[4][5] She first resided with her parents on the north side of W. Patrick Street in Frederick, east of Carroll Creek, where they were neighbors of Barbara Fritchie.

[3] The Ritchie family later moved a block north to 114 W. Church Street in the Court Square area of downtown Frederick, living in a large home built in 1821 by McLean's granduncle, John Nelson.

[3] McLean was educated at Frederick Female Seminary, graduating in 1873, and continued to study history, languages, and mathematics as a post-graduate.

[1] McLean joined the Daughters of the American Revolution shortly after the society was founded, and became a charter member of the New York City chapter.

[3] In 1910, the family faced public scandal as her husband was accused of embezzling money given to him to invest in the Third Reformed Presbyterian Church of New York City.

[11] In April 1916, while vacationing in Norfolk, Virginia with her brother-in-law, Read Admiral Walter McLean, fell gravely ill.[1] She was taken to the Church Home and Infirmary in Baltimore, where she died on May 20, 1916, from complications associated with cirrhosis of the liver.