(c. 1707-11 Nov. 1782), emigration leader. (often called, simply, Leek) He was born, presumably, in Scotland. Parents: John Macdonell and his wife Mary Macdonald. John the younger, i.e., the subject of the present article, took part on Bonnie Prince Charles’s side in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-1746, and was wounded at the Battle of Culloden. He was one of the leaders of the emigration in 1773 of a group of some 300 Scottish Highlanders in the ship Pearl to New York colony–this emigration being, in effect, the first stage towards what became, in the next decade, the founding of GC. The other leaders of this 1773 emigration group were his brothers Alexander Macdonell of Aberchalder and Allan Macdonell of Collachie, and their cousin John Macdonell (“Spanish John”) of Scotus. John was at the time of emigration aged about 66. In the American Revolution, he took the Crown side and was imprisoned and suffered other hardships. At the beginning of the struggle he was named a captain in the Royal Highland Emigrant regiment, but perhaps for reasons of age he did not act in that role. He spent his last years in Montreal as a Loyalist refugee, having in his final year a pension from the Crown. He died in Montreal and he is buried there. Roman Catholic. His wife, whose name was Jean, survived him, living, it is said, to the age of 104.

     His sons Allan (of Matilda Township), Archibald (of Osnabruck Township), Ranald, and Fr Roderick, the pioneer priest, all have lives in the present dictionary. His daughter Mary was married to Thomas Fraser and another daughter Isabella to Neil McLean.

     He must be distinguished from another John Macdonell of Leek, who was the father of “Red George” Macdonell.

Harkness: index * McLean: index * Scott, “M” (corrects previous genealogies) * Scott, U”