McDonald
From: David McDonald. david.mcdonald770@gmail.com.
Jan. 24, 2014. Task is to find the parents of David McDonald who was born in Laurens County, SC, removed to DeKalb County, then finally Clayton County, GA where he died after 1890.
Feb. 6, 2014 from Jeannette Austin
I have a complete study of the McDonalds who came to Georgia, therefore, some comments. Before the Revolutionary War, Flora Macdonald and members of her clan came from the Isle of Skye to North Carolina. The ship remained offshore while a message was sent to the governor requesting a substantial land grant for their people, which was granted in Cumberland County. A young boy, in his revolutionary pension, Hugh McDonald (son of Hugh) described how while working on the farm, his father ran into the woods and hid while an American patrol came to his farm and subscribed him into service. Thus, after the war, Hugh McDonald received land grants in Elbert County, Georgia with descendants going into Jackson County. There was an Alexander McDonald, born 1796, of this lineage. This family was in Georgia by the 1780s.
John McDonald, born 1764 in Scotland, came to North Carolina as a baby and was residing in Rowan County at the time of enlistment. His pension is descriptive of his activities after the war. It seems that he removed into South Carolina with Colonel Pickens. Since many of the first settlers to Laurens County were Scotch-Irish and came through Pennsylvania, I thought it rather strange to discover a family of McDonalds in Laurens County, SC on the 1800 census. Anyone there at that time period must have emigrated directy from Scotland. Therefore, the John McDonald listed on this census fits this scenario and I believe him to be the revolutionary war soldier of whose pension is listed here. Pension of John McDonald
The John on the 1800 Laurens County Census is of the appropriate age to be the father of Alexander, and he has a child under 5 years of age (Alexander, born 1803). Note that he was 47 years of age and had 4 sons of the age ranges to incude Alexander, William, James and John (of DeKalb County). Presumably, then, the first wife died and he married Isabella in 1811, considerably younger, born 1790, who had children born from 1813 to 1827. I searched all of Clarke County court house records, and found no estate record (1848) for John McDonald. The 1850 Clarke County Census lists Mrs. McDonald, age 60, born in South Carolina. Letitia (?Christiana), age 28, born in GA, also listed. This means that John McDonald was in Georgia around 1822. Also, there was a John McDonald listed as a coroner in Athens, Georgia between 1837 and 1840.
If this John McDonald was the father of your Alexander, then his family by the first wife were grown by 1820 and did not come to Georgia until about 1836. I did not find anything in the Laurens County court house records on the McDonalds. Odd, I thought, except that the John McDonald pension implies that he resided with Colonel Pickens in South Carolina after the war, and spent two years in Tennessee before coming to Georgia. Also, I was disappointed that I found nothing of the family in Clarke County. (according to the census, they were in Athens).
Other records
1916 LWT of Alexander McDonald, Clayton County, Georgia - This must be Alexander, Jr., b. 1850
James McDonald deed
James McDonald to Jesse Clark deed
John McDonald to James McDonald deed
Conclusion
There were no further records to substantiate my conclusion that your Alexander McDonald was a son of John McDonald, Revolutionary War Soldier. However, lots of minor details point to it. I hope that this information assists you further in discovering more facts. The Scots in America had suffered at the hands of the British and the Flora Macdonald clan had to flee to avoid arrest. Remember, they wanted a Stuart on the throne of England and Flora protected bonnie Prince Charles. Ironically, once in America, they chose not to engage in a war with the British. The Scots who came with General Oglethorpe frequently sided with the British. Those in Cumberland County, NC avoided confrontation and successfully left few records. Ultimately, after the war, since the MacDonalds (of Flora)did not fight the American cause, they found themselves unwelcome by their neighbors and most of her clan returned to the Isle of Skye. Perhaps this is a clue as to why John McDonald followed Colonel Pickens into South Carolina. Perhaps he was taking a social refuge of sorts. Of course, the South Carolina records are lacking in many respects. The McDonalds could have owned land in Laurens County and not recorded the deed. There is a last will and testament of one, George McDonald, dated 1769 in Rowan County, NC. He named Mary, Peter, Jane and Isabel.