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William McDonald Sr. was born in 1862 in Inverness, Scotland. He arrived in Canada at aged 14 in approximately 1880 (originally from Isle of Skye). He was one of 5 brothers and 1 sister. The parents and 6 children settled in Birks Falls, Ontario. Two other brothers - James and Hugh - came to BC with William in 1889. The brothers worked in sawmills throughout the Valley and William settled in Langley in 1895, establishing the McDonald Cedar Mill. William and James continued to work in many mills in the Valley. William married Grace Smith on April 1st, 1891 at her parents home at Lochiel, south Langley. The couples' first home was a homestead on LeFeuvre Road near Aldergrove. Their children were Barbara, James (Jim), William (Bill) Jr., Gordon (born in Murrayville 1875, killed in the First World War), Daisy, Clifford (b. 1911), Grace, and Geordie. William Sr. died in January 1918.