48844: Murdo Macleod

Murchadh Aonghais Dhòmhnaill

Murdo (1838-1914)  was a son of Angus Macleod and Annabella Macarthur, Orinsay. The family move to 6 Old Lemreway in  1839 and in 1843 they moved to Crobeg.

He went to work for the Hudson's Bay Company in 1861 as a Labourer in the remote Mackenzie River District of Canada for £22.00 per annum. He spoke Gaelic and English and interacted with the Déné tribes and became proficient in the Athapaskan dialects. He was promoted to Assistant Interpreter in 1865 and to full Interpreter the following year. Murdo then became Schoolmaster for the local children at the Great Bear Lake Fort which lay within the Artic Circle.  Following further posts at Fort Liard and Peel River Murdo became Clerk in Charge and a full Officer of the Company. 

In 1879 Murdo settled in Edmonton, Alberta with his second wife and ten children. The modern district Macleod in the north of Edmonton is name after Murdo.