(c.1780-23 Nov. 1853), early settler of Osgoode Township, prominent citizen. (Col. Archibald McDonell, “Squire” McDonell; known as “The Squire,” and “The Colonel”) He has been described as a “native of Glengarry,” but he may have been born in Scotland, the son of one of the earliest GC settlers. There is also some rather weak evidence that his father was a U E Loyalist. Archibald McDonell served in the GC militia before the War of 1812. During that war, he rose to the position of “Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General on the staff of the General commanding the forces along the St. Lawrence frontier,” presumably “Red George” Macdonell, though Red George was not a general. Archibald McDonell was married to Catherine McDonell (d. 16 March 1869), the daughter of a U E Loyalist called Alexander McDonell, of the Cornwall, Ont., area. (thirteen children)

     During the winter of 1826-1827, Archibald McDonell settled in Osgoode Township, Carleton County, SE of the future city of Ottawa. McDonell reached his lot on that occasion by travelling along the South Nation River on the ice till it met the Castor River, and then following the Castor to the lot. He obtained land grants in Osgoode Township totalling 1200 acres, consisting of 1000 acres for his own military service and 200 acres to which his wife was entitled as the daughter of a Loyalist. He had become familiar with the possibilities of this area when he saw it a few years before during his lumbering operations. It is not clear whether his wife and family accompanied him in the journey in the winter of 1826-1827, or whether they arrived a little later. Archibald McDonell is described as being “of Cornwall” before he settled in Osgoode Township. The statement that McDonell was the first white settler of the township is, at the best, rash. Several others arrived about the same time, and one, William York, an old neighbour from Cornwall, arrived on the exact same day as McDonell but by a different route.

     In Osgoode Township, Archibald McDonell was a leading citizen, a JP, a member of the District Council, and a colonel in the militia. Soon after arriving at his lot, he opened a store there, and in the same area he built what is described as the first sawmill in the township. He and his wife are buried in St. Catherine’s cemetery, Metcalfe, Ont. His son Alexander was a prominent citizen in Osgoode Township after him. An undated newspaper article of about 1966 noted that there had now for some 50 years been no descendants of the Squire’s family in Osgoode Township.

     Squire Archibald McDonell’s sister Mary was the mother of D. A. MacArthur of Alexandria. In the sources consulted, her surname is spelled Macdonald; however, this variation is not unusual at the time in the spelling of Macdonald and Macdonell.

Historical Sketch of the County of Carleton (1971) 229-235, 318-319 (QF) * Duncan (Darby) MacDonald, A Genealogical Sketch of the Related Families of Colonel Archibald MacDonell (First White Settler of Osgoode) John Gibson of Stormont & the Ban MacDonells of Wolfe Island (1994) * information kindly supplied by Osgoode Township Historical Society & Museum, Vernon, Ont. (includes list of exact locations of the land grants) * J. L. Gourlay, History of the Ottawa Valley (1896) 114 & 115 * death of Archibald’s sister Mary (Mrs MacArthur): CF 25 April 1890, cited DTL Standard Freeholder 22 April 1944; for her, see also Rose, i, 650