John Sandfield Macdonald | |
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The Hon. John Sandfield Macdonald
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1st Premier of Ontario | |
In office July 16, 1867 – December 20, 1871 |
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Monarch | Victoria |
Lieutenant Governor |
Henry William Stisted William Pearce Howland |
Preceded by |
John A. Macdonald (as Premier of Canada West} |
Succeeded by | Edward Blake |
Personal details | |
Born |
St Raphael West, Glengarry County, Upper Canada |
December 12, 1812
Died | June 1, 1872 Cornwall, Ontario |
(aged 59)
Political party | Liberal-Conservative |
Spouse(s) | Marie Christine Waggaman |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Signature |
John Sandfield Macdonald, QC (December 12, 1812 – June 1, 1872) was the Premier of the Province of Canada from 1862 to 1864, and was the first Premier of Ontario from 1867 to 1871, one of the four founding provinces created at the confederation of Canada in 1867. He served as both premier and Attorney-General of Ontario from July 16, 1867, to December 20, 1871.
He was personally referred to by his middle name Sandfield and often signed his correspondence and documents as "J. Sandfield Macdonald".
Born in 1812 in Glengarry County, Upper Canada, Macdonald was the first of five children for Alexander and Nancy Macdonald, who were Roman Catholic Highland Scots. Leaving school at 16, he became a clerk at several general stores, before deciding to enter the legal profession, eventually articling under Archibald McLean. When McLean was later elevated to the Court of King's Bench for Upper Canada, Macdonald became his assistant, which allowed him to meet Allan MacNab, Thomas Talbot and William Henry Draper (with whom he would resume his articling). He was later appointed as queen’s messenger, charged with carrying dispatches between the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada and the British Minister in Washington.
In 1840 while he was on one of his missions from the Lieutenant-Governor (the Earl of Durham) to the British Minister at Washington he met Marie Christine Waggaman, daughter of George Augustus Waggaman, a former Whig senator from Louisiana. They were married in 1840 and raised three children.