James McLene

Who was James McLene?

James McLene was an American farmer and political leader from Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He was a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1779 and 1780. At the state level, McLene served as a delegate to the Pennsylvania state constitutional convention in 1776 and again in 1789, a number of terms in the state legislature, and briefly as Speaker, during the British occupation of Philadelphia. Following his terms in the Continental Congress, he served on Pennsylvania's Supreme Executive Council until the conclusion of the war. His early efforts at the Carpenter's Hall Council, shortly before the signing of the Declaration of Independence, were instrumental in marshalling Pennsylvania's resolve to support the Flying Camp of the Continental Army.

McLene died in Antrim Township in Franklin County and is buried in the Brown's Mill Graveyard there. He was survived by his wife Christian Brown McLene and nine children.