Archibald McLees
- Born
- 1817-01-01 12:00:00
- Died
- 1890-01-01 12:00:00
- Gender
- Male
- Place of migration
- Migrated to /Born in Canada
Archibald emigrated to Canada shortly after birth. His father by the same name had traveled first, then had his wife Catharine (O'Mullen) and baby Archibald follow. I believe they lived in Montreal for some years before moving to New York City where the elder Archibald set up his blacksmith shop on Broadway. Young Archibald went to work on Maiden Lane as an apprentice, then worked as an engraver. Archibald eventually went on his own and became the country's most well-known engraver. He made plates for bank notes, engraved all the Spencerian Script alphabets for Platt Rogers Spencer, published a book of alphabets for sign printers, and was called to Washington to engrave plates for the country's first paper currency. Archibald had a large family, including several sons who carried on the engraving business in lower Manhattan through the early 1900s. Archibald moved his family to Rutherford, N.J. in the late 1800s where the last of his children, my grandmother, was born. The profile picture is a large charcoal portrait by Lyman P. Spencer and is proudly displayed over my fireplace mantle.
Parents were Archibald McLees and Catharine O'Mullen from Portrush, Antrim County.
Archibald married Margaret Kennedy who was born in Ireland in 1843 and emigrated to New York.
