Nobles County MN Archives Biographies.....McLean, Francis E. 1850 - 
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com October 23, 2006, 1:48 am

Author: Arthur P. Rose (1908)

  FRANCIS E. McLEAN, ex-United States marshal, now rural mail carrier out of

Adrian, is one of the early day settlers of western Nobles county, his residence

here extending over a period of more than thirty years.



  Francis E. McLean is the second of a family of six children, all living, and

he was born in the city of Milwaukee, Wis., October 7, 1850. His father, James

McLean, was born in the city of Liverpool, England, and came to the United

States at the age of 26 years and first located in Detroit, Mich. He was a

plasterer by trade, and in following that occupation lived in many different

places in the United States—in Detroit, Milwaukee, Peoria, St. Cloud, Tacoma and

Mandan, N. D. He died in the last named city on Feb. 14, 1894, at the age of 80

years. Ellen (Barron) McLean was the name of the mother of our subject. She was

a native of County Carlow, Ireland, came to America when a child and located at

St. Thomas, Canada. She later moved to Detroit, Mich., where she was married to

Mr. McLean. She died when the subject of this sketch was sixteen years old.



  When Francis was one year old the family moved from Milwaukee to Peoria, Ill.,

and in 1862 to Stearns county, Minn. Two years later the family home was made at

St. Cloud, Minn., and there our subject attended the public schools and St.

John's college. He lived there until 1871, and after his school days, learned

the plasterer's trade, receiving instruction from his father.



  In 1871 he left home and went to Duluth, where he worked for the Mississippi &

Lake Superior Railroad company, plastering depots and section houses along the

line of the road from Duluth to Thompson's City. In the fall of 1871 Mr. McLean

went to Chicago, where he followed his trade until the spring of 1876. He then

worked at his trade, in the towns of northern Minnesota for one year, and in the

spring of 1877 went to Fort Custer, Montana. The Northern Pacific railroad at

that time extended only to Bismark, N. D., and the trip to Fort Custer was made

by boat from that point up the Missouri, Yellowstone and Big Horn rivers. Mr.

McLean had enlisted for six months service as an artisan to assist in the

construction of the fort, and during that time was under military rule. He left

the job and returned to Benton, Minn., in which village and in Minneapolis he

remained until April, 1878.



  On April 10 of the last named year Mr. McLean came to Nobles county and took a

homestead in Leota township. His homestead claim consisted of the north half of

the southeast quarter of. section 20, and he bought in addition the northeast

quarter of the same section, which was a tree claim. Here he lived, engaged in

farming, about ten years. Moving to Adrian from the farm, he worked at his trade

in that village until September, 1907. He received the appointment as rural mail

carrier August 15, 1901, and has since been engaged in the mail service. During

the years that Gilbert Anderson served as sheriff of Nobles county Mr. McLean

was deputy sheriff, and he was United States marshal during R. T. O'Connor's

administration. He is a member of the Catholic church and of the Odd Fellows,

Modern Woodmen and Knights of Pythias lodges.



  Mr. McLean was united in marriage at Avoca, Minn., February 4, 1880, to Kate

E. Ryan, a native of Greenwale township, Minn., and a daughter of Timothy and

Mary (McCarthy) Ryan, natives of Ireland. The former is dead; the latter lives 

at Mendota, Minn., and is 72 years of age. To Mr. and Mrs. McLean have been born

ten children: James, Grace E. (Mrs. Olive B. Crane), Mary J., Catherine E.,

Francis E., Willian J., Agnes, John D., Neil and Richard L.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:



AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF NOBLES COUNTY

MINNESOTA

BY

ARTHUR P. ROSE



NORTHERN HISTORY PUBLISHING COMPANY 

WORTHINGTON, MINNESOTA 

PUBLISHERS

1908

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