Born in the township of Lancaster, Upper Canada (now Ontario),[2] the son of Roderick Maclennan and Mary Macpherson, he received a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University in 1849. He studied to be a lawyer and was called to the bar in 1857. He practised law with Oliver Mowat in Toronto until 1888, when he was appointed to the Ontario Court of Appeal.[3] He was the editor of The Ontario Judicature Act, 1881 (1884)[4]
Maclennan ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Ontario assembly in 1871.[1] In the 1874 federal election, he was elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the riding of Victoria North. However, the election was declared void. He won the by-election in 1874 but again the election was declared void.[2] In 1905, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada and retired in 1909.[3]
Maclennan was married twice: to Elizabeth McGill in 1862 and to Mary L. Strange in 1909,[1] possibly children, but none surviving him.[5]
References
^ abcJohnson, J.K. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Public Archives of Canada.