Donald Alexander Macdonald

Donald Alexander Macdonald PC (February 17, 1817 – June 10, 1896) was a Canadian politician.

Donald Alexander Macdonald
4th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
In office
May 18, 1875 – June 30, 1880
MonarchVictoria
Governors GeneralThe Earl of Dufferin
Marquess of Lorne
PremierOliver Mowat
Preceded byJohn Willoughby Crawford
Succeeded byJohn Beverley Robinson
Member of the Canadian Parliament
for Glengarry
In office
September 20, 1867 – May 18, 1875
Preceded byRiding established
Succeeded byArchibald McNab
Personal details
Born(1817-02-17)February 17, 1817
St. Raphael, Upper Canada
DiedJune 10, 1896(1896-06-10) (aged 79)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Political partyLiberal
RelationsAlexander Francis Macdonald, brother
John Sandfield Macdonald, brother
Military service
AllegianceUpper Canada
Branch/serviceCanadian militia
Years of service1840s-1860s
RankMajor
Colonel
UnitGlengarry Militia
Commands4th Battalion, Glengarry Militia

Born in 1817 in St. Raphael's, Upper Canada, Donald Alexander Macdonald studied at St Raphael's College under the first Catholic Bishop of Ontario, Alexander Macdonell. He became a railway contractor and was elected as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from 1857 to 1867. He was the Liberal Member of Parliament for Glengarry in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1875, and served as Postmaster General of Canada. In 1875 Macdonald was appointed the fourth Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and held that post until 1880. He died in Montreal in 1896.

Macdonald served as a Major in the 4th Battalion, Glengarry Militia, succeeding his brother John as Commanding Officer in 1852.[1]

He was the brother of John Sandfield Macdonald, the first Premier of Ontario, and Alexander Francis Macdonald, the MP for Cornwall from 1874 to 1878.

Family

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Hon. Donald Alexander Macdonald, P.C., and Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, 1875–80, married Catherine Fraser, daughter of Colonel the Hon. Alexander Fraser, M.L.C. of Fraserfield and commanding officer of the 1st Glengarry Militia.

The couple`s daughter Margaret was born at Alexandria, Ont., and educated in Montreal. She married, at Toronto, Ontario September 16, 1875, William Hales Hingston, M.D., F.R.C.S. (Lond.), who, was appointed a Commander of the Roman Order of St. Gregory (1875), was knighted by Queen Victoria in 1895, and was called to the Senate of Canada in 1896.[2]

His son Col. Alexander George Fraser Macdonald (1863–1948) was an officer in the Canadian Militia, serving in the 59th Stormont and Glengarry Battalion from 1897 to 1914. He commanded the 154th (Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry) Battalion, CEF during the First World War.

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References

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  1. ^ Patterson, B.Gen. W.J. (1995). Up The Glens: Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry Highlanders 1784-1994. Cornwall: Old Book Store Publishing. p. 33.
  2. ^ Morgan, Henry James, ed. (1903). Types of Canadian Women and of Women who are or have been Connected with Canada. Toronto: Williams Briggs. p. 159.
Government offices
Preceded by Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
1875–1880
Succeeded by