The McLarens of Heidelberg (Gauteng)

The McLarens were an affluent Scotish family in Heldelberg, Transvaal.

William Sinclair (St Clair) McLaren married Elizabeth Marshall in 1874. They had two sons: Lt. William Victor St Clair McLaren and Captain James Marshall McLaren.

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Timeline

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Biographies

William Sinclair McLaren (1843 Scotland - 1889 Heidelberg)

William arrived in Heidelberg in 1871 as a Scottish merchant. Upon arrival, he worked for Heinrich Ueckermann, until he opened a shop in partnership with John Pagan in direct competition with Ueckermann. McLaren (and Pagan) quickly became one of the wealthiest men in the district through trading and property speculation. McLaren and Pagan were founding members of the Presbyterian Church in Heidelberg. The family home and shop stood on the northern corner of Ueckermann and Begeman Streets (a separate property at what is now 60 Van Der Westhuizen Street (Blue Plaque) also belonged to the family).

• John Pagan (1844 Scotland - 1917 Sea Point). He married Margaret Wilson nee McArthur (1847 Scotland - 1922 Heidelberg, Tvl).⁸ Their son James Gibson Pagan owned property in Heidelberg, including 81 Mertz St.⁷

Advertisement (1878)

"The first leasehold transaction on Doornfontein (in August 1886) was apparently concluded after the discovery of the main reef on Langlaagte and before the proclamation of the Doornfontein Goldfield. The owner, Frederik Jacobus Bezuidenhout snr. entered into a lease agreement with veldkornet Johannes Petrus Meyer and three associates: W.S. McLaren, H.B. Marshall and S.O. du Toit for the mineral rights on a specified portion of the farm.."⁵

Gold mining venture in Pietermaritzburg (1887)

After his William’s death and burial in Heidelberg in 1889, the family returned permanently to Scotland.

Elizabeth Marshall (1845 - 1916 Scotland)

 

Elizabeth Marshall²

"Mrs W G McLaren of Hillpark, Bannockburn, donated the money to buy Whitefoord House in memory of her two sons, Captain James Marshall McLaren and Lieutenant William Victor St Clair McLaren, who both died in the service of their country."⁴ Elizabeth was the sister of Johannesburg business magnate Henry Brown Marshall (1852 Scotland - 1948 Scotland), who was also a business partner of her husband.

William Victor St Clair McLaren (1877 Heidelberg - 1900 Balmoral, Mpumalanga)

William Victor spent much of his early childhood in Heidelberg. Upon the family's return to Scotland, he was educated at Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh and later attended Jesus College, Cambridge. He initially served in the 4th Battalion Cameronians (Militia) before receiving a commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders.

William Victor's promotion to 2nd Lieutenant. The London Gazette, June 2, 1899.

He was deployed to South Africa with his battalion in October 1899 at the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. The unit formed part of the Kimberley Relief Force and later advanced on Bloemfontein and Pretoria under Lieutenant-General Ian Hamilton and Field Marshal Lord Roberts. On 25 July 1900 the battalion reached Balmoral in the Transvaal. The following day, 26 July 1900, 23-year-old 2nd Lieutenant died near Balmoral (military records variously describe the cause as “syncope” in Pretoria or exposure during a fierce blizzard). According to Johanna van Warmelo (née Brandt) in The Petticoat Commando, he was a childhood friend of hers from Heidelberg days; during the blizzard he gave his overcoat to his major and was found dead the next morning alongside five of his men, surrounded by the frozen bodies of 600 mules.

Memorial in Church of St Cuthbert, Edinburgh, commemorating Lt. William Victor St Clair McLaren. Source: Traces of War.

Stained glass window in Church of St Cuthbert, Edinburgh, commemorating Lt. William Victor St Clair McLaren. Source: Traces of War.

He is buried in the Old Kloof Cemetery in Heidelberg (now Gauteng). Memorials include a tablet in St Cuthbert’s Kirk, Edinburgh (“IN LIFE LOVING MUCH HE WAS MUCH BELOVED AND IN DEATH GREATLY MOURNED”), a Tiffany stained-glass window (David and Goliath) in the same church dedicated by his mother, the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders’ South African War Memorial in Stirling Castle, and the Anglo-Boer War Memorial at Jesus College, Cambridge.

James Marshall McLaren (1875 Pretoria - 1910 Scotland)

Captain J.M. McLaren. Painting by William Skeoch Cumming. Source: The Gordon Highlanders Museum.

James served with the Gordon Highlanders in the 2nd Boer War. In 1902, he was promoted to Captain in the Gordon Highlanders.⁹ He married Kathleen Nora Leith-Buchanan (1876-1958) in 1904. James survived the war and died in 1910, not apparently from the effects of the war.

Kathleen Nora McLaren (1909). Photographer: Alexander Bassano. National Portrait Gallery.

Memorial to J.M. McLaren and Elizabeth Marshall in Edinburgh. Source: Cemeteries of Europe on FB.

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Sources

1. William Victor St Clair McLaren: a gallant Scottish soldier’s link to Whitefoord House
2. Elizabeth Marshall
3. William Victor St Clair McLaren: his McLaren and Sinclair lines
4. The Story of SVR
5. Allen, G.R. (1994) F.J. Bezuidenhout's Doornfontein.
6. The Goldfields of South Africa. (1890) Dennis Edwards & Co.
7. Heidelberg Heritage Association on FB.
8. eGGSA
9. The London Gazette, June 2, 1899.