Archibald McDonald
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Archibald McDonald | |
|---|---|
GillEasbaig Mac Aonghais 'Ic Iain 'Ic Alain Dhuibh | |
 | |
| Born | 3 February 1790 |
| Died | 15 January 1853 (aged 62) |
| Resting place | Saint-André-d'Argenteuil, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupations | Deputy governor of Red River Colony; clerk and later chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company |
| Years active | 1813–1848 |
| Spouses | Princess Sunday
(m. 1823; died 1824)Jane Klyne (m. 1825) |
| Children | Ranald Angus (1826–1843) Archibald Junior Alexander Allen Mary Ann John (1836) John (1837–1861) Donald and James Samuel Joseph Benjamin Angus Michel (1846–1867) |
| Parent(s) | Angus McDonald Mary Rankin |
Archibald McDonald (3 February 1790 – 15 January 1853) was chief trader for the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Langley, Fort Nisqually and Fort Colvile and one-time deputy governor of the Red River Colony.
McDonald was born in Leechkentium (Scottish Gaelic: Leac an Tuim), Glen Coe, on the south shore of Loch Leven, in Appin, then located in the county of Argyll, Scotland, the last of 13 children born to parents Angus and Mary (née Rankin). His paternal grandfather, Iain (or John) McDonald, had been one of the few male survivors of the Massacre of Glencoe.
The Red River Colony
As a young man, McDonald became friends with Lord Selkirk, and joined the Red River Colony as a clerk and agent, in part because he could act as an interpreter between the overseers of the colony, who spoke English, and the settlers, who, like him, were native Gaelic-speakers. He assisted in recruitment of the second group of colonists in Scotland, with the intention of departing for the New World with them in 1812. McDonald was delayed, however, under Lord Selkirk's orders, to receive further training in medicine and related subjects. In June 1813, McDonald left Scotland with a group of emigrants, arriving on the Red River one year later. In the winter of 1814–15, he was made deputy governor under Miles Macdonell. In 1820, he joined the HBC, and after the merger with the North West Company in 1821, was sent out to the Columbia River.
