J. P. (John Patterson) MacLean

Born in 1848 and living until 1939, J. P. MacLean wrote under the full name John Patterson MacLean. Surviving library and catalog records show a remarkably broad body of work, from early titles such as Mastodon, Mammoth, and Man and A Manual of the Antiquity of Man to later studies of frontier settlement, English history, and Scottish Highland traditions.

MacLean also became an important chronicler of religious and regional history. His books on the Shakers of Ohio and his bibliography of Shaker literature are still the kinds of works researchers return to when tracing nineteenth-century sources and communities.

Another lasting thread in his writing was Scottish heritage. He wrote extensively about Clan MacLean and Highland custom, suggesting a lifelong interest in ancestry, migration, and cultural memory. Even from a quick look at his bibliography, he comes across as a deeply industrious compiler of stories from the past.