Samuel Smith Macdonell

Windsor’s First Mayor

Not surprisingly, the first mayor of Windsor (1858), Samuel Smith Macdonell (1823-1907), is buried in Windsor Grove.

Samuel Macdonell was born in York, Upper Canada (now Toronto) on February 21st, 1823. He was educated at Upper Canada College and graduated from King’s College (now University of Toronto) with a B.A. in 1845. He graduated from law school and was called to the bar in 1847. Later, he received the degrees M.A. and L.L.D.

In 1853 he moved to Windsor and took an active part in the movement to have Windsor incorporated as a village on January 1st, 1854. He ran for, and was elected to the village council this same year. He was chosen Reeve by the council, and held that position until 1857.

Windsor was incorporated as a town on January 1st, 1858. Once again, S.S. Macdonell was elected Mayor of the town in 1858. He had also held the office of Warden of Essex County in 1855 and 1856. While Warden of the county, Macdonell had led the campaign to build a new county court house in Sandwich. This building, completed in 1855, is today known as Mackenzie Hall. S.S. Macdonell served as mayor of the town of Windsor from 1864 to 1867. He later served as a school trustee for twenty years.

In 1856 he married Ellen Guillot Brodhead of Boston. The couple had four children: Henrietta, Cornelia, Gertrude B., and Archibald Cameron.

In addition to his legal and political careers, S.S. Macdonell was a very active land developer.
Macdonell also opened Goyeau Street, which he intended to become Windsor’s main street. In the municipal assessment rolls for Windsor in 1855 and 1857, S.S. Macdonell was by far the largest landowner in the town, requiring two full pages to list all the properties he owned. The family also employed three servants.

In 1891 Mr. Macdonell left Windsor and returned to Toronto, due to ill health and died there on March 25th, 1907.

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