Eight children.
32 Rachel Mecklem, m. -- Alshouse. Three children.
33 Mathias Mecklem, b. 8 May 1840, Marion Twp., Beaver, Penn.; m. Mary Eliza Hunter, 9 March 1862; carpenter; Democrat; Knights of Pythias, Odd Fellows; d. 13 Dec. 1890. Mary Eliza Hunter, daughter of John Hunter and Ellen Wines. Eleven children.
34 John Mecklem
35 Samuel Mecklem. Two children.
36 Billy Mecklem. Nine children.
37 Joseph Smith Mecklem, m. -- Majors. Three children.
4 Margaret Mecklem, b. 17 Apr. 1809; m. David Sterling.
5 Eli Mecklem, b. 17 Mar. 1811; m. Margaret Ann Collins, 7 July 1848, Beaver Co., Penn.; in 1850, res. Marion Twp., Beaver Co., Penn.; d. 15 June 1869, near Blairsville, Penn.; bur. M.E. Church on hill, Blairsville, Penn. Margaret Ann Collins, dau. of James Collins and Alice --, b. 7 Sept. 1827, County Down, Ireland, immig. to U.S. ca. 1839; moved to Lucas, Richland Co., Ohio, ca. 1879; d. 30 Nov. 1899, Lucas, Ohio; bur. I.O.O.F. Cem., Lucas.
51 Samuel Gideon Mecklem, b. 7 Aug. 1850, Beaver Co., Penn. (but not listed in 1850 census record of parents taken 9 Oct. 1950!); m. Laura --; res. Colfax, Washington; d. 9 Dec. 1934. One child.
52 William Smith Mecklem (Dr.), b. 18 Oct. 1851, Beaver Co., Penn.; m. Alice Perry; d. 28 July 1919. Alice Perry, b. 1851. Two children.
53 James Collins Mecklem, b. 18 Oct. 1853, Beaver Co., Penn.; d. 6 Apr. 1864.
54 Archibald McDaniel Mecklem, b. 26 Mar. 1855, Beaver Co., Penn.; m. Laura B. Smith; res. Colfax, Wash.; d. 3 Aug. 1934. Laura B. Smith, b. 1859. 4 children, including the artist Austin Mecklem. See end of this section for more on Austin.
55 Charles Morris Mecklem, b. 22 Mar. 1857, Beaver Co., Penn.; res. Colfax, Washington; pharmacy owner. Two children.
56 Eli Addison Mecklem, b. 18 Apr. 1859, Beaver Co., Penn.; d. 24 Nov. 1882, Walton Junction, Michigan.
57 Sarah Alice (Sadie) Mecklem, b. 20 Aug. 1861, Prospect, Butler Co., Penn.; d. 11 May 1940.
58 Margaret Jane Mecklem, b. 15 Jan. 1864, Prospect, Butler Co., Penn.; d. 21 June 1899.
59 John Franklin Mecklem, b. 10 May 1866, Prospect, Butler Co., Penn.; m. Laura --; d. 21 Jan. 1942, Santa Clara Co., California. Two children.
5A David Newton Mecklem, b. 2 Aug. 1868, near Blairsville, Indiana Co., Penn.; m. Mary Jane (May) Roney, 28 June 1890, Pendleton, Umatilla Co., Oregon; res. Spokane, Washington; res. Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon; d. 3 May 1930, Portland, Oregon. Mary Jane Roney, b. 26 Aug. 1870, Donnalys Mills, Perry Co., Penn., dau. of Joseph Roney and Mary White; d. 27 July 1934, Portland, Ore., bur. Riverview Cem. Three children.
6 Sarah Mecklem, b.25 Feb. 1813; m. Joseph Wolf; d.21 Dec. 1895.
7 Eliza Mecklem, b. 24 Oct. 1814; m. James Jones; d. 27 June 1896.
8 Samuel Mecklem, b. 28 Apr. 1817; m. Mary Gillespie; d. 14 Sept. 1885.
9 John Mecklem, b. 10 Dec. 1818; m. Jane Lowry.
A Smith Mecklem, b. 9 Feb. 1821; d. 18 Feb. 1849.
