Iain Dhòmhnaill Iain Lachlainn

John Alex MacEachern was from Hillsdale, Inverness County, the son of John MacEachern and a MacInnis from Glendale. The MacEachern family originally traced their roots to the Isle of Eigg.

John Alex was raised in a Gaelic-speaking home and spoke no English when he first began school. In 1926, he married Flora Ann (Donald Hughie) MacDonald of Glencoe. The couple later moved to Detroit, where John Alex worked for the Ford Motor Company and Flora worked in domestic service. Like many Cape Bretoners in Detroit during the years of the Great Depression, they were eventually forced to return home due to a lack of employment.

Back in Cape Breton, John Alex and Flora settled in West Lake Ainslie, where they purchased a farm and raised their family of four children: Chrisabelle, Theresa, D.J., and Catherine. They brought their children up with a strong work ethic and a deep sense of faith. Their daughter Catherine later entered religious life as a member of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame.

Both John Alex and Flora had a deep love for Gaelic language and culture. They were known for their singing and storytelling, and for their knowledge of family connections and genealogy. In his later years, John Alex also learned to read Gaelic.He spent the last twenty years of his life living in Mabou.