Background
William Wister McKean was born on 19 September 1800, in Philadelphia. He was the son of Judge Joseph Borden McKean and grandson of Thomas McKean, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. His mother was Hannah (Miles).
William Wister McKean was born on 19 September 1800, in Philadelphia. He was the son of Judge Joseph Borden McKean and grandson of Thomas McKean, the signer of the Declaration of Independence. His mother was Hannah (Miles).
McKean became a midshipman on November 30, 1814, and was promoted lieutenant (1825), commander (1841), captain (1855), and commodore (1862). He made his first cruise in the Java under O. H. Perry to the Mediterranean. For the most of the time between 1822 and 1824, he was in the West Indies fighting pirates, first on the Alligator and then on the Terrier. Later, he served on the Warren in the Mediterranean and on the Natchez off South America. In 1843-44, he was in charge of the Naval Asylum, Philadelphia, then the chief place for the instruction of midshipmen. When George Bancroft proposed the establishment of a regular naval school, McKean and his first cousin, Franklin Buchanan, were on the board that recommended locating it at Annapolis. During the Mexican War he commanded the Dale on the west coast till invalided home; but in 1852, he assumed command of the Raritan. By 1860, he had secured the finest ship in the navy, the Niagara, and in that year carried the Japanese embassy back home. Returning to Boston in April 1861, he had his first news of the Civil War, and promptly refitted his ship, eliminating Southerners by exacting a new oath of allegiance, and sailed to blockade off Charleston, where, on May 12, he made his first capture. In October of the same year he was in charge of the Gulf blockading squadron and occupied the Head of the Passes of the Mississippi. In November he took part in the attack on Pensacola, but by the next June ill health had forced him to relinquish his command, and his naval career was practically over. He died at his home, "The Moorings, " near Binghamton, New York, and was buried in Spring Forest Cemetery.
In addition to his other sterling qualities, McKean was noted for his piety. When an able chaplain on the Niagara stirred up a great revival of religion, he was strongly seconded by McKean. Commodore Schley, who served under him on the same ship, called him "noble old Captain McKean".
On August 25, 1824, McKean had married Davis Rosa Clark, who survived him. They had twelve children, one of whom became an officer in the navy and another in the Marine Corps.
28 July 1764 - 3 September 1826
12 December 1764 - 2 March 1845
14 November 1792 - 26 February 1816
28 November 1789 - 8 February 1868
25 October 1791 - 12 July 1792
20 February 1787 - 6 May 1831
27 April 1805 - 19 March 1833
14 August 1802 - 16 March 1863
1806 - 19 October 1877
1844 - 9 July 1923
Died on 20 May 1919.
Died on 11 Apr 1891.
