(died 24 Oct. 1856, in his 52nd year), clergyman. (This date of death from St. Finnan’s records, which give 26 Oct. as date of burial; memorial tablet says died 26 Oct.) He is said to have had an Aberdeen, Scotland, background. At the time of his death, he was in the 27th year of his priesthood. He was the pastor of St. Finnan’s Parish, Alexandria, from Nov. 1853 till his death. Fr McLachlan’s efforts to establish a Roman Catholic school in Alexandria, either by changing the existing non-denominational school into a Roman Catholic school or by creating a new Separate School, caused a rancorous clash with Donald A. Macdonald of the Sandfield family, who opposed the measure as divisive in the community and unfair to the area Protestants who had helped to establish the existing school. Fr McLachlan, however, was successful. He brought the Christian Brothers to Alexandria (arrived 1854) to teach the boys, and the Sisters of Holy Cross (arrived Jan. 1856) to teach the girls. The Sisters of Holy Cross were to be an Alexandria institution for more than a century. The quarrel with Donald A. Macdonald (during which Macdonald sued Fr McLachlan for defamation of character, and lost) had political significance, becoming involved inevitably in the political ambitions of the Sandfield brothers. However, Donald A. seems to have extricated himself from the difficulty fairly quickly, and with little or no lasting damage to his political career. Fr McLachlan was remembered also for having striven to beautify the church building both outside and within.

     He died suddenly at his residence in Alexandria. He is buried in St. Finnan’s Cathedral, where there is a memorial tablet in his memory. At the time of preparation of the 1983 St. Finnan’s history, no portrait of Fr McLachlan could be found. He is said to have been called “Spanish John”; for this name in the Alexandria area, see also John Macdonell. The spelling McLaughlin also appears, at least in later sources. Few people, not themselves teachers in the schools, have had so great and long-lasting an influence on GC education as Fr McLachlan. He was succeeded as pastor of St. Finnan’s by Fr James J. Chisholm.

St. Finnan’s CRNI, III, 90 * memorial tablet * Macdonald, St. Finnan’s * Sinnsearachd 50-51 (with recollections of his death), 58-59 * Villeneuve 86, 133, 178 * Hodgins 31-33 * quarrel with Macdonald, arrival of the Christian Brothers and the Sisters of Holy Cross: True Witness 10 & 24 Nov., 8 & 22 Dec. 1854, 15 June 1855, 1 & 29 Feb. 1856, 5 Sept. 1856, 24 July 1857, 1 & 8 Jan. 1858