| Wellington County GenWeb |
| return |
Pioneer - McDONALD , Alexander
Biographical Sketches of
Early Settlers of Wellington County
Information from: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario.
Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906
|
McDONALD, Alexander
, (d.), b. in Catlodge, in the parish of Laggan,
Inverness-shire, Scotland, in the year 1815. He was one of a family of seven,
and the youngest of five sons, all of whom emigrated to Canada but one. Mr.
McDonald was a carpenter by trade. In 1839, he m., Margaret Gowan, who was
private teacher and nurse in the family of Rev. Donald Cameron, then the
Presbyterian minister of the parish of Laggan. She was a native of
Nairnshire, Scot., from the village of Cadder. After her marriage, for some
years, she taught the young children of the village, there being no other
school at that time. In 1855, they came to Canada with a family of eight, and
settled in Erin Township. He owned 75 acres of land, and followed his trade
to some extent. In religion he was a Presbyterian, but affiliated with the
Methodist Church in Erin, not being in reach of his original denomination.
About the year 1874 he moved to Orangeville, where he took a great interest
in church matters, being class leader and Sabbath School Superintendent for
many ears. He died there, at the age of 68. Five sons and one daughter
survive him; Hugh, the eldest; Donald, m. Ellen Carrol of Orangeville;
Christina C. m. Colin Campbell, who owns a farm in East Garafraxa; Duncan, m.
Elizabeth I. Couse of Valley City, Dakota; Alexander m. Nora Orchard, from
Salt Lake; Utta, settled in Ballard, Seattle, W. T.; James, m. Martha
Faulkner of Caledon, settled in Orangeville.
Hugh, the eldest son, was b. May 15, 1840. For four years before leaving his native country, he engaged as a herder of cattle, the first year, at a salary of six shillings and board, and the last year, twenty shillings. In the fall of 1855, on arriving in Canada, in the township of Erin, he worked for Alexander McLachlan of Caledon; The following year he hired for a year with Laughlan McLachlan of Caledon, a brother, in the township of Downie, near St. Mary's, then a year and three months with William and John Houston of Erin, after which he worked at home on the farm, and at carpenter work for some years. In 1833-23, he worked with Peter McLean of Badenoch, Puslinch, on the farm. Always preferring farming to the carpenter work, in 1865, he came to Garafraxa, and purchased 100 acres, Lot 15, Concession 9, which he still retains, and lived eight years on the farm. In Sept. 1868, he m. Mary Ann, youngest daughter of John Dobbin, who died, Dec. 25, 1869. On June 13, 1872, he m. Anna Bella McLean, daughter of the late Alexander McLean of Puslinch. He removed to Belwood in 1873. The following year, with his brother Duncan, he erected a planing mill in the village, and carried on the business until 1879, when his brother decided to go west, leaving the business to Hugh, who carried it on successfully until 1901, when there was no more room for such a place. Mr. McDonald always takes a lively interest in public affairs, and was a member of the Garafraxa Council in 1887-8-9-90. In 1893, he was appointed Treasurer, and has since held the office. He was appointed Secretary-Treasurer for Garafraxa Agr. Society in 1884, and served until 1898. He took much interest in organizing a public library in the village in 1892, and is now Secy.-Treas. of the large and well selected library of today. He has been an acting Magistrate for many years. In politics, Mr. Donald is a Liberal and he was an Elder in the Presbyterian church for many years. After a long and painful illness, Mrs. McDonald died on Sept. 5, 1899, leaving nine children, five boys, and four girls, namely: Maggie, (Mrs. Frank Vallery), Belwood; Tina, Mrs. Samuel Broadfoot), Garafraxa; Alexander, and Albert, with the Bell Telephone Co.: Anna Bella, a nurse in Buffalo General Hospital; Cameron, in Imperial Bank, (Fergus Branch); Willie, Norman, and Eva, at home in Belwood. From: Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, Ontario. Toronto: Historical Atlas Publishing Co., 1906 |
Contact Wellington County GenWeb Host. My email address is wellingtoncogenwebATgmail.com Repalce AT with @ before you send your message. If you're ready, click here to send email
URL: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~onwellin/index.htm
All rights reserved Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2004-present These pages may be freely linked to but not duplicated in any fashion without my written consent