Robert MacFarlane was a lawyer and Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member of the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 representing Perth South

Perth South

Perth South was a federal electoral district represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1935. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 which divided the County of Perth into two ridings...

 from 1867 to 1872.

He was born in Pakenham in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

 in 1835, the son of William MacFarlane and Isabella Dickson, was educated in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and was called to the Upper Canada bar in 1857. MacFarlane practised law in Stratford, Ontario

Stratford, Ontario

Stratford is a city on the Avon River in Perth County in southwestern Ontario, Canada with a population of 32,000.When the area was first settled by Europeans in 1832, the townsite and the river were named after Stratford-upon-Avon, England. It is the seat of Perth County. Stratford was...

. He married Mary Elizabeth Wood in 1870. In 1862, he ran unsuccessfully against Thomas Mayne Daly

Thomas Mayne Daly, Sr.

Thomas Mayne Daly was a businessman and political figure in Canada West . He represented the riding of Perth North in the Canadian House of Commons and in the Ontario Provincial Parliament....

 in a by-election in Perth County

Perth County, Ontario

Perth County is a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. The county seat is Stratford and is located in Southwestern Ontario, west of Toronto. It encompasses , 90% of which is classified as prime agricultural land...

; in 1863, he defeated Daly and represented Perth in the 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada

8th Parliament of the Province of Canada

The 8th Parliament of the Province of Canada was in session from 1863 to July 1866. Elections were held in the Province of Canada in August 1863. Sessions were held in Quebec City until 1866; the last session was held in Ottawa....

. When the county was split into two parts after Confederation

Canadian Confederation

Canadian Confederation was the process by which the federal Dominion of Canada was formed on July 1, 1867. On that day, three British colonies were formed into four Canadian provinces...

, he was elected in the south riding. He died in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

while still in office in 1872.