Alexander McLachlan
Alexander McLachlan was a Scottish-Canadian poet, born on May 24, 1818, in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland. His family, rooted in Calvinist traditions, faced tragedy when his father passed away while trying to establish a farm in Canada, prompting young McLachlan to work in a cotton factory and become a tailor. In 1840, he immigrated to Canada, where he initially attempted farming before dedicating himself to writing and tailoring. McLachlan published his first poetry collection, "The Spirit of Love, and Other Poems," in 1846, followed by several other works that drew inspiration from both his Scottish heritage and his experiences in Canada.
Notably, his long poem "The Emigrant" detailed his journey to Canada and garnered him recognition, leading to invitations to speak about immigration benefits in Scotland. Throughout his life, McLachlan was often likened to the renowned Scottish poet Robert Burns, particularly for his focus on the working class and his use of accessible language in his dialect poems. While his literary contributions were significant and widely appreciated, they are generally viewed as less impactful than those of the poets he admired. McLachlan's legacy lies in his ability to resonate with the public, earning him the title of "the Canadian Burns," and his work remains a part of Canada’s cultural fabric. He passed away on March 20, 1896, in Orangeville, Ontario.
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Alexander McLachlan
Poet
- Born: May 24, 1818
- Birthplace: Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland
- Died: March 20, 1896
- Place of death: Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Alexander McLachlan was born in Johnstone, Renfrewshire, Scotland, on May 24, 1818, the son of Charles McLachlan, a mechanic, and Jane Sutherland McLachlan. His family was strongly Calvinist. Sometime in the 1830’s, Charles McLachlan traveled to Canada with his brother and his family in order to clear a farm. He intended to return for his family and bring them to Canada; however, he died suddenly while working as a machinist in Paterson, New Jersey.
As a result of his father’s death, the young McLachlan took work in a cotton factory and later became an apprentice to a Glasgow tailor. It was here that he began writing verse. In 1840, he immigrated to Canada to take on his father’s farm in present day Ontario, then known as Upper Canada. He sold the farm a year later, married his cousin Clamina, and tried his hand on a different farm, also in Ontario.
In 1846, he published his first book of poetry, The Spirit of Love, and Other Poems. He discovered around the same time that he was not a talented farmer. Subsequently, he bought a one- acre plot in Erin Township, supporting himself and his family as a tailor, writer, and speaker.
In 1856, McLachlan published Poems, and in 1858 he released another book, Lyrics. In these volumes of poetry, McLachlan looks back to his Scottish homeland for material as well as around him for Canadian subject matter. In 1861, he published a long poem, “The Emigrant,” that recounted his experiences coming to Canada. Perhaps as a result of this poem, the Canadian government sent him to Scotland to speak to people there on the benefits of immigration. In 1874, he once again traveled to Scotland, where he gave lectures on Canadian life and literature. During the same year he published another book, Poems and Songs.
In 1877, having returned to Canada, McLachlan moved to a farm near Orangeville, Ontario, where he lived with members of his family. His son’s death in 1895, however, meant he could no longer remain on the farm. Later that year, he bought a house in Orangeville, where he died suddenly on March 20, 1896.
Throughout his life and in the introduction to the posthumously published Poetical Works, McLachlan was compared to the great Scottish poet Robert Burns and was often called the Canadian Burns. His poetry took on similar subject matter and the same fresh, unaffected language, particularly in his dialect poems, that Burns used. In addition, like Burns he had great affection for the working class. However, although he was very popular with the reading public, McLachlan’s work is not of the caliber of the poets with whom he has been compared. Nonetheless, he earned significant fame, his work was widely anthologized, and many Canadians learned to recite his poetry from memory. An important poet of the people, McLachlan deserves to be remembered for this, if not for the caliber of his verse.