McDonell, John

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Allan J. MacDonald, “McDONELL (Aberchalder), JOHN,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/mcdonell_john_5E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Army and militia officer, judge, office holder, and politician; b. c. 1758 at Aberchalder House, Scotland, eldest son of Alexander McDonell of Aberchalder; m. Helen Yates, probably at Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake), Upper Canada, and they had one son and two daughters; d. 21 Nov. 1809 at Quebec, Lower Canada.
    • In 1773 Alexander McDonell and his two brothers, John of Leek and Allan of Collachie, led one of the first major migrations of Highlanders to North America, settling on Sir William Johnson*’s estate in the Mohawk valley of New York. At the outbreak of the American revolution young John McDonell returned from Montreal, Que., where he was working in an accountant’s office and on 14 June 1775 became an ensign in Allan Maclean*’s Royal Highland Emigrants.
    • McDonell and Walter Butler set out to join the campaign led by William Caldwell and Joseph Brant in September 1778 against German Flats (near the mouth of West Canada Creek), N.Y., but arrived too late. On 11 November he participated in Butler’s infamous attack at Cherry Valley. Having failed to take the fort there, the expedition turned on the settlement.
    • Although most of Butler’s officers settled in the Niagara peninsula, McDonell apparently preferred to live along the St Lawrence River among the Highlanders. Among the isolated post-war loyalist settlements of western Quebec, McDonell’s social stature, his military service, and his acquaintance with Johnson assured him regional and later provincial prominence.
  • Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=5314
  • Find a GRAVE: Cannot locate.