James Roderick MacLean

MACLEAN, JAMES RODERICK. merchant and notary public; b. 9 April 1842 in East Point, son of Alexander MacLean of East Point and Mary MacDonald; m. first 12 October 1870 Mary Armstrong Wightman, and they had three children, Charles Joseph Alexander, Wallace, and James; m. secondly ca. 1894 Marcella MacDonald, and they had three children, John, Mary Adele, and Alexandria Ronelda; Roman Catholic; d. 26 March 1903. MacLean, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in a by-election held in 1869 for 1st Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1870, and 1872 in a by-election held 10 September 1873, and in the general elections of 1876, 1882, 1886, and 1890. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1893. MacLean was defeated in the the general election of 1879. MacLean served on Executive Councilfrom 1872 to 1873. In 1891 he was appointed to Executive Council and served as Commissioner of Public Works. In September 1873 MacLean was defeated in the special federal election held to elect members to the House of Commons for Prince Edward Island. MacLean supported tree trade and government grants to Catholic schools. His grandfather Charles emigrated from the North of Scotland to the Island around 1800, settling in East Point in 1805. MacLean resided there until November 1870. He purchased 173 acres in Souris and sold the 217-acre farm at East Point inherited from his father. MacLean owned a great deal of land, with buildings in Souris, two farms at New Zealand, a farm at Gowan Brae, and several other properties. MacLean also served as a notary public and as a governor of Prince of Wales College. James MacLean died 26 March 1903. Mary MacLean was born in Summerside, and her father, Joseph Wightman, was a Member of the Legislative Council. She died in January 1890. Ca. 1894 James MacLean married Marcella MacDonald, the daughter of Alexander MacDonald and Flora Campbell of Inlet. Captain LaVie of Souris had adopted and raised Marcella MacLean. When she was widowed, Marcella MacLean and her family remained in Souris until 1914, when they moved to Scotland. Marcella married a Major Thomas but left him in 1922 and reassumed the name MacLean.