Editing John A. Macdonald (section)

===Professional prominence, 1837–1843 ===

Although most of the trials resulting from the [[Upper Canada Rebellion]] took place in Toronto, Macdonald represented one of the defendants in the one trial to take place in Kingston. All the Kingston defendants were acquitted, and a local paper described Macdonald as "one of the youngest barristers in the Province <nowiki>[who]</nowiki> is rapidly rising in his profession".{{sfn|Creighton|1952|pp=53–54}}

[[File:Battle of the Windmill.jpg|left|thumb|alt=See caption|Battle of the Windmill, near Prescott, Upper Canada, 13 November 1838]]

In late 1838, Macdonald agreed to advise one of a group of American raiders who had crossed the border to overthrow British rule in Canada. The raiders had been captured by government forces after the [[Battle of the Windmill]] near [[Prescott, Ontario|Prescott, Upper Canada]]. Public opinion was inflamed against the prisoners, as they were accused of mutilating the body of a dead Canadian lieutenant. Macdonald could not represent the prisoners, as they were tried by [[court-martial]] and civilian counsel had no standing. At the request of Kingston relatives of Daniel George, paymaster of the ill-fated invasion, Macdonald agreed to advise George, who, like the other prisoners, had to conduct his own defence.{{sfn|Creighton|1952|pp=61–63}} George was convicted and hanged.{{sfn|Creighton|1952|p=67}} According to Macdonald biographer Donald Swainson, "By 1838, Macdonald's position was secure. He was a public figure, a popular young man, and a senior lawyer."{{sfn|Swainson|1989|p=21}}

Macdonald continued to expand his practice while being appointed director of many companies, mainly in Kingston. He became both a director of and a lawyer for the new Commercial Bank of the Midland District. Throughout the 1840s, Macdonald invested heavily in real estate, including commercial properties in downtown Toronto.{{sfn|Gwyn|2007|p=58}} Meanwhile, he was suffering from some illness, and in 1841, his father died. Sick and grieving, he decided to take a lengthy holiday in Britain in early 1842. He left for the journey well supplied with money, as he spent the last three days before his departure gambling at the card game [[loo (card game)|loo]] and winning substantially.{{sfn|Swainson|1989|p=23}} Sometime during his two months in Britain, he met his first cousin, [[Isabella Clark]]. As Macdonald did not mention her in his letters home, the circumstances of their meeting are not known.{{sfn|Phenix|2006|p=56}} In late 1842, Isabella journeyed to Kingston to visit with a sister.{{sfn|Phenix|2006|p=57}} The visit stretched for nearly a year before John and Isabella Macdonald married on 1 September 1843.{{sfn|Phenix|2006|p=59}}