B Rachel Mecklem, b. 22 Nov. 1822; m. John Foy; d. 1854.
C Gideon F. Mecklem, b. 5 June 1825, Beaver Co., Pennsylvania; m. 1st, Mary Cummings (see children following); m. 2nd ("late in life"), Esther (no children); res. near Heizer, Barton Co., Kansas, farmer; killed by cyclone, 16 June 1896; bur. Great Bend Cemetery, Great Bend, Kansas. (Source: Bob Young research.)
C1 Mary Mecklem (twin with Gideon), b. Pennsylvania; d. before 1870, Pennsylvania.
C2 Gideon Mecklem (twin with Mary); homesteaded near Jackson Hole, Wyoming (town of Boyson [?] on his land).
C3 L. G. Mecklem, b. 6 Mar. 1850, Beaver Falls, Beaver Co., Pennsylvania; m. 1st, Rheta Wilkins (2 children); m. 2nd, Clara Josephine Baldwin, 14 Feb. 1885, Barton Co., Kansas (4 children); res. Heizer, Kansas; res. Salina, Kansas; farmer; Catholic; d. 16 May 1930, Salina, Kansas; bur. Salina, Kansas. Clara Josephine Baldwin, b. 20 Dec. 1857, near Corydon, Wayne Co., Iowa, daughter of William Baldwin and Clara Ross; d. 26 Dec. 1943, Salina, Kansas; bur. Salina, Kansas. (Source: Bob Young research.)
Austin M. Mecklem, son of Archibald McDaniel Mecklem (Eli's fourth son) and Laura B. Smith, became a successful artist. From his obituary in the New York Times, 9 Oct. 1951 (29:4):
AUSTIN MECKLEM, 56, KNOWN FOR PAINTINGS. Kingston, N.Y. Oct. 8-- Austin M. Mecklem, a well-known artist, died last night in the Kingston Hospital at the age of 56.
A resident of near-by Woodstock for the last twenty years,
Mr. Mecklem was born in Colfax, Wash. His paintings are in many
collections including the Speed Memorial Museum of Louisville,
Ky., and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.
He leaves his wife, Mrs. Marianne Appel Mecklem, who also is
an artist, and two children.
Mr. Mecklem studied at the University of Washington, the
California School of Fine Arts and the Art Students League of New
York, as well as with Kenneth Hayes Miller and Boardman Robinson.
In 1928 he won a prize offered by the Louisville Museum.
His work has been shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, the
Ulster County (N.Y.) Historical Society headquarters, the
Recorder of Deeds Building in Washington, and the New York State
Armory in Kingston.
Eli Mecklem, son of Samuel and Rachel of Beaver Co., Penn., married Margaret Ann Collins, daughter of James and Alice Collins, who was born in County Down, Ireland. Margaret's family had come across the Atlantic around 1839, living first near Pittsburg, Penn., and later moving to Beaver County, where in 1849 Margaret married Eli. In 1850, the census reveals that James Collins, his wife Alice (both born in Ireland), son and daughter- in-law James and Eliza Collins and grandson John G. Collins were living in Marion Township, Beaver Co., right next to Eli and Margaret, and to Eli's brother William and his young family.
From Mecklem/Lake Family History (see bibliography):
"Eli was an all around man. He worked at ship-building and taught school. He finally took a notion and got married, settled on a farm. Tiring of that he moved to Unionville and kept store for awhile, then moved to Portersville where he kept tavern and boarders. He then turned to farming. He had a blacksmith shop in Union Town. Eventually moved to Indiana County. Lastly he moved to the old Charley Campbell place where he farmed for a year or so until his death, leaving ten children to carry on the work. The family subsequently moved to an area 10 to 15 miles east of Mansfield (Richland Co.), Ohio."
Eli and Margaret had ten children, born between 1850 and 1868. Their youngest child, David Newton Mecklem, was born less than a year before his father died. Margaret and her younger children soon moved to Lucas, a town in Richland County in north-central Ohio, about 1879, when David was just a boy of 11 or so. Margaret Anne Collins Mecklem passed away on 30 Nov. 1899.
