(died 14 Feb. 1901, aged 84), miller. A native of Scotland, said to have been from Ross-shire, he emigrated to Canada about 1844. Shortly before emigration, he married Catherine or Katheryn MacNaughton of Portree, Isle of Skye. (eight children) He settled first in Lochiel Township, GC, and afterwards on Lot 8, 20th Concession of South Plantagenet Township, just north of the GC border. With his sons, he operated a gristmill on on the Athol River (i.e., the West Branch of the Scotch River) on the north part of Lot 11, 21st Concession of Indian Lands, GC, close to his home in South Plantagenet Township. The Urquhart family mill apparatus at this point besides manufacturing flour and oatmeal also operated as a sawmill and shingle-mill. A waterwheel provided the power, but there was a steam engine for use when necessary. The mill, which was a two-storey stone building, is believed to have ceased operations about 1895. Alexander Urquhart is said to have appeared under the name of the “little miller” in Ralph Connor’s writings, but inquiry for the present entry has been unable to identify a passage of this description. In 1975, his grandson, John A. Urquhart of Maxville, had an account book of the mill. In 1975, also, three granite millstones were recovered from the site of the mill and moved to their present location at the Glengarry Pioneer Museum, Dunvegan. Alexander Urquhart and his wife are buried in Dunvegan Cemetery.

In the following, he is identified as Connor’s “little miller” in the passages marked (lm) * Maxville (1991) 854-856 * obituaries of his second son, Alexander A. Urquhart (b. 17 Aug. 1845; worked in the family mill in early years, and was afterwards a farmer), Standard Freeholder 11 Jan. 1933 (lm), Glengarry News 13 Jan. 1933 (lm) with a note on the mill * obituary of his granddaughter, Mrs John R. Cameron, SFH 31 Aug. 1948 (lm) * interview with John A. Urquhart, Maxville, 27 Dec. 1975 * obituary of Mrs John A. Urquhart, GN 15 Sept. 1993 * Velma Franklin, “Old Millstones Now on View at Re-opening Glengarry Museum,” GN 5 June 1975 * private information