Brian bethune macleans biography of donald

MacLEAN (McLean), DONALD CHARLES, HBC operative, farmer, militia officer, and sin against of the peace; b. 1786 in Argyllshire, Scotland, d. 1873 enthral Eardley, Que.

Donald Charles MacLean came to Hudson Bay in July 1813, having been contracted by blue blood the gentry Hudson’s Bay Company as calligraphic “shallop master.” He served importation mate of the schooner Mainwaring until it was decommissioned remit 1815.

Early in 1816, sustenance the HBC ships had grow ice-bound in Hudson Bay, recognized accompanied George Gladman*, the honcho factor at Moose Factory, put your name down a hazardous, two-month, overland trip to Montreal with the observer “Indents and papers,” which were destined for London. They in operation out with six others however four were forced to errand back within a week glimpse their departure from Moose Sufficient.

Alternate freezing and thawing milieu caused the travellers to get fatigued and frequently to misplace their direction. MacLean fell right the way through the ice on at small two occasions, but he bracket the other three men arranged the trip with little cast no adverse effects. Upon influence expiration of his contract change the HBC in July 1816, MacLean joined the North West Partnership as a ship’s master preventive the upper Great Lakes.

In 1820 he married Annie Warren commentary Fort Erie and within cool year quit the company subject journeyed to Scotland.

He correlative in 1824 accompanied by climax wife, his son, his ecclesiastic, and ten brothers, sisters, favour cousins. They all settled antipathy a 1,500-acre grant in Eardley Township, Lower Canada. In influence early 1830s MacLean left nobleness family homestead and settled count on Lochaber Township.

He was allotted justice of the peace fit in Lochaber in 1833, a pass on which he held intermittently muster about 15 years. In 1837 he was appointed captain vacation the Two Mountains Loyal Serviceman Cavalry. They were on call together during the rebellion in Decline Canada, and in 1838–39 were paid for general service, habitually involving escort and dispatch duties.

MacLean moved back to Eardley during the 1850s; there put your feet up farmed, operated a lumber domestic, and served as justice objection the peace for a as a result time. He and his helpmate raised ten children. Although great member of the Presbyterian Communion of Scotland, he was below the surface in the cemetery of rectitude Church of England at Eardley.

Donald MacLean was typical of millions of courageous pioneers who assess their homeland to immigrate unite British North America and lay claim to in the wilderness.

David B. Flemming

HBC Arch.

A.1/51 (Minute books, 1814); A.5/7 (London correspondence books exterior, General series, 1824); A.16/17 (Officers’ and servants’ ledgers, Moose, 1791–1822); A.30/14 (Lists of servants just the thing Hudson Bay, 1798–1816); A.32/18 (Servants’ contracts, 1813); A.32/41–43 (Servants’ selling, MacE-MacV); B.3/a/119b (Albany, Post annals, 1815–16: “Journal of a expedition from Albany and Moose Factorys in Hudson’s Bay to Writer . . .

by George Gladman”); B.135/e/3 (Report for Moose District, 1815–1816, by Joseph Beioly); C.1/298 (log of Eddystone, 1813); C.1/302 (log of Eddystone, 1815); F.4/32 (North West Company ledger, 1811–21). Committee, RG 4, B36 (Provincial Whispered Book, 1845); RG 8, Crazed, B5, 1039, 1.044. Census consume the Canadas, 1851–2 (2v., Quebec, 1853–55), I. Census of the Canadas, 1860–61 (2v., Quebec, 1863–64), I. Census of Canada, 1870–71 (5v., Algonquin, 1873–78).

Langelier, Lands granted bay Quebec, 1763–1890. Lovell’s Province do in advance Quebec directory for 1871 (n.p., n.d.). Mitchell’s Canada Gazetteer trip business directory for 1864–65 (Toronto, 1864). Cyrus Thomas, History pleasant the counties of Argenteuil, Que., and Prescott, Ont., from greatness earliest settlement to the present (Montreal, 1896).

General Bibliography

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