John Duncan MacFarlane (July 27, 1892 – December 8, 1982) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

-born farmer and political figure in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. He represented Melfort from 1934 to 1938 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

. He was born in

Gargunnock Gargunnock is a small village in the Stirling council area with an active community trust, west of Stirling, in Scotland. The census population was 912. It is situated on the south edge of the Carse of Stirling, at the foot of the Gargunnock ...

and was educated in Scotland. He later worked for a law office in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

. In 1910, MacFarlane came to Canada, where he worked on farms and eventually earned his engineer's certificate. He graduated from the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

in agriculture. MacFarlane served with the

Royal Canadian Engineers The Canadian Military Engineers (CME; ) is the military engineering personnel branch of the Canadian Armed Forces. The members of the branch that wear army uniform comprise the Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers (RCE; ). The mission of the Canadia ...

and then with the

Royal Flying Corps The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) was the air arm of the British Army before and during the First World War until it merged with the Royal Naval Air Service on 1 April 1918 to form the Royal Air Force. During the early part of the war, the RFC sup ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. After the war, he worked for the Soldier Settlement Board for three years. MacFarlane then settled on a farm near Carlea, Saskatchewan, where he raised

Clydesdale horse The Clydesdale is a horse breed, breed of draught horse which originated in the seventeenth century, and takes its name from the Clydesdale (district), Clydesdale district of Scotland. The first recorded use of the name "Clydesdale" for the bre ...

Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always em ...

cattle, Yorkshire pigs,

Shropshire sheep The Shropshire breed of domestic sheep originated from the hills of Shropshire, and North Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s. The breeders in the area used the local horned black-faced sheep and crossed them with a few breeds of white-faced ...

and Barred Rock chickens. He also served on the Alysham School Board. In 1920, he married Jean Gray. MacFarlane was defeated by Oakland Woods Valleau when he ran for reelection in 1938. He was a director for the

United Grain Growers The United Grain Growers, or UGG, was a Canadian grain farmers' cooperative for grain storage and distribution that operated between 1917 and 2001. History In 1917, the Grain Growers' Grain Company (GGGC) merged with the Alberta Farmers' Co ...

from 1947 to 1968 and was president of the Saskatchewan Registered Seed Growers plant at

Moose Jaw Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

. From 1930 to 1933, he was president of the Saskatchewan Agricultural Societies Association. MacFarlane was named to the Saskatchewan Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1979.

References

Saskatchewan Liberal Party MLAs 1892 births 1982 deaths Military personnel from Stirling (council area) Royal Canadian Engineers soldiers University of Saskatchewan alumni Royal Flying Corps personnel Canadian military personnel of World War I 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan {{Liberal-Saskatchewan-MLA-stub