from History of St. Paul and Vicinity Pg 738-740

General R. N. McLaren. The sudden death on July 30th, 1886, of General R. N. McLaren deprived St. Paul of one of her most illustrious citizens, and ended a life fraught with high consequences to the community, a life that had been spent in useful activity in behalf of the public. As an army officer he had been daring and courageous, sagacious in planning, bold in execution, a gallant commander in all encounters. As a politician and he was that in the best sense of the word, for he felt it the duty of every highminded citizen to accept public trust with private zeal he was a picturesque figure in many of the now historic conventions of the northwest, deliberate, far-sighted and eager always for the greatest good to the greatest number. As a man he was sincere and humble, with that Christian attitude that cares less for worldly honors than for the "well done" of the Maker. In the course of a long life he filled many important and honorable positions and he never betrayed a trust, however slight it may have been. It is not too much to say of him that he remains, after twenty-five years, one of St. Paul's noblest and most cherished memories, a man not easily forgotten, for his kind are rare.

General McLaren was born in Caledonia; Livingston county. New York state, on April 28, 1828. He was the son of the Reverend Donald C. McLaren, D. D., of the United Presbyterian church, and his wife, Jane (Stephenson) McLaren, both of whom were of Scotch ancestry. General McLaren's grandfather, Finley McLaren, immigrated to the United States prior to the American Revolution, locating in the vicinity of Syracuse, New York, where he attained a position of prominence. Another noteworthy member of the McLaren family is the well known divine, the Rt. Rev. Bishop McLaren.

General McLaren was prepared for college at Cambridge Academy, Washington county. New York, and after finishing the course entered Union college at Schenectady, New York. He did not complete his course, however, for ill health interfered and he left the institution in 1851. His first business venture was as the partner of Hon. Henry C. Corbett, afterwards United States senator, in a mercantile business in Portland, Oregon, whither he had gone and where he remained for several years. During his stay in Portland he served as a member of the Portland city council for one term.

In 1856 General McLaren returned to the east, and in 1857 decided on Red Wing, Minnesota, as a permanent location. There he embarked in a lumber business, the firm being known as Densmore and McLaren. He was also the junior member of the firm of Mesrole & McLaren, which carried on an extensive forwarding and commission business. In 1859 he was elected state senator from Goodhue county, and served throughout the second and third sessions of the Minnesota state legislature. During his career in that body, he was chairman of the committee on banks and took an active part in all legislation calculated to advance the interests of the state. At the outbreak of the Sioux Indians in 1862 General McLaren raised a company for the Sixth Minnesota Infantry, and on August 22d of that year was commissioned major, a commission which he held for a period of eighteen months. He accompanied General Sibley against the Indians and made a gallant record at Birch Coulee and at the engagement of Wood Lake. It was his battalion of infantry with McPhaiirs company of cavalry that extricated the little command of Brenn and Grant from a perilous position at Birch Coulee, and he was in command of the daring fellows who routed the Indians at Wood Lake. He accompanied the Sibley expedition in 1865 and was in the front at all engagements. He gained quite a reputation as an Indian fighter, and when the Second Minnesota Cavalry was ordered out for service on the frontier he was made commanding colonel, the date being January 13, 1864. He was mustered out of the service November 17, 1865, with the rank of brevet brigadier general, under a commission signed by President Johnson. During his service he had taken part in three campaigns against the Indians, one under General Sibley and two under General Alfred Sully. In the latter campaign he went as far west as the Yellowstone valley, where the troops were subjected to arduous and trying circumstances. For considerable length of time he was commandant at Fort Snelling, and was in charge of the post at the time of the execution of Shakopee (Little Six) and Medicine Bottle for their share of the outrages against the whites. After he returned from frontier service in 1866 General McLaren was sent by the department of the interior as one of the commissioners to treat with the Sioux Indians at Fort Laramie, an event which marked the closing of his active military career.

After his service General McLaren came to make his home in St. Paul. Soon after his arrival he was made internal revenue assessor for the second Minnesota district, and on consolidation of the offices of assessor and collector, was appointed to the office of United States marshal for the district of Minnesota May 17, 1873, by General Grant and reappointed to the same office by President Hayes in November, 1877. He remained in the government service in that capacity until 1882, when he retired from public life to look after his property interests.

Politically General McLaren was a staunch supporter of the Republican party, its men and its measures. He was often present at the conventions of his party as a delegate from his home district, and was at one time chairman of the state central committee. His rare qualities of generalship and management made his advice valuable to the leaders of his party, and his advice was followed on more than one occasion. General McLaren was united in marriage in May, 1857, to Anna McVean, of Livingston county. New York state. Like her husband she was of a long line of Scotch ancestry of gallant history and honorable traditions. General and Mrs. McLaren became the parents of three children, Miss Jennie McLaren, Robert F. McLaren and Dr. Archibald McLaren, the well known physician of St. Paul.

General McLaren passed away very suddenly on the 30th of July, 1886, leaving vacant one of the highest places attained by any citizen in the esteem and affection of the city of St. Paul and the great northwest.

History of St. Paul and Vicinity - A Chronicle of Progress and a Narrative Account of the Industries, Institutions and People of the City and its Tributary Territory BY HENRY A. CASTLE VOLUME II Printed 1912

Robert N McLaren