(fl. early 19th century), merchant. (known as Alasdair Og, Alister Oig; the Gaelic word “òg,” means “young”) He was a private in the GC militia at the time of the War of 1812. He is said to have been a farmer for a time. Afterwards, he had a store at Kirk Hill. He was married to Catherine MacGillivray. (fourteen children). One of their children was Duncan MacLeod.

     A long article in the Ottawa Citizen in 1930, which was reprinted in the GC-area press, described a 547-page account book which Alexander MacLeod (i. e., Alasdair Og) was said to have kept for his Kirk Hill store in the years 1838-1840. At least three other account books dealing with transactions in the same Kirk Hill store in the 1830s still survive. In fact, it is likely that his son Duncan was already involved in the store at this time, and that these are also, therefore, Duncan’s account books. In the 1970s, the account book described in the Ottawa Citizen article was owned by Linton MacLeod, the brother of Alma Villeneuve, while Mrs Annie Mary MacCrimmon (Mrs Johnie Mack MacCrimmon) of Maxville had two more volumes covering dates in the mid-1830s, and a 4th volume was in the Glengarry Pioneer Museum at Dunvegan.

     The facts of Alexander’s early life are difficult to ascertain. The tradition that he was a U E Loyalist who came to Canada about 1794 is almost certainly incorrect. He seems to be absent from the Loyalist records, and the date named strongly suggests that he arrived in GC with the other MacLeods in the 1793-1994 emigration.

     According to a story which was related at a MacLeod clan gathering at Dunvegan in 1936, there were two MacLeod brothers, each called Alasdair Og. By this story, the elder Alasdair Og came to Canada before 1776, and the younger came to Canada with his parents much later, perhaps with the 1793-1794 emigration, and was reunited with his long-lost brother in GC. This story, in which the first Alasdair need not have been a Loyalist at all, but may rather have been a pre-American Revolution resident of Canada, at least has the merit of confronting some of the chronological and other difficulties in the traditional story of there being one, possibly rather long-lived, Loyalist and store keeper, Alexander MacLeod, called Alasdair Og.

     Just to add to these complications, it may be noted that there was an Alexander MacLeod, born about 1756, who in 1797 received the patent for Lot 33 in the 7th Concession of Lochiel Township, who was reported to have served in the 71st Regiment in the War of the American Revolution, and to have been held prisoner by the Americans for seven years after the war, following his share in the action of capturing an American ship in which he and others were being held prisoner.

MacLeods, i, 30, 138 ff , 158 ff; MacLeods, ii, 21-22, 131 ff * article from “Old Time Stuff” series, Ottawa Citizen 26 April 1930, repr. Cornwall Freeholder 3 May 1930, Cornwall Standard 8 May 1930, Glengarry News 16 May 1930. And another article on this volume, Standard Freeholder 24 July 1941 * MacGillivray & Ross 690 (record of a liquor transaction, from account book) * sources as for life of his son Duncan MacLeod * Alexander Macleod of the 71st: Domesday Book and Archives of Ontario-TP for the lot named; MacLeods, i, 44-53