McDonald Family

The McDonald Family in St. Joseph is a large one. They all descend from a highland chief who was killed in the massacre by the Campbells in 1692. His son had come to America, and in 1689 purchased 593 acres from William Penn. He died at New Castle, Delaware, in 1707. His son died in Virginia, as did his son. The next generation, fourth in America, included twin boys, Richard and Alexander, born in 1763 in Botetourt County, Virginia. The St. Joseph McDonalds descend from Alexander, who died in 1843 at the McDonald homestead in Washington County, Kentucky, near the town of Mackville (so named because so many McDonalds lived near) about ten miles west of Harrodsburg, Alexander's children included Silas, born 1812, who came to the Platte Purchase of Missouri in 1836, and Daniel, born 1803, whose son, Rufus Lee McDonald, came to St. Joseph in 1851.

DR. SILAS MCDONALD, 1812—1901

Silas McDonald was born in Washington County, Kentucky, April 12, 1812. He was the son of Alexander who with his twin brother, Richard, had migrated from Virginia and pre-empted large adjoining tracts of land in what was to become Washington County. Alexander had married Elizabeth Taylor, a niece of President Zachary Taylor, in Virginia in 1794. They had twelve children, seven sons and five daughters. Silas was the ninth child and the last surνίνor.

Silas received what education was available locally and attended Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1834. He visited Missouri in 1836 but returned to Cincinnati Medical College in 1837. In 1838 he rode horseback to the newly opened Platte Purchase in Missouri, pre-empted land in Buchanan County, near Wallace, south of St. Joseph, and became the first physician in the entire Platte Purchase.

On October 30, 1839, at Weston, Missouri, Dr. McDonald was married to Miss Sarah Donnell, the sister of Robert Washington Donnell. She was a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, and came to Missouri with her family a few months after Silas McDonald's arrival. Her father brought twenty negroes with him, and came through Indiana and Illinois, a great risk for a slaveholder at that time, as he was in danger of losing his negroes when he brought them into a free state. Mr. Donnell was fortunate enough to get through without loss of property. He settled in the southern part of Buchanan County, just a few miles from Dr. McDonald, who soon became acquainted with the daughter of the family. The family tradition is that on the night of the wedding, a messenger arrived by horseback with an urgent call from a sick person in Savannah, thirty miles away, and Dr. McDonald had to depart at once to answer the call, leaving his wedding reception.

In 1847 the family moved to St. Joseph. Dr. McDonald practiced medicine, opened a drug store, and did some trading in real estate He purchased land from Joseph Davis near the present site of the car barns on St. Joseph Avenue and raised hemp. The present McDonald Street is the old front driveway of the house.

To Silas and Sallie were born eleven children, of which there were: Daniel who married Anne S. Landis; Martha who married Charles B. France; Joan who married Ross D. Gilkey; Mehitabel who married Ernest Lindsay.

The excerpts from Martha's Diary tell of the difficult times in St. Joseph during the Civil War. In 1864 Dr. Silas McDonald hit upon the idea of taking some wagonloads of supplies and drugs to the active market of Salt Lake City. He took his oldest son, Dan, and several other men; they sold their cargo, the drugs, and the horses on favorable terms and returned to St. Joseph.

Dr. Silas was an active and highly respected citizen of St. Joseph for half a century. He died at his residence 519 North Seventh Street on November 8, 1901, at eighty-nine years of age.

DR. DANIEL McDONALD, 1844-1896

Daniel McDonald, the son of Dr. Silas McDonald and Sarah Donnell, was born in the southern part of Buchanan County, Missouri, near the town of Wallace, in 1844.

The family moved to St. Joseph in 1847 and Dan attended the local schools. During the Civil War he accompanied his father on a trip to Salt Lake City to sell supplies and drugs. He wrote:

'Salt Lake City, July 27, 1864

“Dear Mother and Sisters:

“We have been in this City eleven days.--We have sold our drugs at a nice advance. Sold the whole lot to Godbe who has the only Drug Store in the place.--Groceries of all kinds are enormously high. A man could make a fortune by bringing out a train loaded with sugar, coffee, molasses, grain, flour, and fruit.--I don't think I would ever advise a family to live here. It is a nice looking city but the society is bad for Gentiles. They will not mingle together with the Latter Day Saints.

