Donald McGillivray (December 2, 1838 – December 13, 1913) was a farmer, merchant and political figure in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. He represented

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the capita ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

from 1878 to 1882. He was born in

Glengarry County, Ontario Glengarry County, an area covering , is a former county in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is historically known for its settlement of Scottish Highlanders. Glengarry County now consists of the modern-day townships of North Glengarry and South ...

, the son of John McGillivray and Catherine Urquhart, was educated there and then moved with his family to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 1860, McGillivray came to British Columbia and worked for a time at the Puget Mill company in

Port Gamble, Washington Port Gamble is an unincorporated community on the northwestern shore of the Kitsap Peninsula in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is also a small, eponymous bay, along which the community lies, near the entrance to Hood Canal. The uninco ...

. Around 1863, he operated a pack train in the

Cariboo District Cariboo District was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1871 to 1872. It was created when the province of British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871. Like ot ...

. McGillivray then sold his operation to the

Western Union Telegraph Company The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company chang ...

. After that he was involved in farming, dairy and raising livestock, as well as operating as a general merchant in

Chilliwack Chilliwack ( )( hur, Ts'elxwéyeqw) is a city in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Chilliwack is surrounded by mountains and home to recreational areas such as Cultus Lake and Chilliwack Lake Provincial Parks. There are numerous outdoor ...

, until 1903 when he retired to Chillowack. In 1889, McGillivray was named postmaster for

Sumas Sumas () is a city in Whatcom County, Washington, United States. It had a population of 1,307 as of the 2010 census. Sumas is located adjacent to the Canada–U.S. border and borders the city of Abbotsford, British Columbia. The Sumas-Huntingd ...

. He was also a lay preacher in the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church. He served as a magistrate and

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for New Westminster district. McGillivray was married twice: first to Susan Hall in 1868 and then to Julia Andrews in 1881. He died in Chilliwack at the age of 75.

Electoral results

References

1838 births 1913 deaths Independent MLAs in British Columbia Canadian Methodists {{BritishColumbia-MLA-stub