McLaren, John bio

History of Fulton County, Illinois; together with Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military, and Political History; Portraits of Prominent Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens. Chas. C. Chapman & Co., Peoria, Illinois, 1879, page 448, Astoria Township
John McLaren, agriculturist, is a native of Scotland, where he was born in Oct., 1818. His father, Robert McLaren, was a farmer by occupation and who married Miss Mary Gory, by whom he had 7 children. He crossed the Atlantic with his family in 1823, landing at Philadelphia. He remained but a short time there when he settled in Gibson Co., Ind. Six months thereafter he died. For 6 years Mrs. McLaren, who was a lady of uncommon energy, labored hard to support her family. In 1827 she came to this Co. and settled near Astoria, in what is now Woodland tp. The country was rough, their nearest neighbor lived miles away and the only means of grinding grist was in a rude horse-mill situated near Rushville. In 1843 John was married to Miss Nancy H. Clapper of Kentucky, by whom he had 12 children, 8 of whom are living, - Martin A., William B., Robert H., John T., Lucinda J., Oliver J., Chas. E. and Nancy M.
submitted by Carla Finley