“Charley Norris and William Riddle are just down from Virginia City (Montana). Norris' train is on its way to this place where he expects to sell his wagons and winter his mules out on Bear River. Riddle has sold his mules and wagons as well as most of his goods. I expect he has made a pile of money. He is going back to the mines shortly.

"The Mormons are generally in favor of the South, but like the English, want the War to continue until both sides are destroyed. Have any of the young men returned from the South? I often wish I had stayed at home so that I could have gone down South with Thornton & Co. (J. C. C. Thornton). But maybe it is best. I know if I had remained there, I would have gone with him to Dixie. I wish them all the success that it is the will of God shall attend them.

"Have one wagon, some flour, sugar, bacon, tea, rice, apples and peaches which we can dispose of very easily when we decide what we can spare. Sold our horses for $425, which was rather low, but stock is very cheap this summer. We are told that greenbacks are two forty two. (It took $242 in greenbacks to buy $100 gold.)

Daniel McDonald continued his education at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, graduated from the Long Island Hospital in Brooklyn in June 1865, and interned at the City Hospital in Brooklyn. Returning to St. Joseph, he was married on December 1, 1869, to Miss Anne Stibbs Landis, daughter of Israel Landis. He decided to move to Forest City, Missouri, in 1870 and join Benjamin B. Frazer in establishing the Frazer & McDonald Bank there. One of his early associates in the Bank was Jacob M. Ford.

The Bank was successful and Daniel decided to move to a larger one. He sold his interest in the Forest City Bank and joined a bank in Kansas City. From there he moved to Warsaw, Wisconsin, and entered the lumber business. That was a successful experience but his family was desirous of getting back to their home in St. Joseph. So he returned and joined the wholesale dry goods firm of Kemper, Hundley & McDonald.

Mrs. McDonald had inherited from her father, Israel Landis, land on Buchanan Avenue. They built a large house there-at  1616 Buchanan Avenue-and there Daniel McDonald died on September 8, 1896.

There were two sons. Dr. John McDonald (1870-1920) secured his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced with Dr. Daniel Morton in St. Joseph. Dr. Lee Landis McDonald (1874-1947) was educated at Central College, Fayette, Missouri, and Cornell University. He secured his degree in dental medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and practiced his profession in St. Joseph for fifty years. In 1903 he was married to Miss Lucia Packard, the daughter of the Reverend Wilbur F. Packard who had led the Francis Street Methodist Church in St. Joseph for many years. They had several sons, including Daniel McDonald (1918-1966) who graduated from the University of Missouri Law School and practiced in Kansas City. He was married to Miss Mary Karle. Dr. Wilbur Packard McDonald, born 1912, attended the University of Missouri and obtained his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He is an active surgeon in St. Joseph. He married Eleanor Trachsel, and has one son, Dr. Wallace McDonald (born 1942), who attended the University of Missouri and Pennsylvania Medical School, now practicing medicine in St. Joseph. He is the fifth doctor in as many generations of his family.

RUFUS LEE McDONALD, 1832-1923

R. L. McDonald was born at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, on May 19, 1832, the son of Daniel McDonald and Martha McMurtry. He was the nephew of Dr. Silas McDonald. His education was that available in the schools near his home in Kentucky.

When R.L. was nineteen years of age, in July 1851, he came to St. Joseph to see his uncle, Dr. Silas. He wanted to get a job and settle in St. Joseph, then the outfitting point for a large proportion of the California-bound gold seekers and one of the most active points in the nation. Rufus tried to get a job in the leading merchandise store in the town, Donnell and Saxton, but he was told they did not need anyone. However, Dr. Silas' wife, Sarah Donnell, was the sister of Robert Washington Donnell so she interceded for him and Rufus said that he would work for no pay in order to learn the business. Donnell and Saxton agreed to that and let Rufus sleep in the loft above the store.

He was a hard worker and when one of the partners worked by lamplight at night, Rufus asked to sit at his side looking at his work. That is how he learned about bookkeeping. As the result of his industry, it was decided to pay him $12 a month and board. Three years later he was taken into partnership.

At that time the steamboat traffic to and from St. Joseph was heavy, the covered wagons were flowing through the town, and the merchants were prospering selling supplies and outfitting the wagon trains. The emigrants would arrive in the early Spring, wait for the ice to go out and for the grass to begin to grow so that the animals could feed on it. Then, about early May, they would cross the Missouri River and start off across the plains. Sometimes the merchants would almost run out of supplies and prices would go up. Sugar occasionally reached $1 a pound.

