US Congressman. He was born one of four children (he also had two sisters and one brother, and one half-sibling) to Charles McClure Sr. and Rebecca Blair Parker McClure on the Willow Grove Farm near Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. He was educated locally and then attended the prestigious Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from in 1824. He then studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1826 and commenced to practicing law shortly thereafter. On November 5, 1833, he married Margaretta "Mary" Gibson and the couple would have six children together (five boys and one girl). He then entered politics and was elected and served as a Member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1835. He then decided to run for a seat in the United States Congress and was elected. A Member of the Democratic Party, he then served Pennsylvania's 13th District (Twenty-Fifth Congress) in the United States House of Representatives from 1837 to 1839. After his term in the United States Congress expired on March 3, 1839, he was succeeded in office by United States Representative William Sterrett Ramsey. He then resumed his practice of law. He then decided to run for another seat in the United States Congress and was elected to the Twenty-Sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Republican William Starrett Ramsey on October 17, 1840. A Member of the Democratic Party, he then served Pennsylvania's 13th District (Twenty-Sixth Congress) from 1840 to 1841. After his term in the United States Congress expired on March 3, 1841, he was succeeded in office by United States Representative Amos Gustine. He also served as the Secretary of State of Pennsylvania from 1843 to 1845. He was also active in promoting the public-school system of the State of Pennsylvania. He passed away on January 10, 1846, at the age of about 41 or 42, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. His sudden and tragic death was caused by an accidental fall down a flight of stairs at his boarding house in the middle of the night. His initial cause of death was a broken neck and his body was not found for two days. He was buried in the Allegheny Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His wife Margaretta passed away on December 15, 1893, at the age of 79, but she was buried in the Old Graveyard in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.