Isabella Macdonald ( Clark; 1809 – 28 December 1857) was the first wife of

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (10 or 11January 18156June 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 until his death in 1891. He was the dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, and had a political ...

, one of the fathers of the Canadian federation, and ultimately the first Prime Minister of Canada. After marrying Macdonald in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

in 1843, she enjoyed two years of happy marriage before falling seriously ill. Her first son died at 13 months but her second son,

Hugh John Macdonald Sir Hugh John Macdonald, (March 13, 1850 – March 29, 1929) was the only surviving son of the first prime minister of Canada, John A. Macdonald. He too was a politician, serving as a member of the House of Commons of Canada and a federal cabi ...

, became

Premier of Manitoba The premier of Manitoba () is the first minister (i.e., head of government or chief executive) for the Canadian province of Manitoba—as well as the ''de facto'' President of the province's Executive Council. In formal terms, the premier rec ...

. Despite some better spells, she died aged 48, never recovering from her illness.

Early life and family

Isabella Clark was born in Dalnavert in

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

, Scotland. She met her husband to be, her half-cousin John Alexander Macdonald, while he was in Great Britain in 1842. The visit included a trip to

Douglas Douglas may refer to: People * Douglas (given name) * Douglas (surname) Animals * Douglas (parrot), macaw that starred as the parrot ''Rosalinda'' in Pippi Longstocking * Douglas the camel, a camel in the Confederate Army in the American Civil ...

on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

to see his cousin Margaret Greene née Clark who lived in a small farmhouse near

together with her sister Isabella. Macdonald took an immediate liking to Isabella, suggesting she should visit

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

the following year, ostensibly to see another of her sisters, Maria, who had married John Alexander Macpherson. Isabella complied, sailing to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in 1843 to visit the Macphersons in

, as well as the Macdonalds. It was on this trip that after a few months courting, they were engaged and finally married on September 1, 1843, at the home of her sister, Maria and brother-in-law John Alexander Macpherson with the Rev. Mr. Machar of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church (Kingston, Ontario)officiating. The couple were related by sharing their maternal grandmother;

cousin marriage A cousin marriage is a marriage where the spouses are cousins (i.e. people with common grandparents or people who share other fairly recent ancestors). The practice was common in earlier times and continues to be common in some societies today. ...

was not uncommon at the time. They lived together in Kingston. Isabella bore two sons with John. The first was named John, born in New York in August 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 died at the age of 13 months. She gave birth to their second son at the age of 41. This child was

, who grew up to be a lawyer and politician.

Illness

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

by visiting her sister in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

for a few months at a time. John rented

Bellevue House Bellevue House National Historic Site was the home to Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald from 1848 to 1849. The house is located in Kingston, Ontario. Bellevue House was constructed around 1840 for Charles Hales, a wealthy Ki ...

, 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, and recover. Unfortunately, she never recovered her health, and died on December 28, 1857, at the age of 48. She is buried at the

Cataraqui Cemetery Cataraqui Cemetery is a non-denominational cemetery located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1850, it predates Canadian Confederation, and continues as an active burial ground. The cemetery is 91 acres in a rural setting with rolling w ...

, in the Macdonald family plot.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macdonald, Isabella 1809 births 1857 deaths Spouses of prime ministers of Canada Canadian people of Scottish descent

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

John A. Macdonald