Bio of McLAIN, John Scudder (b.1853), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical
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Vol II, pg 29-30
JOHN SCUDDER McLAIN
John Scudder McLain, a well known figure in journalistic circles in the
Northwest, now living retired, was born in Brown county, Ohio, May 26, 1853. His
father, James Robinson McLain, was a native of Pennsylvania, but removed to Ohio
with his parents at the age of seven years. There he married Nancy Anderson, a
native of the Buckeye state. In 1854 the family became residents of Kendall
county, Illinois, where they remained until 1870 and then went to Paola, Kansas.
In 1875, however, they removed to Crawfordsville, Indiana, where the father
retired from active business. He afterward lived among his children until his
death, which occurred in Kendall county, Illinois, in 1896. He had long survived
his wife, who died in 1881. They were the parents of five sons and a daughter.
John S. McLain, who was the fifth in order of birth in the family, was educated
in the rural schools of Kendall county, Illinois, and in Jennings Seminary at
Aurora, Illinois, after which he attended Wabash College at Crawfordsville,
Indiana, from 1870 until 1872. He then became an employe in the office of the
Western Spirit, a weekly newspaper published at Paola, Kansas, being influenced
toward journalism by articles written by Whitelaw Reid. He next went to St.
Louis, Missouri, where he worked on the St. Louis Democrat while attending
Washington University. He was also employed on the Times and the Globe under J.
B. McCullaugh. At the suggestion of his brother he returned to Wabash College,
by which institution he was graduated in 1877 and from which he received the
degree of M. A. in 1880. He served as college librarian for a year after
graduation and then went to Kansas City, where he was connected with the Kansas
City Journal for three years. In 1881, on account of overwork, he went to
Topeka, Kansas, and there acted for two years as general advertising agent for
the Santa Fe Railroad. While serving in that capacity the immigration department
was organized and he became chief clerk thereof. After two years the railroad
company sold all of its land grants and discontinued the department.
Mr. McLain's desire was to return to newspaper work. In 1884 A. J. Blethen,
publisher of the Kansas City Journal when Mr. McLain was one of its editors,
bought the Minneapolis Tribune. Learning in the summer of 1885, when he left the
service of the Santa Fe railroad, that Mr. Blethen had also bought The Journal
of this city, Mr. McLain wrote inquiring if a managing editor was needed. As the
result of this correspondence he came to Minneapolis on November 1, to take the
position of managing editor of the Journal. Shortly afterward he became the
editor of the paper and one of the proprietors, in which relation to that paper
he continued for twenty-three years. He disposed of his interests along with his
partners in 1908. A year later he became the editor of The St. Paul Dispatch and
Pioneer Press, occupying that position of responsibility for three years, when
he resigned on account of his health. In 1914 he returned to Minneapolis and a
year later was employed by W. J. Murphy to do editorial work for the Minneapolis
Tribune, which resulted in his becoming editor of that paper, in which
connection he remained until September, 1921, when he resigned. He has long been
a conspicuous and honored figure in journalistic circles in the Northwest and
his writings and editorial direction have constituted a valuable element in the
success of the various papers with which he has been associated.
In Crawfordsville, Indiana, in 1881, Mr. McLain was married to Miss Caroline
Thomson, a daughter of Professor S. S. Thomson, and they have one child, Linda,
now Mrs. L. D. Hawkridge of Brookline, Massachusetts. Mr. McLain finds his
recreation in hunting, fishing and golf. In politics he is an independent
republican. The Journal, of which he was editor, led the campaign in 1904 when
the republican party revolted against R. C. Dunn for governor and supported John
A. Johnson, democrat, contributing to his election. Mr. McLain is a member of
the Phi Beta Kappa, the Beta Theta Pi, of the State Editorial Association, of
the Minneapolis Club, the Six O'Clock Club, the Minneapolis Civic & Commerce
Association and the Westminster Presbyterian church, these various memberships
indicating the nature and breadth of his interests. In connection with
newspapers he has been most active in civic affairs, his influence ever being a
dominant force on the side of progress, advancement and improvement.