Sir Donald Macmaster, 1st Baronet

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

Macmaster was born into a family of Scottish descent in Williamstown, Glengarry County, Canada West. 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 Canadian House of Commons as a Conservative member from 1883 to 1887, when he lost his seat.

In 1905, Macmaster emigrated to England and settled in London, intending to practise in Privy Council cases, in which he already had considerable experience. In 1910 he was elected to the House of Commons as Conservative member for Chertsey, Surrey, holding the seat until his death. He was created a Baronet on 26 January 1921 in the 1921 New Year Honours.

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. Macmaster never recovered from his son's death.

References

*Obituary, "The Times", 4 March 1922
*rayment-hc
*rayment-b

External links

* [http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/about/people/key/bio.asp?Language=E&query=13805&s=M Political biography from the Library of Parliament]
* [http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/members/members_all_detail.do?locale=en&ID=1455 Member's parliamentary history for the Legislative Assembly of Ontario]
* [http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=32957 "The Canadian parliamentary companion, 1883" JA Gemmill]
* [http://www.canadiana.org/ECO/mtq?doc=02221 "The Canadian men and women of the time : a handbook of Canadian biography" HJ Morgan (1898)]