Individual Details

Robert Alexder Wallace MCCLAY

(13 Sep 1870 - Sep 1951)

Both parents were born in Scotland.

Sometimes you come across things that you just have to check out. Here's an example. Barbara Moore's great aunt Jessie was married to a man named Robert Alexder McClay. His parents were Scots and he was born in Bengal, India in 1870. Specifically, his birthplace is listed as "Dum Dum"! Apparently, the traditional name of the place was "Domdoma" and it was the home of a huge British armory. During the 1890s, the soldiers were issued fine new repeating rifles. They complained, though, that the new weapons didn't provide enough impact to knock down an attacker. In situations of mob attacks, they needed a weapon with more stopping power. (By the way, the Army Rangers in Mogadishu in 1993 had the same complaint.) Someone discovered that if you filed off the hard nose of the bullet, so that the lead core was exposed, the bullet would flatten on impact, knocking down the adversary. The bullets came to be known as "dum dums", a name that remains in use and eventually became the name of the city. These bullets also caused hideous, gaping wounds. During the Hague Convention of 1899, Sir John Ardagh defended their use: "The civilized soldier when shot recognizes that he is wounded and knows that the sooner he is attended to the sooner he will recover. He lies down on his stretcher and is taken off the field to his ambulance, where he is dressed or bandaged. Your fanatical barbarian, similarly wounded, continues to rush on, spear or sword in hand; and before you have the time to represent to him that his conduct is in flagrant violation of the understanding relative to the proper course for the wounded man to follow—he may have cut off your head". Despite Lord Ardagh's plea, the Convention prohibited the use of dum dums in warfare--a prohibition that still stands.

Events

Birth	13 Sep 1870	Dum Dum, Calcutta, West Bengal, British India
Birth	13 Sep 1870	India
Baptism	27 Oct 1870	St Andrews Church, Dum Dum, Calcutta, West Bengal, British India
Birth	Abt 1879	India
Arrival	1885
Immigration	1888
Arrival	1888
Marriage	Abt 1893	Jessie RICHARDS
Residence	1900	Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head - Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Residence (family)	1 Jun 1900	3163 Sixth Av., Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States - Jessie RICHARDS
Residence	1905	Relationship to Head: Head - Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Residence (family)	1910	Jessie RICHARDS
Residence	1910	Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head - Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Residence	1 Jun 1915	Relation to Head of House: Head - Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Residence	1920	Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head - Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Death	Sep 1951	Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Burial	6 Sep 1951	Oakwood Cemetery, Troy, Rensselaer, New York, United States
Alt name		Robert Alexder MCCLAY
Alt name		Robert W MC CLAY
Alt name		Robert W MCCLAY

Families

Spouse	Jessie RICHARDS (1870 - 1933)
Child	Martha Marion MCCLAY (1895 - 1960)
Child	Robert W MCCLAY (1897 - 1954)
Child	Thomas K MCCLAY (1901 - 1960)

Father	David Wallace MCCLAY ( - )
Mother	Ann (wife of David Wallace McClay) [UNKNOWN] ( - )

Individual Details

Robert Alexder Wallace MCCLAY

Events

Families

Notes

Endnotes

Individual Details

Robert Alexder Wallace MCCLAY

Events

Families

Notes

Birth

Immigration

Residence (family)

Endnotes