One House’s Story: The McLean Family

This house sits on a prominent corner in New Philadelphia, befitting the significance of the family that once lived in it.

William McLean (1841-1922) was the son of a Maryland-born Methodist preacher named Edward A. McLean (1810-1876) and his Connecticut born wife Julia (1810-?). The couple arrived in Tuscarawas County sometime in the 1830s and lived briefly in Dover Township before they established themselves in New Philadelphia before the 1850 census was taken. Edward transitioned from minister to successful merchant in the 1860s and he and Julia raised their large family, including William, in their New Philadelphia home.

During the Civil War, William served for four months as a private in the 161st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the war William worked alongside his father in his father’s dry goods store in New Philadelphia. William married Emma Everett (1846-1927) in her parents’ large brick home on the corner of East High and (then) North 3rd Street. Emma’s father was a lime dealer and quickly brought William into the family business. William and Emma lived in the home along with the Everetts until the death of Emma’s father in 1881 when the house became theirs exclusively; though it is likely that the extended family still resided in the home as well.

William continued to be a successful merchant and businessman during the years that he resided in the home on East High Street. He continued to operate his late father-in-law’s lime trade and his own mercantile trade, while also diversifying into other areas including real estate development in and around New Philadelphia. Meanwhile the McLean family welcomed five daughters into the home between 1871 and 1881.

The earliest image of the home from the 1887 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for New Philadelphia shows the home as a two story brick building with a large, wood framed addition that was used as a second dwelling with it’s own entrance. It is difficult to determine what the original architectural style of the home was from this image. The current Queen Anne style appearance was accomplished by William and Emma sometime in the 1890s when they added the large, wrap around porch and likely altered the roof-line and gable ends to be in the more fashionable Queen Anne style. They also added on to the brick portion of the home and demolished the additional frame dwelling house that had been attached.

William continued to work in the mercantile trade during the latter years of his life, but after retirement from that trade he continued to operate lime kiln along the canal that served a wide market. Emma McLean, though born Lutheran, became a prominent member of the nearby First Presbyterian Church along with her husband. Three of the McLean’s unmarried daughters lived with them in the family home on East High throughout their adult lives, one of the daughters worked as a school teacher in the city schools.

William McLean, who suffered from a heart condition his entire life, passed away in November 1921. As a prominent businessman, his death was reported in newspapers across the state. William was buried in Fair Street Cemetery. Six years later, in April 1927, Emma died in the family home. She was 81 at the time of her death and was buried next to her husband in Fair Street Cemetery. The home then passed to the McLean’s daughters who lived in it until their deaths. Today the home stands as a monument to prominent local business family of New Philadelphia’s past.

© Noel B. Poirier, 2024.