of Aberchalder (dates of death found: 1787, 1790), emigration leader. (often called, simply, Aberchalder) He was born, presumably, in Scotland. Parents: John Macdonell and his wife Mary Macdonald. Alexander is said to have taken part on Bonnie Prince Charles’ side in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745-1746. He was married to Mary Macdonald, a widow whose husband Donald Macdonald was executed for his part in the rebellion.

     Alexander Macdonell of Aberchalder, the subject of the present sketch, 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 John Macdonell of Leek and Allan Macdonell of Collachie, and their cousin John Macdonell (“Spanish John”) of Scotus.

     Alexander held lands among the other Highland settlers in New York colony. In the American Revolution, he took the loyal side. He was a captain in the King's Royal Regiment of New York, though he is said to have been of advanced years. He settled in Canada as a U E Loyalist. He and his sons built a fine stone mansion, Glengarry House, on the shore of Lake St. Francis, on lands they had been granted in Charlottenburgh Township, GC. The house was destroyed by a fire at the early date of 1813, but a portion of the ruins survives, at what is known as Stone House Point. He may or may not have been the Capt. Alexander Macdonell who, in his own person or in that of his heir, was granted Lots 22 and 37, totalling 400 acres, in the 1st Concession of Kenyon Township.

     Relatively little is known about the life of Alexander Macdonell of Aberchalder, and even the date of his death is uncertain. He was the father of (1) the Hon. John Macdonell of Aberchalder, who was the first speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada, (2) Hugh Macdonell of Aberchalder, surveyor and consul general, and (3) Chichester Macdonell (d. 1813), who after military service on the Crown side in the Revolutionary War settled with his father, John, and Hugh in Charlottenburgh Township. Afterwards, Chichester was a British soldier in the Peninsular War and in India, where he died. Alexander Macdonell of Aberchalder, the subject of the present entry, was also the father-in-law of Alexander Macdonell of Greenfield, of the 1792 emigration to Glengarry.

MDict 498 * Harkness: index * McLean: index * Cruikshank King's Royal Regiment of New York 231 * Macdonald & Macdonald, for genealogy * Scott, “M” * Scott, “U” * Cruikshank (1925) * Chadwick