Isabella Macdonald

Isabella Macdonald
Portrait of Isabella Clark in 1828
Born	Isabella Clark 1809 United Kingdom
Died	28 December 1857 (aged 48) Kingston, Canada West
Spouse(s)	John A. Macdonald (m. 1843; her death 1857)
Children	2, including Hugh John Macdonald
Parent(s)	Alexander Clark, Margaret (Shaw) Clark

Isabella Macdonald (née Clark; 1809 – 28 December 1857) was the first wife of John A. Macdonald: one of the fathers of the Canadian federation, and ultimately the first Prime Minister of Canada.

She was born in Inverness, Scotland, to parents Alexander and Margaret Clark. She had several siblings: James Clark, Ann Macpherson, Margaret Green, Maria Macpherson, John Clark, Captain William Clark, and Jessie Clark

Isabella met her husband when he visited Great Britain in 1841. Two years later, in 1843, Isabella made a trip to Canada West to visit some relatives, including the Macpherson family and the Macdonalds. It was on this trip that she married John A. Macdonald - September 1, 1843. The couple were related by sharing their maternal grandmother; cousin marriage was not uncommon then. They lived together in Kingston.

Isabella bore two sons with John. The first was named John, born in New York in August of 1847. She was 39 years old. Isabella's health after the birth was not good - it took several months of rest before she was able to return to Kingston. The baby passed away at the age of 13 months. She gave birth to their second son at the age of 41. This child was Hugh John Macdonald, who grew up to be a lawyer and politician.

Approximately two years after her marriage to John A. Macdonald, Isabella's health began to deteriorate. She had a variety of symptoms, including headaches, a bad cough, fatigue, and general pain. The pain would often be so bad she would be unable to get out of bed.

Several strategies were used to attempt to improve her health. John took her to New York to see if the doctors there were able to help her, and she would escape the cold climate of Kingston, Ontario by visiting her sister in Savannah, Georgia for months at a time. John rented Bellevue House, a home in the Western Liberties neighborhood of Kingston (a quieter, cleaner area of town) as a restful space for Isabella to improve her health.

She never recovered her health, and died on the 28th of December in 1857. She was 48 years old. She is buried at the Cataraqui Cemetery, in the Macdonald family plot.