Samuel James Renwick McMillan (February 22, 1826October 3, 1897) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

and Republican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He served on the Minnesota District Court, the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

and as

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

Life and career

McMillan was born in

Brownsville, Pennsylvania Brownsville is a borough in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, United States, first settled in 1785 as the site of a trading post a few years after the defeat of the Iroquois enabled a resumption of westward migration after the American Revolutionary ...

in 1826. His parents Thomas Long and Jane McMillan (née Gormly) were of Scottish and Irish ancestry. He attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

(then known as the

Western University of Pennsylvania The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, hom ...

) in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and studied law under

Edwin M. Stanton Edwin McMasters Stanton (December 19, 1814December 24, 1869) was an American lawyer and politician who served as U.S. secretary of war under the Lincoln Administration during most of the American Civil War. Stanton's management helped organize ...

, graduating in 1846. In 1850 he married Harriet Butler. McMillan and his wife moved to Minnesota in 1852, initially settling in Stillwater and later moving to

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

. When Minnesota achieved statehood in 1858 McMillan was named as the first judge of the newly formed Minnesota District Court. During the

Dakota War of 1862 The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, the Dakota Uprising, the Sioux Outbreak of 1862, the Dakota Conflict, or Little Crow's War, was an armed conflict between the United States and several eastern bands of Dakota people, Da ...

McMillan served as a Second Lieutenant in a militia unit known as the Stillwater Frontier Guards which was only briefly active. In 1864 he was appointed to the Minnesota Supreme Court as one of two new justices to replace the recently resigned Justices

Charles Eugene Flandrau Charles Eugene Flandrau (July 15, 1828 – September 9, 1903) was an American lawyer who became influential in the Minnesota Territory, and later state, after moving there in 1853 from New York City. He served on the Minnesota Territorial Coun ...

and Isaac Atwater. In 1874 he was promoted to Chief Justice to replace Christopher G. Ripley who had also resigned. In 1875, the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

elected him to serve as U.S. Senator. He served in the 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, 48th, and

49th United States Congress The 49th 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, 188 ...

es from March 4, 1875, to March 3, 1887. McMillan did not stand for re-election in 1886 and returned to his law practice after the end of his term. He died in

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

on October 3, 1897. He is buried in Oakland Cemetery in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Samuel James Renwick McMillan family papers, 1818-1956. Minnesota Historical Society

Ravi D. Goel collection of Samuel James Renwick McMillan family papers, 1818-1956, Minnesota Historical Society
The collection includes photos, personal letters, transcribed documents, and printed publications from 1818 to 1956. These papers span five generations & include a direct connection to the Revolutionary War and the 1890 Battle of Wounded Knee. A collection overview and inventory is available via thi
blog post

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Samuel J. R. 1826 births 1897 deaths People from Brownsville, Pennsylvania Minnesota Republicans Chief justices of the Minnesota Supreme Court Minnesota state court judges Republican Party United States senators from Minnesota University of Pittsburgh alumni Minnesota lawyers 19th-century Minnesota state court judges 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century United States senators