John James MacDonald (a.k.a. James MacRae)
A bit of research at the St Marys Museum answers a few questions raised by The Four Jameses, including the source of John James MacDonald's nom de plume (his mother's maiden name). For 42 years, a period covered by the span between his first and second books, he farmed in the Township of Downie, close to St Marys. The poet died on 23 June 1937, just short of his 88th birthday. This sad news was reported the following day on the front page of the St Marys Journal-Argus, under the headlines:
JOHN J. MACDONALD
PASSES TO REWARD
AGED CITIZEN HAD SCHOLARLY
MIND AND CONTRIBUTED TO
CURRENT LITERATURE —
WAS NATIVE OF GLENGARRY
MacDonald is buried in the St Marys Cemetery, sharing a plot with his wife and a daughter.
