Matthew McClearn was a merchant, ship owner and politician in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. He represented Liverpool township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1855 to 1859.

He was born in Port Mouton, Nova Scotia

Port Mouton, Nova Scotia

Port Mouton is a small village along Highway 103 on the southwest coast of Region of Queens Nova Scotia, Canada. It is about ten miles from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, the nearest significant community, and 100 miles from the provincial capital of Halifax, Nova Scotia.On May 13, 1604, the French...

, the son of Robert McClearn and Sarah West. McClearn captained ships in the trade with the West Indies for his uncle Joseph Freeman

Joseph Freeman (politician)

Joseph Freeman was a seaman, merchant and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented the town of Liverpool from 1811 to 1820 and Queen's County from 1820 to 1839 in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly....

. In 1830, he married Sophia Darrow. He acquired his own schooner in 1843 and used it to transport goods between Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...

 and Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

. He died of yellow fever

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 in Tobago

Tobago

Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...

.