James White McClung

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James White McClung (June 6, 1798 – May 31, 1848) was an American lawyer and politician in Alabama. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, the son of Charles McClung and Margaret White, and the grandson of General James White, founder of Knoxville. He studied law at Blount College (now the University of Tennessee) and the University of North Carolina, earning his law degree in 1816. After Alabama became a state in 1819, he moved to Huntsville to practice law and start his political career.

McClung served in the Alabama House of Representatives starting in 1822 and was Speaker from 1835 to 1838. He later served in the Alabama Senate from 1845 until his death in 1848. He was a candidate for the U.S. Senate at the time of his death and also ran for governor in 1841 as an independent, losing to Benjamin Fitzpatrick. He was known as a forceful and capable leader in the legislature.

In 1827 he killed Andrew Wills in a duel sparked by a long newspaper feud; he was acquitted at trial. McClung married three times. His first wife, Sarah Elizabeth Mitchell, died in 1833; they had six children. His second wife, Elizabeth Spotswood, died in 1837; they had two children. His third wife, Margaret Patrick, married in 1839; they had six children. His Huntsville home, built in 1838, is part of the Twickenham Historic District and is noted in historic surveys. McClung Avenue in Huntsville is named for him. He is buried at Old Gray Cemetery in Knoxville.