Personal data
Margaret Macdonald
ca.
Born 1716   Died March 30, 1799  
at Welbeck Street, London
Margaret Montgomerie

Daughter of Alexander Montgomerie, 9th Earl of Eglinton. Sister of the 10th and 11th Earls of Eglinton. Married Sir Alexander Macdonald (1711-1746), 7th Bart of Sleat in 1739. Mother of James Macdonald, Alexander Macdonald, 9th Bt. of Sleat, and Archibald Macdonald (1745-1826), 1st Bt. Macdonald of East Sheen. 

She is reputed to have helped Prince Charles Edward Stuart escape during the Jacobite uprising of 1745 when Flora MacDonald brought him to her house.1

Boswell met Lady Margaret a few times during his 1762-63 stay in London, at Lord Eglinton's and at her own place. On January 18, 1763 he had a fairly intimate conversation with her, concerning her brother, the 10th Earl of Eglinton.

  • 1According to the Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Woman, entry: MACDONALD, Margaret, of Sleat.
Boswell's London Journal 1762-1763

Unless otherwise noted, the source for a dated quotation of Boswell's is generally the corresponding volume of the Yale Trade Editions of Boswell's journals.