Dr. Major Harold Wigmore McGill (December 21, 1879 – July 3, 1961) was a Canadian physician and provincial politician from

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. He served in the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from singl ...

and the Council of the Northwest Territories. His sister,

Frances Gertrude McGill Frances Gertrude McGill (November 18, 1882 – January 21, 1959) was a Canadian forensic pathologist, criminologist, bacteriologist, allergologist and allergist. Nicknamed "the Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan" for her deductive skills and pu ...

, was the provincial

bacteriologist A bacteriologist is a microbiologist, or similarly trained professional, in bacteriology -- a subdivision of microbiology that studies bacteria, typically Pathogenic bacteria, pathogenic ones. Bacteriologists are interested in studying and learnin ...

and

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causal, causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when us ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

Early life

Harold Wigmore McGill was born December 21, 1879 in Norwood,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. His parents were Edward McGill, whose family had emigrated from Ireland to Canada in 1819, and Henrietta Wigmore, also of Irish descent. xviii Henrietta was a former school teacher, and had once circumnavigated the globe, travelling to New Zealand for a teaching job and later returning to Canada. Edward was active in local politics and agricultural societies, and worked as the postmaster in Minnedosa. Harold had and older brother, Herbert , and two younger sisters named Frances and Margaret. Margaret became a nurse and joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps. In mid-1900, his parents became ill with typhoid fever after drinking contaminated water at a county fair. Both died in September within ten days of each other. McGill's eldest brother, Herbert, took over the running of the family farm until his younger siblings had completed their basic schooling. McGill graduated from medical school at the

University of Manitoba The University of Manitoba (U of M, UManitoba, or UM) is a Canadian public research university in the province of Manitoba. He served as the physician for the

Tsuutʼina Nation The Tsuutʼina Nation (also Tsu Tʼina, Tsuu Tʼina, Tsúùtínà – "a great number of people"; formerly Sarcee, Sarsi) ( srs, Tsúùtʼínà) is a First Nation band government in Alberta, Canada. Their territory today is confined to the ...

after he came to Calgary in 1910. In 1917 he married

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

-born, Ontario-raised Emma Mildred Griffis (1884–1971). Harold went overseas to fight in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and his wife Emma moved to England to serve as a nurse.

Political career

McGill was elected Alderman on

Calgary City Council The Calgary City Council is the legislative governing body that represents the citizens of Calgary. The council consists of 15 members: the chief elected official, titled the mayor, and 14 councillors. Jyoti Gondek was elected mayor in October 202 ...

in the 1926 Calgary municipal election, a post he held until 1930. McGill was elected to the

for the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the

1930 Alberta general election Year 193 ( CXCIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sosius and Ericius (or, less frequently, year 946 ''Ab urbe condit ...

. He ended up elected to the 6th seat in the

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

electoral district, in the 10th vote count. McGill served in the Legislature for just over two years before vacating his seat. He was appointed as Deputy Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs in Ottawa. His appointment took effect and he vacated his seat in the Alberta Legislature on October 14, 1932 The post also entitled him to a seat in the Northwest Territories government. He was appointed to the

2nd Council of the Northwest Territories The 2nd Council of the Northwest Territories, known formally as the Council of the Northwest Territories, was the governing body of Canada's Northwest Territories from 1905 to 1951. In 1905 when Alberta and Saskatchewan were carved out the Northwe ...

and served as a member until 1947.

References

External links

*
Harold and Emma McGill fonds, Glenbow MuseumDear Miss Griffis
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGill, Harold 1879 births 1961 deaths Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta MLAs Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories Canadian people of Scottish descent Calgary city councillors University of Manitoba alumni