Captain John McDonell of Aberchalder (also spelled MacDonell; c. 1758-21 November 1809) was a soldier, judge, and political figure in

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following the

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. He was elected as the first speaker for the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lis ...

Early years

John McDonell of Aberchalder was born at Aberchalder Lodge in

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, a son of Alexander MacDonell of Aberchalder. In 1773, he came to the

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with his father and uncles. In 1775, during the

, McDonell was commissioned in the

Royal Highland Emigrants The 84th Regiment of Foot (Royal Highland Emigrants) was a British regiment in the American Revolutionary War that was raised to defend present day Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada from the constant land and sea attacks by American Revolutiona ...

. On 1 August 1778, he transferred to

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's Rangers. For a time, he served as paymaster at

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Postwar life in Canada

When the

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ended the American Revolution in 1783, McDonell settled with other Highlander Loyalists along the

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in Upper Canada. He was appointed to the land board for the Lunenburgh District in 1788 and later for

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 ...

& Stormont in 1792. He was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas and the district Court of Quarter Sessions. He was also named lieutenant for Glengarry County in 1792. He played an important role in the local militia, commanding the Upper Canada Battalion of the Royal Canadian Volunteer Regiment. In 1792, McDonell and his brother

Sir Hugh MacDonell of Aberchalder ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

were elected to the Legislative Assembly representing Glengarry. John was chosen speaker. He was reelected in 1796, but was unable to attend until 1798 due to illness. John McDonell of Aberchalder died of what was described as a "severe cold" at

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in 1809. He was 51 years old and was serving at the time with the 10th Royal Veteran Battalion.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonell, John John McDonell 1750s births 1809 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Military personnel from Inverness Scottish emigrants to Canada Loyalists in the American Revolution from New York (state) British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War Infectious disease deaths in Quebec Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Loyalist military personnel of the American Revolutionary War Upper Canada judges Canadian slave owners