[5] McLean pursued preparatory studies,[6] likely at Davidson Academy (later Peabody College) where Ephraim was a trustee.

[1] In this capacity, he laid out Greenville, Kentucky, the county seat, and was elected a trustee of that city when it was formed in 1799.

[10] Alney McLean's brother in law, Brigadier General Robert Ewing, was elected Justice of the Davidson County Court of Pleas and Quarter Sessions during the period of Andrew Jackson's service as an attorney in Nashville,[11] served as a delegate to the North Carolina Convention to ratify the U.S. Constitution and became Speaker of the Kentucky State Senate.

Other close relatives were Linn Boyd, 24th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives; Rev.

[6] After leaving Congress, he was appointed a circuit judge of the fourteenth district of Kentucky, a position he held until his death.

[6] As a presidential elector in 1824 and 1832, McLean twice cast his vote for Kentucky's favorite son, Henry Clay.

[1] Some credit McLean with helping Clay, with whom he served in two separate Kentucky Congressional delegations, form the Whig Party (United States) in opposition to Jackson.