David Murdoch "D.M." Macpherson (November 17, 1847 – February 4, 1915) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

dairyman, inventor, manufacturer and political figure. He represented

Glengarry The Glengarry bonnet is a traditional Scots cap made of thick-milled woollen material, decorated with a toorie on top, frequently a rosette cockade on the left side, and ribbons hanging behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military ...

in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal- Patrons of Industry member from 1894 to 1898. His surname also appears as McPherson in some sources. He was born in Lancaster Township,

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

, the son of John McPherson, a native of Kingussie, Scotland, and Catherine Cameron, daughter of John Cameron "the Rich". He inherited the family dairy farm and in 1871 married Margaret McBean, daughter of Duncan McBean of Montreal and Lancaster, Ontario. He became a major cheese producer, owning a large group of factories known as the Allan Grove Combination, with factories in Ontario,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

and upper New York state. He also manufactured cheese boxes at Lancaster and

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, where he partnered with Jacob Thomas Schell, and had patented a steel cheese box hoop. Macpherson invented several mechanical devices for use in cheese making. In 1871, he married Margaret McBean. Macpherson was commonly known as the "Cheese King". He was a commissioner to the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1886 in

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. Macpherson served as president of the Dairymen's Association of Eastern Ontario in 1887 and became the first president of the Dairymen's Association of the Dominion of Canada in 1890. He was also president of the Dominion Cold Storage Company. He was defeated for the provincial seat in 1898 by Donald Robert McDonald. He died in

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in 1915 and is buried at the Presbyterian churchyard in South Lancaster, Ontario.

References

External links

''The Canadian Parliamentary Companion, 1897'' J A Gemmill
*
''Main Street Glengarry County, 1905 - 2005 (pdf)''''Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry :A History, 1784-1945'', J G Harkness (1946)

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, David Murdoch 1847 births 1915 deaths Cheesemakers Ontario Patrons of Industry MPPs People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry