Lieutenant-Colonel James Farquharson Macleod (c. September 25, 1836 – September 5, 1894), born in Drynoch, Isle of Skye, Scotland, was a militia officer, lawyer, North-West Mounted Police officer, magistrate, judge, and politician in Alberta. He served as the second full Commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police, from July 22, 1876, to October 31, 1880. Fort Macleod and Macleod Trail, a major Calgary, Alberta thoroughfare, are named after him.
In 1887, Macleod was appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories, which then included what is now known as Alberta and Saskatchewan. He held this position until his death in 1894. He is buried in Union Cemetery in Calgary.
North-West Mounted Police
Macleod served as Commissioner of the NWMP from 1876 to 1880.
Northwest Territories Legislature
Macleod was appointed to the 1st Council of the North-West Territories on October 7, 1876, to serve as one of the body's earliest members.
He served as a regular appointed member until 1881, when he was appointed as a Stipendiary Magistrate. He served as such until the 1st Northwest Territories general election.
In 1888, he was reappointed to the Assembly as one of three Legal Advisors, a non-voting at-large position created to help the assembly make the transition to an elected body. The position was abolished when the legislature was dissolved at the time of the 1891 election. That ended Macleod's 15 years of service with the NWT government.
Personal life
On July 28, 1876, Macleod married pioneer Mary Isabella Drever, who he first met in Spring 1871.