William McDougall (politician) - William McDougall and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln

William McDougall and U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

Fathers of Confederation McDougall and Galt went to Washington D.C., U.S.A. to meet with President Abraham Lincoln to renegotiate the Reciprocity Treaty.

Abraham Lincoln explained that he had an important event to attend and had to travel to Pennsylvania. Since he and McDougall had so much in common, and were friends, he invited McDougall to accompany him on his trip by train and coach. They stayed the night at the private home of David Wills, a wealthy 32-year-old Gettysburg attorney.

The next day, November 19, 1863, at the opening ceremonies of the new Gettysburg cemetery for fallen soldiers of the American Civil War, many great orators spoke for hours. Abraham Lincoln's speech was brief. The Canadian and British press wrote positively about Lincoln's speech. Generally, the American press condemned it for its brevity. To this day, most people don't know about the many speeches of that day. They do remember Abraham Lincoln's speech which became known as the Gettysburg Address.

In the 1950s, then United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower, when addressing a joint session of the Parliament of Canada, told this story of McDougall's friendship and travel with Lincoln to open the cemetery in Gettysburg as an example of the long history of friendship between Canada and The United States of America. It can be found in "The Hansard", the official publication containing the transcripts of the Parliament of Canada. A copy of "The Hansard" containing President Eisenhower's speech was autographed and commented by then-Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable John G. Diefenbaker, and can be found in the Baldwin Room (a secured archives area) of the Main Library of The City of Toronto, Ontario.

William McDougall was from the first 12 families to settle in York.

William McDougall was the 3rd generation of United Empire Loyalists to settle in York (now known as Toronto, Ontario, Canada). His great, great paternal grandparents were among the first 12 families that moved to York along with 450 British troops in 1793. The British troops then built Fort York to protect against American invasion.