Donald Macmaster

Sir Donald Macmaster, 1st Baronet, KC (3 September 1846 – 3 March 1922) was a Canadian lawyer and a politician in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

Key Information

Sir Donald Macmaster Bt KC
Donald Macmaster, photographed by Elliott & Fry between 1895 and 1903
Member of the United Kingdom Parliament for Chertsey
In office 1910–1922
Preceded by	Francis Marnham
Succeeded by	Philip Richardson
Member of Parliament for Glengarry
In office 1883–1887
Preceded by	John McLennan
Succeeded by	Patrick Purcell
Ontario MPP
In office 1879–1882
Preceded by	Alexander James Grant
Succeeded by	James Rayside
Constituency	Glengarry
Personal details
Born	(1846-09-03)3 September 1846 Williamstown, Glengarry County, Canada West
Died	3 March 1922(1922-03-03) (aged 75) London, England
Political party	Conservative
Spouses	Janet Macdonald ​ (m. 1880)​ Ella Virginia DeFord ​ ​ (m. 1890)​
Children	1
Occupation	Lawyer
Military service
Allegiance	Canadian Militia
Branch/service	Williamstown Volunteer Infantry
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Fenian Raids (1866)
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Macmaster was born into a family of Scottish descent in Williamstown, Glengarry County, Canada West (now in eastern Ontario). During the Fenian Raids in 1866 he served as a lieutenant in the Williamstown Volunteer Infantry. He studied law at McGill University, was called to the Quebec bar in 1871, and set up practice in Montreal. Macmaster served as Crown Prosecutor for many cases. He was called to the Ontario bar and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1882.

He represented Glengarry in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1879 to 1882 and in the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative member from 1883 to 1887, when he lost his seat.

In 1905, Macmaster emigrated to the United Kingdom and settled in London, intending to practise in Privy Council cases, in which he already had considerable experience. Having been defeated at Leigh in 1906, in 1910 he was elected to the House of Commons as Conservative member for the Chertsey division of Surrey, holding the seat until his death. He was created a baronet in the 1921 New Year Honours.^[1]

In 1880, he married Janet Macdonald, who died less than three years later. In 1890 he married the American Ella Virginia DeFord. Their only son, Donald, was killed in action at the Battle of Loos while commanding a company of the Cameron Highlanders on 25 September 1915.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Donald Macmaster.

• Donald Macmaster – Parliament of Canada biography
• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
• Gemmill, J.A., ed. (1883). The Canadian Parliamentary Companion. Ottawa: J. Durie & Son. p. 136.
• Morgan, Henry James, ed. (1898). The Canadian Men and Women of the Time: a handbook of Canadian biography (First ed.). Toronto: William Briggs. pp. 710–711.
• Johnson, J.K., ed. (1968). The Canadian Directory of Parliament 1867-1967. Ottawa: Public Archives of Canada. p. 430.
• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Donald Macmaster

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Francis Marnham	Member of Parliament for Chertsey 1910–1922	Succeeded by Philip Richardson
Preceded by Matthew Vaughan-Davies	Oldest Member of Parliament (not Father of the House) January–June 1921	Succeeded by Henry Bruce Armstrong
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baronet (of Glengarry) 1921–1922	Extinct