James A. McDonald, Sr., son of John S. McDonald and Charlotte Collins, was born October 29, 1830, in Rankin County, Mississippi. In 1852 John and Charlotte McDonald and their four sons, William, John, James, and Charles, emigrated to DeWitt County, Texas, settling near Price's Creek Settlement, present day Thomaston. In 1854, John McDonald died. Soon after, James bought out the interests of his mother and brothers in the estate of his father. In 1858 James returned to Mississippi and married Judith Ann John Ferguson on December 7th. The couple made their home in DeWitt County for the next 54 years.
James enlisted in Co. A. of Wallers Battalion of Texas Cavalry May 15, 1862. While her husband served in the Confederate Army, Ann managed the ranching and agriculture interests of the family and raised two small children. James returned home on May 5, 1865, riding the same horse he had ridden off on three years earlier. Neither man nor horse had been wounded although both saw action in Louisiana during the Civil War.
James engaged in ranching and farming and was active in church and education affairs in DeWitt County. After the death of his wife in 1912, he moved to San Antonio where he died at his daughter's home in 1920.
James and Ann McDonald had eight children: Mary E. Mollie, James A. McDonald, Jr., Sarah Ann, John William, George E., Charles F., and Joseph Benjamin.
From the guide to the McDonald family papers MC087. 53838449., 1848-1938, (Bulk: 1854-1889), (Albert and Ethel Herzstein Library, )
