of Greenfield (20 Nov. 1782-23 Feb. 1835), fur trader, political figure. Born in Scotland. Parents: Alexander Macdonell of Greenfield (d. 1819) and his wife Janet Macdonell. He came to Canada in 1792 with his father and other family members. It may be guessed, taking into account the dates involved, that he lived in GC with the family after they came to Canada, and it has been claimed, correctly or not, that he studied under John Strachan (the future bishop) in Cornwall. He entered the service of the NWC, is said to have been a clerk by 1803, and was a clerk in 1808 under John Mcdonald of Garth at the Red River department, and was a partner in the company, 1814, sharing the charge of the Red River department. At Red River he was much involved in the conflict with Lord Selkirk . Afterwards, he was in charge of the NWC’s English River department. He left the fur trade on the union of the NWC and the HBC in 1821. Back in what is now Eastern Ontario, he may have resided in GC “for a time” (Harkness 404), and he was sheriff of the Ottawa District from 1822 till his death. He represented Prescott County in the Legislative Assembly from 1834 till his death. He is said also to have represented GC in the Legislative Assembly for a period in the 1820s (dates stated vary) but this claim probably arises from a confusion of him with his relative and namesake, Alexander Macdonell of Collachie.

     He died in Toronto. His wife’s surname was probably McAuley or MacAulay. Harkness reports that his third son, John Macdonell of Greenfield, was a Cornwall lawyer who died in 1840, aged 24.

     Alexander was the author of A Narrative of Transactions in the Red River Country (London, 1819). His brothers Aeneas, John, Donald and Duncan Macdonell of Greenfield, also their father Alexander and various kinfolk, have lives in the present dictionary.

Life by J. M. Bumsted, Dict. of Canadian Biography, VI, 445-446 * Wallace * MDict 499-500 * Scott, i * Harkness 404, 420-423, 448 * Johnson 207 * Reid, DN, 120 * Brault: index * also, & esp. for genealogy: notes as per life of his father