Mary Jane Roney, a daughter of Joseph Roney and Mary White, was born in Donnalys Mills, Perry Co., Penn., on 26 Aug. 1870. The Roneys later had moved to a farm near Swaledale, Iowa. She traveled to Pendleton, Umatilla Co., Oregon, at the age of 19 or so, where she met and married David Newton Mecklem, and soon they moved to Spokane, Washington, where the twins, Keith Roney Mecklem and Reba Ramona Mecklem, were born on 23 February 1892. About 1900 the family moved to Portland, Oregon, where a third child, Kenneth Collins Mecklem, was born on 22 September 1902.
From Mecklem/Lake Family History:
"(David Newton Mecklem) was known to his grandchildren as "Daddy Dave." Attended schools in Ohio and Travers City Michigan. At the age on nineteen, he moved West. He entered the Railway Mail Service at Colfax, Washington (the position was relinquished by his brother, Charles M. Mecklem, who opened a pharmacy in Colfax) on July 26, 1887. He was in scores of wrecks and had narrow escapes, including one where he was one of four survivors on the entire train. "Dave" was a pioneer in the National Railway Men's Mutual Benefit Association and served as President of the Thirteenth District. Served in all chairs of the Knights of Pythias Lodge. Worshipped at the Christian Missionary Alliance Church and held many offices in the congregation. He loved sports. He was a member of the Spokane Wheel Club (bicycle), entered various local races and won many prizes. In Portland, he took up boating and sailing, joining the Portland Motor Boat club. He built boats and won many racing contests. One boat, the "Kenny Meck," was named for his son Kenneth..."
"Mary Jane (Roney) was known as "May" to her friends and "Mama May" to her grandchildren... As a young girl (probably 19 years) she ca,e alone from Iowa to study in an Advanced Art Course in Pendleton, Oregon. She frequently used the air brush technique. She reportedly showed little affection for her grandchildren until their parents were out of sight. Then she would begin dancing and singing for them."
David Newton Mecklem, b. 2 Aug. 1868, near Blairsville, Indiana Co., Penn.; m. Mary Jane (May) Roney, 28 June 1890, Pendleton, Umatilla Co., Oregon; res. Spokane, Washington; res. Portland, Multnomah Co., Oregon; d. 3 May 1930, Portland, Oregon. Mary Jane Roney, b. 26 Aug. 1870, Donnalys Mills, Perry Co., Penn., dau. of Joseph Roney and Mary White; d. 27 July 1934, Portland, Ore., bur. Riverview Cemetery.
1 Keith Roney Mecklem, b. 23 Feb. 1892, Spokane, Spokane Co., Washington (twin of Reba); m. 1st, Mary Edith Paffenbarger, 24 Feb. 1912, Portland, Oregon (five children); engineer, Pacific Power and Light Co.; became widower in 1967; m. 2nd, Anne Margaret Ernest (Emert?), 6 July 1968; res. Tolovana Park, Clatsop Co., Ore., from 1969; d. 9 Mar. 1979, Seaside, Clatsop Co., Ore. Mary Edith Paffenbarger, b. 22 Feb. 1891, Portland, Ore., dau. of Alfred Paffenbarger and Sophie Berry; d. 14 Nov. 1967, Portland, Ore.
11 June R. Mecklem, b. 6 June 1913, St. Johns, Multnomah Co., Ore.; m. Donald I. McNamara.
12 Corinne Geraldine Mecklem, b. 18 Oct. 1915.
13 Archie Keith Mecklem, b. 17 Oct. 1917; m. Jacqueline Schuld, 29 Mar. 1941, North Bonneville, Wash.; served in U.S. Navy in Pacific, World War II; res. Milwaukie, Ore.; worked in Railroad Post Office, 1946-1971; res. Pacific City, Tillamook Co., Ore. Jacqueline Schuld, b. 26 Apr. 1921, Clackamas Co., Ore., dau. of Peter Schuld and Hazel Palmer. Four children.
