[1] His mother had three brothers who sat in the Canadian parliament and a fourth who helped organize the state of Wisconsin and served in its legislature.
He wrote and passed bills that provided for a uniform fire insurance policy to be used by all companies in the state, created a commission to report the most humane execution method (which led to the state adapting the electric chair), authorized the use of Niagara Falls for power, reformed labor law and discipline, and regulated the employment of women in manufacturing establishments.
[7] When McMillan began to suffer from poor health, he moved West to recover and retired from his law firm.
[3] In 1903, President Roosevelt removed him as Justice after United States Attorney General Philander C. Knox investigated and charged him with immorality.
During World War I, Laning Ross enlisted in the Engineering Corps and was killed at action in Chéry-Chartreuve, France, in 1918.