Biographies of Members of the Legislative Assembly
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- Daniel Joseph MacDonald
- MACDONALD, P.C., HONOURABLE SERGEANT AND HONOURARY LIEUTENANT-COLONEL DANIEL JOSEPH, farmer; b. 23 July 1918 in Bothwell, son of Daniel L. MacDonald and Elizabeth Fisher; m. 13 November 1946 Pauline Peters, and they had seven children, Blair, Heather, Gail, Daniel, Leo, Gloria, and Walter; Roman Catholic; d. 30 September 1980 in Charlottetown. MacDonald, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1962 for 1st Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1966 and 1970. On 28 July 1966, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and held this Ministry until summer 1972, when he resigned to run federally. On 30 October of that year, MacDonald became a Member of the House of Commons for Cardigan. He was re-elected in 1974, was defeated in 1979, and was re-elected in 1980. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau appointed MacDonald Minister of Veterans Affairs in 1972 and he served in this position until 1979. He was reappointed to Privy Council in 1980 where he served only a short time due to the illness that ended his life. In his federal career, MacDonald was Minister Responsible for the Pension Review Board, the Canadian Pension Commission, the War Veterans Allowance Board, and the Bureau of Pension Advocates. During his Ministry, the head office of the Department of Veterans Affairs moved to the Island. He turned the sod to begin construction. After MacDonald passed away, and the building was finished, Prime Minister Trudeau named the building that housed the Department after the war hero. “Dan” MacDonald received his education in Bothwell. He became a farmer and eventually purchased his own farmland above Bothwell beach, where he also helped out on his father’s farm. In August 1940, MacDonald enlisted in the Canadian Army and served with the Prince Edward Island Highlanders. He remained with this regiment until1943 when he was transferred to the Cape Breton Highlanders. By October of that year, he was made Sergeant of the front line in the Allied Campaign of Italy. In an assault on the Gothic Line, MacDonald was injured, but returned to the front shortly after recovering. However, on 21 December 1944, a shell exploded 20 feet from him, causing severe injuries. MacDonald’s left arm and leg had to be amputated. He retired from the military in 1945 and returned to the province to receive a hero’s welcome from his community. At the homecoming celebration he met his future wife. MacDonald farmed and raised a family in Bothwell. He served as the provincial director of the Artificial Breeding Unit Board and the president of the Souris Co-operative Association. He was a member of the school board and the Home and School Association. MacDonald served fellow veterans as the branch president of the Royal Canadian Legion and with the War Amputees of Canada. He was honoured by the Prince Edward Island Regiment in 1977 with the title of Honourary Lieutenant-Colonel. Daniel J. MacDonald predeceased his wife when he died of a heart attack on 30 September 1980. His state funeral was attended by many dignitaries, and wreaths were sent from as far away as Buckingham Palace. In his eulogy, Prime Minister Trudeau described MacDonald in these words: “He was a politician with a long list of achievements but I always sensed that he himself felt happier when he was described in ways which to him were more important: a devoted husband, father and grandfather, a good soldier, a good farmer, a good man, a public servant, a true and loyal friend. He was all of these things, and for that reason I have come today not so much to honour his death as to celebrate his life.” Pauline MacDonald is the daughter of Augustus Peters of St. Charles., Capital List p. 287; CPG 1963, 1968, 1972; CWW 1973-1975 p. 619; Mahar; Guardian 1 March 1980; Patriot A November 1977.
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- David F. Bethune
- BETHUNE, DAVID F., politician; b. 6 November 1886 in Charlottetown, son of David Bethune and Mary Bethune; Baptist; d. 1960. Bethune, a Conservative, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1931 for 2nd Queens. He was defeated in the general elections of 1935 and 1939. Bethune's father was born in Scotland. His mother was a native of Prince Edward Island. David Bethune died in I960., CPG 1932. 1936. 1941: PARO: MNI-Census 1881. 1891; Census 1901; Charlottetown Protestant Cemetery Records.
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- David Laird
- LAIRD, P.C., HONOURABLE DAVID, journalist and public servant; b. 12 March 1833 in New Glasgow, son of Alexander Laird and Janet Orr; m. 30 June 1864 Mary Louisa Owen, and they had six children: David Rennie, Mary Alice, Arthur Gordon, William Charles, James Harold, and Fanny Louisa; Presbyterian; d. 12 January 1914 in Ottawa. Laird, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1872 for 4th Queens. He was re-elected in the general election of 1873. He was defeated in the general elections of 1867 and 1870. He was a member of Executive Council in the Haythorne Administration from 1872 to 1873, and was a delegate to Ottawa to negotiate the terms of union in 1873.In the special federal election of 29 September 1873, Laird was elected to the House of Commons for Queen’s. He was re-elected in a by-election on 3 December 1873, after accepting a position as a Member of the Privy Council on 7 November. Laird's early days in Ottawa were significant in that his vote helped bring down the Conservative government of Sir John. A. Macdonald, as a result of the Pacific scandal in the fall of 1873. Laird served as Minister of the Interior and Superintendent General of Indian Affairs from 7 November 1873 until 6 October 1876, when he resigned. At this time, he accepted the position of Lieutenant-Governor of the North West Territories, holding that office from 7 October 1876 until 2 December 1881. In 1882 Laird returned to the Island and was defeated as a candidate for Queen’s in that year’s federal election. He offered as a candidate in the newly created riding of Saskatchewan (Provisional District) in the 1887 federal election, but was defeated. He was then appointed Indian Commissioner for the North West Territories, Manitoba, and Keewatin on 4 October 1898. In 1909 he returned to Ottawa as an advisor to the government on aboriginal issues. Laird, like his older brother Alexander" and his younger brother William*, was first educated at the local school in New Glasgow and later at Charlottetown’s Central Academy. He attended Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Truro, Nova Scotia. After graduation in 1859, Laird returned to Prince Edward Island and entered the same field as Alexander, becoming a journalist and editor of the Charlottetown Patriot, originally known as the Protestant and Evangelical Witness. In the 1860s he was a trustee and elder in the Presbyterian Church, a member of the Auxiliary Bible Society, and vice-president of the Young Men’s Christian Association and Literary Institute. He served as a member of Charlottetown City Council. Laird was a member of the Charlottetown Board of Education and Board of Governors for Prince of Wiles College. Laird was considered a successful negotiator. He was trusted and respected by the Aboriginal populations in the west and north of Canada. While serving in federal office, Laird concluded several land treaties with the aboriginal populations and was known among them as “The Big Chief.” He wrote a book about these experiences entitled Our Indian Treaties. In 1909 The Globe and Mail described him as one of Canada’s nation builders. Laird, a significant contributor to the Confederation debate, was opposed to Confederation until the reality of the railway debt convinced him to change his position. David Laird died 2 January 1914. Mary Laird was the daughter of Thomas Owen and Ann Campbell. She was a sister of Lemuel Cambridge Owen*, premier from 1873 to 1876., CDP p. 315; DCB XIV 19| 1-1920 pp. 578-81; MWOT p. 628; PARO: Hon. David laird Family File.
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- David Laird Mathieson
- MATHIESON, DAVID LAIRD, lawyer; b. 5 March 1903 in Georgetown, son of John Alexander Mathieson, and Mary Alice Laird; m. first 17 June 1930 Louise MacKinnon, and they had one child, John A.; m. secondly Elizabeth Jaggs of Vancouver, who had a daughter, Susan; Presbyterian; d. 15 February 1993 in Vancouver. Mathieson, a Conservative, was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1947 for 5th Queens. He was defeated in the general election of 1939 for 5th Kings and in the general election of 1951 for 5th Queens. Mathieson came from a political family. His father served as premier and then Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island, and his mother was the daughter of David Laird*. Mathieson was educated at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, at Dalhousie University in Halifax, and at McGill University in Montreal. He was called to the Prince Edward Island Bar in 1928, and practised law in the province from 1928 to 1939, and from 1945 to 1952 with Bell, Mathieson and Foster, a firm that included Reginald Bell*. In September 1952, Mathieson and his family moved to Edmonton, where he worked as a senior solicitor for Interprovincial Pipelines. In 1971 Mathieson and his family retired to Vancouver, where he was admitted to that province's Bar and did legal work on behalf of British Columbia’s aboriginal peoples. David Mathieson died 15 February 1993. Louise Mathieson was the daughter of Charles MacKinnon., CPG 1941, 1951, 1953; Guardian 17 March 1993, 20 March 1993.
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- David Purdy Irving
- IRVING, DAVID PURDY, farmer; b. 6 April 1841 in Cherry Valley, son of James Irving and Anne MacKenzie; m. 11 September 1867 Anne Tweedy, and they had 12 children, Sarah A., James Cephas*, Margaret, Thomas, Elizabeth, George, Anne, Alexander, John, William, Pansey, and Edith; Presbyterian; d. 1922. Irving, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1900 for 4th Queens. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1904 and 1908. Irving was defeated in a by-election held in 1900. Irving was educated at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, where he received a teachers’ diploma. David Irving died in 1922. Anne Irving was born in 1849 and died in 1917. James Cephas Irving* served in the Legislative Assembly, and another child, Anne, married Edmund T. Higgs*, also a politician., CPG 1910; Islander 13 September 1867; PARO: MNI-Census 1881, 1891.
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- David Rogers
- ROGERS, DAVID, merchant and shipbuilder; b. 15 November 1829 in Llanstephen, Carmarthen, Wiles, son of Joseph Rogers and Margaret James; m. first 20 March 1861 Annie Hester Gourlie, and they had five children, Arthur, Helen, Willie, Caroline, and Winnifred; in. secondly 17 June 1886 Rosina Gertrude Brine, and there were no children; Anglican; d. 22 October 1909 in Summerside. Rogers, a Conservative, was elected to the House of Assembly in the 1890 general election for 5th Prince. He was defeated in the general election of 1893. He served on Executive Council from 1890 to 1891. Rogers’ family immigrated to the Island in 1831. He was educated at the local school in Freetown. At the age of 19, Rogers was employed with N. J. Brown in St. Eleanors. In 1851 he was employed for some time with William McEwen, and later at the mercantile and shipbuilding establishment of James C. Pope"'. In 1856 he established a business in Alberton, which was later operated by his brother Benjamin Rogers '. Circa 1858, Rogers became a partner with Pope, whom he bought out some years later. For the remainder of his commercial career, Rogers conducted his own business, which he carried out in a general store on Water Street in Summerside. Rogers was the first Mayor of Summerside, from the time of its incorporation in 1877, until 1883. Rogers was also the president of the Literary Society. David Rogers died 22 October 1909. Annie Rogers, the daughter of James A. Gourlie, was born in 1843 in New Brunswick and died in 1884. Rosina Rogers, the daughter of the Reverend R. T. Brine, was born ca. 1853 and died in 1931., CPG 1891, 1897 p. 397; Daily Examiner 21 June 1886; Islander 29 March 1861; Summerside Journal 27 October 1909; PARO: Rogers Family Chronicle MNI-Census 1881, 1891; MNI-Hutchinson’s p. 133.
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- Donald A. MacDonald
- MACDONALD, DONALD A., farmer; m. September 1880, Margaret McDonald, and there were no children; Roman Catholic. MacDonald, a Conservative, was elected to the House of Assembly in a by-election held in May 1879 for 3rd Queens. He was defeated in the general election of 1882. Donald MacDonald was a farmer who resided in French Village. Margaret MacDonald of Tracadie, the daughter of Hugh McDonald, was born ca. 1849 and died 9 May 1884., CPG 1881. 1883; Elections PEI; Meacham’s Atlas 1880; Daily Examiner 27 May 1884; Examiner 30 September 1880.