14 Homer Texas Mecklem, b. 18 Oct. 1919; d. 19 July 1933.
15 David Newton Mecklem, b. 3 Aug. 1922, Ardenwald, Ore.; m. Phyllis Leila Nelson, 7 July 1945, Vallejo, Calif.; served in U.S. Navy in Pacific, World War II; farmer, res. Nebraska. Phyllis Leila Nelson, b. 4 Oct. 1920, Kimball, (Neb.?); dau. of Rudy Nelson and Frances L. Yonda. Three children.
2 Reba Ramona Mecklem, b. 23 Feb. 1892, Spokane, Wash. (twin of Keith); m. Wendell Nelson; 35 years of employment by Pacific Northwest Bell; member, Oregon Telephone Pioneers; owner of Dutch Door antique shop, Milwaukie, Ore.; d. 13 Apr. 1979, Portland, Ore.
21 Dudley Nelson.
3 Kenneth Collins Mecklem, b. 22 Sept. 1902, Portland, Ore.; m. Beatrice Elsie Lake, 23 Nov. 1927, St. Helens, Ore.; graduate, Oregon State University; superintendent of grain elevator, Kerr Gifford Inc., 1925-1951, Cargill Inc., 1951-1968; res. Oak Grove, Ore.; d. 7 June 1980, Portland, Ore.
31 Dennis Collins Mecklem, b. 24 Sept. 1930, Portland, Ore; m. Barbara Ann Charles.
32 David Kenneth Mecklem, b. 18 Mar. 1932, Portland, Ore; m. Ethel Louise Parkis, 12 July 1952, Portland, Ore. Ethel Louise Parkis, b. 24 June 1939, Des Moines, Polk Co., Iowa. Four children.
33 Darrell Thomas Mecklem, b. 15 Apr. 1937, Portland, Ore.; m. Joanne Sharon Mikkalo.
34 Daniel Kerry Mecklem, b. 17 Apr. 1947, Portland, Ore.
There is a third known family of Mecklems, this one in Australia; this line descends from a James Mecklem who emigrated from Ireland circa 1863.
James Mecklem, b. ca. 1823, Dynmore, Ireland, son of Frances (Francis?) Mecklem and Catherine Doroto; m. Catherine McCullagh, ca. 1854; moved ca. 1863 to Queensland, Australia; d. 20 July 1886, Lawndale, South Pine River, Caboolture Dist., Queensland, Australia); d. 8 Dec. 1875, South Pine River; bur. Bunya Cemetery. Catherine McCullagh, b. ca. 1830, Drum, Monaghan, Ireland; d. 20 July 1886, Lawndale, Queensland; bur. Bunya Cem.
1 Elizabeth Mecklem, b. ca. 1854, Ireland; d. 7 Mar. 1917. Never married.
2 Catherine Ann Mecklem, b. ca. 1855, Ireland; m. 1889, James Robinson.
21 James Robinson, b. 15 Sept. 1890.
22 Catherine Ann Robinson, b. 15 June 1892.
23 William Alexander Robinson, b. 19 Feb. 1895.
3 James Alexander Mecklem, b. ca. 21 Apr. 1858, Drum, Monaghan, Ireland; m. Ellen Jane Robinson, at Groveley, Queensland; d. 13 Apr. 1936, Strathpine (?), Queensland. Ellen Jane Robinson, b. in Chile; sister of James Robinson.
31 Francis Mecklem, b. 9 June 1886.
32 William James Mecklem, b. 14 June 1888.
33 Elizabeth (Bessie) Mecklem.
4 -- Mecklem, a son, birthdate unknown, deceased by 1875.
(Sources: Death Certificates of James Mecklem and Catherine McCullagh Mecklem, papers of Mrs. J. Early and of Don Mecklem.)
