Donald Alexander McDonald (January 1, 1833 - February 11, 1906) was a

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

owner and

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

man from

La Crosse La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County, Wisconsin, La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's populat ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, who served in both houses of the state legislature as well as being a candidate for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of that city.

Background

McDonald was born in

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; gd, Geàrrloch , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a go ...

Pictou County, Nova Scotia Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthermo ...

, on January 1, 1833. In June 1844 he moved with his family to Dundas, Canada West. There he received an academic education in the common schools until 1853, when he moved to nearby

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

In Wisconsin

In 1855 he moved to Wisconsin and settled in Trempealeau where he went into the lumbering business, and remained for some time. He moved to La Crosse in 1869 where he engaged in lumbering and the operating of steamboats. In 1873 McDonald, who had held various education-related local offices, was elected to the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

from

La Crosse County La Crosse County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 120,784. Its county seat is La Crosse. La Crosse County is included in the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area with ...

as a member of the Liberal Reform Party (a recently formed

coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

of Democrats,

reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...

and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, and

Grangers The Grange, officially named The National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, is a social organization in the United States that encourages families to band together to promote the economic and political well-being of the community and ...

which secured the election of one

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

and a number of state legislators) for a one-year term, with 1866 votes to 1740 for Republican R. M. Mooer. He was assigned to the

standing committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

s on

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

and on

enrolled bill In the United States Congress, an enrolled bill is the final copy of a bill (law), bill or joint resolution which has passed both Structure of the United States Congress, houses of Congress in identical form. In the United States, enrolled bills a ...

s. In 1874, he was defeated as the Liberal Reform candidate for the Senate's 31st District by Republican

Sylvester Nevins Sylvester Nevins was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate. Biography Nevins was born in New York City. He graduated from Middlebury College. In 1859, Nevins moved to La Crosse, Wisconsin. Additionally, he also lived in Sherwood (town), Wisconsi ...

, who won by 74 votes (1926 to 1852). He remained in the lumber and steamboat businesses, and also traded in

groceries A grocery store (American English, AE), grocery shop (British English, BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food Product (business), products, which may be Fresh food, fresh or Food preservation, packaged ...

, in large part to supply his own boats, shanties and so forth. In March 1882, he was granted a

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

for an improved method of connected boats towing other watercraft, to improve steering and facilitate sharp turns. In 1882, he was elected as a Democrat (the Reform Party having collapsed in the late 1870s) to the Senate seat he'd sought earlier, with 2853 votes to 1618 for former Republican Assemblyman John Brindley and 231 for

Prohibitionist Prohibitionism is a legal philosophy and political theory often used in lobbying which holds that citizens will abstain from actions if the actions are typed as unlawful (i.e. prohibited) and the prohibitions are enforced by law enforcement.C Canty ...

John James (Republican incumbent Merrick Wing was not a candidate). He would serve on the standing committee on privileges and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

. In 1885, when eccentric local physician

David Franklin Powell David Franklin Powell, also known as D. Frank Powell and White Beaver (May 25, 1847 – 1906) was a pharmacist, physician, field surgeon, maker of patent medicines and sometime politician, associated with Buffalo Bill Cody. He served three terms ...

ran for mayor of La Crosse, McDonald (who had long been influential in La Crosse business circles) was tapped as the Democratic nominee for mayor. Powell outpolled McDonald by over 250 votes, although McDonald did better than the Republican candidate.Morser, Eric. "A Hinterland Cauldron: Workers, Politics, and the Remaking of a Midwestern City" ''Journal of Urban History'' September 2011 (vol. 37 no. 5), p. 716 He was not a candidate for re-election in 1886, and was succeeded by Republican

Thomas Dyson The Ven. Thomas Dyson was Archdeacon of Bermuda from 1982 until 1994. Dyson was educated at the University of Manchester and ordained in 1940. After a curacy at St Anselm's, Kennington he was a Chaplain in the RNVR from 1943 to 1947. He was Vi ...

Personal life

He married Anna Black Beers, with whom he would have four children. He died on February 11, 1906, in La Crosse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Donald A. 1833 births 1906 deaths American boat builders 19th-century American inventors American loggers Businesspeople from Wisconsin Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly British emigrants to the United States Politicians from La Crosse, Wisconsin People from Pictou County Wisconsin Reformers (19th century) 19th-century American legislators Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators People from Trempealeau, Wisconsin 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century Wisconsin politicians