Capt. J. H. McLaren, trustee of Sumner County, was born April 21, 1836, in Amelia County, Va., the only child of John W. H. and Avery Tilda (Hamblen) McLaren, both of whom were also natives of Amelia County, Va. The father was of Scotch descent, born in 1793, and married in 1833. In the fall of 1836 he started for Texas, but owing to illness stopped in Wilson County, Tenn., and settled there. His death occurred in 1838. His wife was of Irish extraction. Her second marriage was to R. R. Barton; she died in 1860. Our subject's educational advantages were very limited. He began farming on his own responsibility at the age of twenty. In 1855 he married Miss Docia A., daughter of James Cowen. She was born in Wilson County in 1836, and became the mother of seven children, viz.: Jesse B. (deceased); Mattie J., wife of D. B. Evertson; Sallie H., died in 1876, aged fifteen years; John S. J., who is his father's deputy; Mollie C.; Oldham C., and Addie D. After marriage our subject was engaged in farming and milling. In 1862 he enlisted in Company B, Forty-fifth Tennessee Regiment Infantry, and was elected third lieutenant of that company. At the battle of Shiloh he received a wound in the right knee by the bursting of a shell. After the battle he was promoted to the rank of captain and at the reorganization of the army was discharged owing to disability. After the war he resumed his former occupation. In 1871 he came to Gallatin and contracted to build one mile of the Cincinnati & Nashville Railroad in Sumner County. In 1874 he was elected constable, and served as such until 1880 when he resigned and became candidate for the office which he now holds. He has been elected four times, the last time receiving a plurality of nearly 800 votes over three other candidates. He has made an efficient and able officer. When he assumed charge of the office in 1880 the county was $24,000 in debt, and at present has a surplus of several thousands of dollars. He is a Royal Arch Mason, a member of the I.O.O.F., K. of H., K. & L. of H.; K. of P., Iron Hall and A.O.U.W. He and his wife belong to the Missionary Baptist Church.