Aenaes Daniel Macdonell (1798)

Born 12 Dec 1798 in Souris River, Northwest Territories

Ancestors

Biography

MATTAWA NIPISSING MÉTIS HISTORICAL RESEARCH PROJECT, p65" "The 1821 coalition changed employment prospects for many of the “Countrymen” youth who were already junior clerks or being trained for that responsibility. One of the first to adapt to the n ew commercial realities was Aeneas Daniel Macdonell — eldest son of John Macdonell (Le Prêtre) of Point Fortune and Magdeline Poitras — who had been a clerk at the Chats and then became an independant at Lac des Allumettes in the fall of 1823. Born along the Souris River at the close of the eighteenth century, he was regarded as a sagacious trader by his HBC rival, John McLean, during one winter they spent competing against each other. McLean noted that Macdonell’s familiarity with Native mores gave him a distinct advantage since his attention to detail and protocol ensured that he was warmly welcomed in the hunting lodges where he made substantial returns. Macdonell was just one of the many sons of the fur trade to begin operations along the Ottawa River after the HBC eliminated jobs and facilities as part of their post-amalgamation restructuring. Others included Charles Thomas and Andrew Longmoor, both described as “Half Breeds,” who each dispatched a party of extended family members on trading missions to the Bonnechere River and Lac des Allumettes, respectively. Although both men were sons of prominent HBC officers who had retired to the banks of the Ottawa, they found greater financial opportunities outside the institutional circle that had once sustained them."^[1]

Sources

• WikiTree profile Macdonell-69 created through the import of RamageRice102011.ged on Oct 12, 2011 by Molly Rice. See the Changes page for the details of edits by Molly and others.

1. ↑ MATTAWA NIPISSING MÉTIS HISTORICAL RESEARCH PROJECT, NOVEMBER 4,2014, http://www.metisnation.org/media/510492/synthesis%20report%20mattawa%20nipissing%20-%20final.pdf