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- Donald Alexander MacKinnon
- MACKINNON, Q.C., HONOURABLE DONALD ALEXANDER school teacher and lawyer; b. 21 February 1863 in Uigg-Belfast, son of William MacKinnon and Katherine Nicholson; m. 17 October 1892 Adelaide Beatrice Louise Owen, and they had three children, Beatrice, Arthur, and a second son who died in childhood; Presbyterian; d. 20 April 1928 in Charlottetown. MacKinnon, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1893 for 4th Kings. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1897 and 1900. He served as Attorney- General from 1899 to 1900, resigning that year trom the Legislative Assembly to run in the 1901 federal election for East Queen’s. On 1 February 1901, the election in East Queen’s was declared void. MacKinnon was elected to the House of Commons for East Queen’s in a subsequent by-election held on 20 March 1901. In 1904 he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor for the province, and he served until 1910. In 1921 he was re-elected to the House of Commons for Queen’s and served until 1925, at which point he retired from politics. MacKinnon received his primary education at the Uigg Grammar School. At the age of 13, he passed the teachers’ examinations. MacKinnon taught school in Springton for three years. He attended Prince of Wales College, and later law' school at Dalhousie University. MacKinnon articled with the firm of Palmer and MacLeod — which included Premier Herbert J. Palmer* — and in 1887 he was admitted to the Bar. He practised law in Georgetown for the next 10 years, entering into a partnership with Alexander B. Warburton* in 1897. In 1900 MacKinnon was awarded the designation of Queen s Counsel. In 1906 MacKinnon and Warburton coauthored Past and Present of PEI. MacKinnon also served as chairman of the Georgetown school trustees. Donald MacKinnon died 20 April 1928. Adelaide MacKinnon died 16 April 1912 at the age of 41., CDP p. 421; CPG 1897, 1899, 1905; Elections PEI; Past and Present. Guardian 21 April 1928; Patriot 21 April 1928; PARO: St. Peter's Cathedral Cemetery Records.
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- Donald Cameron
- CAMERON, DONALD, farmer, postmaster, and court commissioner; b. ca. 1836, in Springton, son of John Cameron and Mary Stuart; Methodist; d. ca. 1882. Cameron, a Conservative, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1867 for 1st Queens. He was re-elected in 1871 and in the general election of 1879. He was defeated in the general election of 1873, a by-election held in September of 1873, and in the general election of 1882. He participated in the debate over the prohibition of alcohol and supported the temperance movement. Educated in Springton, Cameron remained there throughout his life. He was primarily a farmer, but also served as postmaster for Township 67 and Commissioner for Taking Affidavits in Supreme Court. Cameron’s father emigrated from Invernesshire, Scotland, and was a descendant of the Camerons of Lochiel. His mother was a descendant of the Stuarts, the Royal Family of Great Britain. Cameron lived with his mother and sister. Donald Cameron died ca. 1882., CPG 1880, 1881, 1885; Elections PEI; PARO: MNI-Census 1891.
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- Donald Charles Martin
- MARTIN, DONALD CHARLES, teacher and lawyer; b. 1 February 1849 in Belfast, son of Peter and Sarah Martin; Presbyterian; d. 10 January 1888 in Charlottetown. Martin, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in the general election of 1882 for 4th Queens. He was re-elected in the general election of 1886. He died, quite suddenly, while in office. Martin received his early education at the local school in Belfast. He attended Prince ofWales College in Charlottetown on a scholarship, and graduated as a grammar school teacher. Martin then went to Dalhousie University in Halifax. Throughout his education, he worked as a tutor to pay for his studies. Martin was a teacher in Alberton High School for five years before he began studying law with Hodgson and McLeod of Charlottetown in 1875. Martin was called to the Bar in 1879. In that year he became a partner in the firm McLean and Martin, which became McLean, Martin and McDonald when Hector Charles McDonald joined the firm. Donald Martin died 10 January 1888., CPG 1885; Elections PEI; Daily Examiner 11 January 1888; PARO: St. John’s Presbyterian Church Record; Martin Family File.