Name:
Duncan Ferguson MacLachlan 
Location served:
Highgate  
Years in Practice:
1905 to 1944
Area of Specialization:
Family Medicine  

Biography:

Dr. Duncan Ferguson MacLachlan was born near Glencoe, Ontario on the 5th of March, 1873.  Dr. MacLachlan was the 7th of 9 children born to Alexander MacLachlan and the former Sarah Ferguson.  His parents were farmers and his siblings were; Hugh F. MacLachlan, Donald A. MacLachlan, Jane MacLachlan, Flora McLachlan, Catharine “Katie” MacLachlan, John Ferguson MacLachlan, Sarah Ann MacLachlan and Gordon MacLachlan.  Dr. MacLachlan was raised on a farm in the Glencoe area and attended Strathroy High School.  For a number of years he taught at the Toronto Normal School.

Dr. MacLachlan’s interests turned to medicine and he studied at The University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine graduating in 1905.

Dr. MacLachlan went to work with Dr. J. W. Brien in Essex County for 1 year, before moving to Dutton.  While living in Dutton, Dr. MacLachlan tended to patients in Highgate (Chatham-Kent).  He is listed as a practicing physician in Highgate in The Oxford Story 1827-1977.

Dr. MacLachlan married Edythe Rose Woolridge on the 24th of March, 1909 in Dunwich Township (Elgin County), Ontario.  Mrs. MacLachlan was born in Dunwich Twp on the 17th of January 1883.  She was the 3rd of 6 children born to Thomas Woolridge and the former Mary Eliza Howlett.  Her parents were farmers and her siblings were; George Edwin Woolridge (who died of croup at the age of 3), Lilly Ann Woolridge, Pearl Susan Woolridge, Lucille Verbena Woolridge and Ethel Mary Woolridge.  On the marriage record, Mrs. MacLachlan’s occupation was listed as milliner.

Dr. and Mrs. MacLachlan had twin daughters, Margaret Jean MacLachlan and Marion Ilene MacLachlan who were born on the 4th of July, 1910.  At the time of their birth, the family was living in Highgate.  Dr. MacLachlan was elected the Mayor of Highgate in 1911.

Dr. MacLachlan appears in the 1913 Bell Telephone Directory.  His telephone number was 79r3.

Dr. MacLachlan took a post-graduate course in New York and upon completion he moved his family to Windsor, Ontario, prior to 1920.  According to the 1921 census, Dr. and Mrs. MacLachlan and their daughters resided at 498 Church Street in Windsor.

Dr. MacLachlan was a member of the Essex County Medical Society and the Canadian Medical Association.

Dr. MacLachlan died at his residence on the 14th of October of 1944.  It states on his death record that he last worked on the 10th of October, 1944.  At the time of his death, he resided at 594 Church Street in Windsor.  Mrs. MacLachlan died at Grace Hospital in Windsor on the 24th of January, 1945.  Dr. and Mrs. MacLachlan were buried at Windsor Grove Cemetery.

*Dr. MacLachlan’s brother, John Ferguson MacLachlan served with the Canadian Armed Services and the 9th Field Ambulance Corp during WWI.

Photo Credit: Anne F.