Donald Campbell McRuer (March 10, 1826 – January 29, 1898) was an American politician from the Republican Party who served as U.S. Representative from California's 1st district from 1865 to 1867. McRuer was born March 10, 1826, in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's List of municipalities in Maine, third-most populous city, behind Portland, Maine, Portland ...

. He moved to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in 1851 during the

California Gold Rush The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought approximately 300,000 people to California from the rest of the U ...

and became a commission merchant. He was a member of the San Francisco Board of Education in 1859 and 1860. During the Civil War, McRuer was a member of the

United States Sanitary Commission The United States Sanitary Commission (USSC) was a private Aid agency, relief agency created by federal legislation on June 18, 1861, to support sick and wounded soldiers of the United States Army (Federal / Northern / Union Army) during the Ameri ...

. He was elected as a Republican to the

39th United States Congress The 39th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1865 ...

(1865–1867), but did not run for reelection. McRuer traveled in Europe for two years, then returned to San Francisco. After his return he served as harbor commissioner for four years and served on the board of directors of the Security Savings Bank of San Francisco. McRuer died January 29, 1898, in

Saint Helena, California St. Helena ( ) is a city in Napa County, California, United States. Located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the population was 5,430 at the 2020 census.US Census Bureau, 2020 report Quick Facts, St. Helena city, Califor ...

and is buried in Saint Helena Public Cemetery.

References

1826 births 1898 deaths United States Sanitary Commission people Politicians from Bangor, Maine Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California People from St. Helena, California 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{California-Representative-stub