John McLure

Who is John McLure?

Captain John McLure was an American steamship captain, boatbuilder, and businessman.

McLure was born in Zelienople, Pennsylvania. His father Andrew, a carpenter, moved the family to Wheeling, in what was then the state of Virginia in 1816. In 1832 an eventful trip on a river steamer convinced the young McLure that he wanted to be a steamship engineer. After some time spent working on building ships and engines in Wheeling and in Pittsburgh, he obtained a position as engineer on a steamboat, and worked as a first or second engineer until about 1843, when he advanced to captain on the Amazon, a Wheeling-built boat which he had an ownership interest in. He also obtained a pilot's licence, and worked as both captain and pilot. Over the next few years McClure and partners built a series of steamboats which he captained for a time and then sold. McClure worked as a builder, captain, and owner until 1858, when he retired from building boats and captained his own steamboat, the Eunice, until the outbreak of the Civil War.