McDONALD, Alexander Douglas - Presbyterian Minister
Visited the Bell Farm on June 24, 1887 along with several other members of a group of Presbyterian ministers who had just attended their annual General Assembly in Winnipeg.
Alexander McDonald was born in the military Citadel in Quebec City on Nov. 9, 1832. He was raised in Ontario, and studied theology at Knox College, Toronto.
Alex was ordained in 1859, married Agnes Cavan that year, and began preaching at Clinton (1859), followed by Elora in 1869, and Seaforth in 1879, where he was resident when the trip to the West occurred in 1887. He remained at Seaforth until his retirement in 1899, when he moved to Detroit.
Rev. Alex. McDonald was among over 300 delegates to the Presbyterian General Assembly meeting, held in Winnipeg, Manitoba from June 9-17, 1887. Some members of that gathering subsequently travelled to Regina, and then on to the Qu’Appelle Valley and Indian Head region to inspect various Indian Reserves and the status of Presbyterian missions in that vicinity. During the tour, they also briefly visited the Bell Farm on June 24, and were accompanied by Hayter Reed, of Regina, the Assistant Indian Commissioner for the North-West Territories.
Rev. A.D. McDonald was also active in the Presbyterian Church administration, where he served in various capacities. In recognition of that work, he was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 1892.
Following his retirement and move to Detroit, he died there in 1900,and was buried back in Clinton, Ontario, where he began his ministry. His wife Agnes lived until 1928; they are both buried in the Clinton Public Cemetery.
SOURCES:
Men of Canada, by Rev. Wm. Cochrane, 1891: p. 368 - https://archive.org/details/canadianalbum01cochuoft/page/368
Bell Farm visit - Manitoba Free Press - 28 June 1887, p. https://www.newspapers.com/image/66531946/?terms=%22Bell%20Farm%3A%201887&match=1
Doctor of Divinity degree - Vancouver Daily World, 8 April, 1892, p. 8 - https://www.newspapers.com/image/63322969/?terms=%22Rev.%20A.D.%20McDonald%22%20Presbyterian&match=1
Retirement: Windsor Star, 17 March, 1899, p. 1 - https://www.newspapers.com/image/500403022/?terms=%22Rev.%20McDonald%22%20Seaforth&match=1
Death and Burial: "Find-A-Grave": Clinton, Ontario - https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/126894163/alexander-douglas-mcdonald
NOTE: There is some discrepancy concerning his birth and death records. In Men of Canada, he was listed as being born in the Citadel on Nov. 9, 1832, but his gravestone in Clinton sets his birth date at Nov. 9, 1835.
RESEARCH BY:
Michelle Cabana, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Frank Korvemaker, Regina, Sask.