The book Ontarian Families, by Edward M. Chadwick, originally published in the early 20th century, has yielded considerable information on the Macklems of Canada. Here is part of the entry about a Macklem immigrant:
"James Macklem, b. 10th Aug. 1759, d. 14th Feb. 1838, son of William Macklem, or Maclean, of Ardcairn, in the Parish of Donaghely, Co. Tyrone, Ire., came to America and settled first in Pennsylvania in 1789, but removed to Canada in 1791, and settled at Chippawa, Co. Welland, [Ontario,] where he carried on an extensive milling and distilling business; he was appointed Lieut. of Militia 1794, and served in 1812 as Capt. in the 2nd Lincoln Regt.; m. Lydia Smith, b. 29th June 1778, d. 3rd Jan. 1853..."
Note the implied connection between the Macklem and Maclean families, which I find questionable.
James Macklem and Lydia Smith had eleven children, born between 1800 and 1819. There is a Macklem coat-of-arms reproduced in Ontarian Families, but without any source listed, and I've been unable to verify it in any heraldry manuals.
There are two histories of the Macklem family which I have not yet obtained copies of. One is The Macklem Family in the United States and Canada, compiled by Merritt A. Peterson, and published in 1892. The book is in the collection of the Mormon Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City, and their catalog lists the following information about the contents:
William Macklem (1767-1844) married Ann Hastings, immigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania before 1788, and in 1802 immigrated to York County, Ontario. Descendants lived in Ontario and elsewhere in Canada. Many descendants immigrated to Michigan and elsewhere in the United States.
William was possibly a brother of the James Macklem described in Ontarian Families. The other book listed in the Mormon catalog is The Macklems of Chippawa by Arthur W. Roebuck, published by the author in Ontario, Canada, in 1969.
It's doubtful that Samuel Mecklem was a brother of James and William Macklem. There were Mecklems in Pennsylvania before James and William Macklem came over from Ireland. More research needs to be done to determine the connections between the Mecklems, Macklems, and Micklems.
The Micklem family has a long history in south-central England, as outlined in A History of the Micklem Family by Ralph Micklem, published in 1954. The first three pages of that fascinating booklet are reproduced in this document immediately following this page. If the family does descend from the de Micklehams of Sussex, England (which may never be proven because of the long gap in local records) then the family history spans almost 800 years, going back almost to the time of the Norman invasion of England!
There were nine Micklems who had wills "proved" in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury in England between 1750 and 1800. All of them were residents of Berkshire county.
There is still a prominent family of Micklems in England. Nathaniel Micklem (1888-1976) was a well-known Congregationalist minister, and the author of books on theology and politics, as well as volumes of poetry. Micklem's father Nathaniel (1854-1954) was a Queen's Counsel to both Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II!
Micklems in 19th and 20th Century England lived in Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Bucks, and Berkshire counties. Several were officers (one a Brigadier-General and one a Major-General) in the British Army. Sir Robert Micklem, an industrialist, was knighted in 1946.
As mentioned in Ralph Micklem's History..., John Henry Micklem of Burchetts Green, England (1798-1885) had several sons who settled in Virginia, a daughter who moved to Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and at least one grandson who lived in Adelaide, South Australia. In his will, according to Ralph Micklem, John Henry Micklem left "estates of 544 acres called "Smiling Tract" in the County of Nelson, State of Virginia, U.S.A., to his sons Austin and Ernest." One of John Henry Micklem's sons, Walter Micklem, is said to have lived in Oregon.
A Yahoo! People Search on the World Wide Web recently turned up 16 listings of Micklems in the U.S.A., 15 of them in Virginia.
Bolton, Charles Knowles. Scotch Irish Pioneers in Ulster and America. (Boston, 1910; rpt. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1967.
Camp, Anthony J., editor. An Index to the Wills Proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 1750-1800, Volume 4, H - M. (London, Society of Genealogists, 1988.)
Chadwick, Edward Marion. Ontarian Families. Orig. published 1895-98, Reprinted by Hunterdon House, Lambertville, N.J.
Cottle, Basil. The Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. (Baltimore, Md.: Penguin Books, 1967)
Delaware Archives, Military Records, Vol. IV, pages 5-6. (Wilmington, Del.: Star Publishing Co., 1916.)
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