John D. McDonald (August 2, 1816 – October 31, 1900) was an American farmer and politician from

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topography, topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used ...

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 ...

Background

McDonald was born August 2, 1816, in

Johnstown, New York Johnstown is a city in and the county seat of Fulton County in the U.S. state of New York. The city was named after its founder, Sir William Johnson, Superintendent of Indian Affairs in the Province of New York and a major general during the Seve ...

, son of Daniel McDonald (a native of

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) and Mary Elizabeth Port, a native of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. His mother died when he was five, and his father when he was twelve, leaving John and two siblings as orphans. He became a farm laborer, until at age 16 he became an

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

in the

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and

mitten A mitten is a type of glove that covers the hand but does not have separate finger openings or sheaths. Generally, mittens still separate the thumb from the other four fingers. They have different colours and designs. Mittens provide greater th ...

trade in

Gloversville, New York Gloversville is a city in the Mohawk Valley region of Upstate New York, and the most populous city in Fulton County, New York, Fulton County. Gloversville was once the hub of the United States' glovemaking industry, with over two hundred manufac ...

. He left that for

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

in 1836, spending the winter in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

, and the next year moved to the forty-acre farm in

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21 of

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

where he settled April 7, 1837, and would live for the rest of his life. In 1840 he married Sophia Brown, a native of

St. Lawrence County, New York St. Lawrence County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 108,505. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for the Saint Lawrence River, which in turn was named for the Christian saint L ...

State Assembly

In 1863 McDonald was an unsuccessful candidate for 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, ...

, losing to Union Party candidate Joel R. Carpenter. In 1869 McDonald was elected to the 2nd Waukesha County Assembly district (the

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of Delafield, Merton,

Oconomowoc Oconomowoc ( ) is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The name was derived from Coo-no-mo-wauk, the Potawatomi term for "waterfall." The population was 15,712 at the 2010 census. The city is partially adjacent to the Town of Oc ...

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Pewaukee Pewaukee is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin. The population was 13,195 at the 2010 census. The Village of Pewaukee, which was incorporated out of the town before it incorporated as a city, is surrounded by the city. The name of the city ...

, and Summit), usually considered a

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-leaning district, as a

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, with 893 votes to 850 for Republican William M. Jacques (the Republican incumbent,

Edwin Hurlbut Hon. Edwin Hurlbut (October 10, 1817 – November 28, 1905) was an American lawyer, editor, politician and humanitarian. Early years Born in 1817 in Newtown, Connecticut, one of ten children of Philander and Julia Alma (Thomas) Hurlbut. The f ...

, was not a candidate). 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 ...

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s. He was re-elected in 1870, with 922 votes to 858 for Republican Warham Parks. He was assigned to the committee on

school lands The Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted by the United States Congress of the Confederation on May 20, 1785. It set up a standardized system whereby settlers could purchase title to farmland in the undeveloped west. Congress at the time did not have ...

and

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lands. After a

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

, McDonald's district was split between two new districts, and in 1871 he was not a candidate in either one.

After the Assembly

On April 7, 1887, a gala celebration was held on the McDonald farm (which by then had grown from 40 to several hundred acres) to celebrate the

golden anniversary A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...

of his settlement in Summit. He and Sophia by this time had had four daughters (three still living) and two sons (both living). McDonald had been chairman of the Summit town board for over a dozen years (equivalent of mayor), been chairman of the county

board of supervisors A board of supervisors is a governmental body that oversees the operation of county government in the U.S. states of Arizona, California, Iowa, Mississippi, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as 16 counties in New York. There are equivalent agenc ...

for three or four years, and held various minor local offices. He died in Summit on October 31, 1900.''Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at Its Forty-Eighth Annual Meeting Held December 13, 1900'' Madison: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer, 1901; p. 99
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcdonald, John D. 1816 births 1900 deaths People from Johnstown, New York People from Summit, Waukesha County, Wisconsin Farmers from Wisconsin Wisconsin Democrats Mayors of places in Wisconsin 19th-century American politicians County supervisors in Wisconsin Gloversville Glovers players