On May 16, 1855, R. L. McDonald was married to Miss Mary Ann Wilson, only daughter of General Robert Wilson, a prominent landowner and man of influence, later to represent Missouri in the U.S. Senate. Mary Ann's mother had died, so she was brought up by her mother's sister, Mrs. Armstrong Beattie, and the wedding took place in the Beattie house at Main and Augusta Streets-now the Memorial Home.

In 1857 Robert Donnell and Albe Saxton decided to open a bank. The most highly respected bank in Missouri was the Bank of the State of Missouri which had had a successful record since its start in 1837 and had established five branches in different parts of the state. Donnell and Saxton called upon the leading citizens of St. Joseph, raised the capital, and opened the St. Joseph Branch of the Bank of the State of Missouri.

They asked R. L. McDonald if he wanted to buy the store. He said, "I don't have the money. They said, “We'll trust you-go ahead, run the store, and pay us as you can. So he bought the store and enlarged it. It grew and prospered. The store was called "The People's Store' and was located on the southwest Corner of Fourth and Felix Streets where the First National Bank now stands. The St. Joseph Weekly Gazette of January 23, 1856 carried the following advertisement:

'Donnell, Saxton & McDonald

'At the People's Store, are receiving their new Goods for Fall and Winter. They will have the largest and best assortment of merchandise, when all received, ever opened in St. Joseph. Especial attention has been paid to selecting Fine and Fashionable goods for Ladies. They invite strangers as well as their old friends to call and examine for themselves. Nothing that the farmer or citizen needs but what can be procured at THE PEOPLE'S STORE.

Another advertisement:

'St. Joseph Powder Magazine--St. Louis prices

"Powder - 500 kegs rifle

200 half kegs rifle

150 quarter kegs rifle

150 cases rifle

“We have received from the Secretary of the Hazard Powder Company the following notice, dated at New York, August 20, 1855:

“The war in Europe having created a large export demand for saltpetre, and already enhanced its cost more than thirty percent, we are compelled in common with other manufacturers to advance our rates for Gun Powder of all kinds, which advance we have extended to our trade throughout the United States.’

“We will state that our prices will be the same as in St. Louis, adding difference in transportation; the present advance will be fifty cents per keg or one dollar per case.

'Donnell, Saxton & McDonald'

Robert Washington Donnell became president and Albe M. Saxton cashier of the new branch of the Bank of the State of Missouri, and they proceeded to erect a building for it across the street from The People's Store-on the southeast corner of Fourth and Felix. The construction was completed by Joseph Pfeiffer when he arrived in St. Joseph. The building still stands, occupied since 1899 by the Missouri Valley Trust Company.

Through the 1850s tension was rising between North and South over the question of extending slavery into the territories just west of St. Joseph, across the river. Feelings ran high, and in the presidential election of November 1860 Lincoln received only ten percent of the votes of Buchanan County, and about the same percentage for the entire state of Missouri which gave all its electoral votes to Stephen A. Douglas. The Civil War broke out in April 1861 and St. Joseph, with many of its citizens of Southern origin and loyalty, yet not Secessionists, found itself in a difficult position. The unsettled conditions and heightened emotions gave the opportunity to loot and pillage the business establishments. The “bushwhackers” would come into the stores, take the merchandise off the shelves, and walk out, paying nothing. It was almost impossible to continue in business.

At that time, the McDonald family were living at “The Pines' just west of Ashland Avenue, owned by Mrs. McDonald's father, Robert Wilson. The 'bushwhackers' would also come by there during the day, asking to be fed. Mrs. McDonald would tell everyone to be quiet; she would hide the younger children and female slaves; and give the food requested. They had a smokehouse with hams and bacon. She never turned anyone away. The problem of maintenance of the family was compounded by the fact that Mr. McDonald's relatives in Kentucky and Virginia sent many of the women and children out to join him in order to get away from the more active seat of war. Mrs. McDonald practically maintained her own camp, and Mr. McDonald had to find some way to support them all.

He solved his problem in an ingenious way. Without telling anyone what he had in mind, he went about the countryside buying as many young mules as he could find. They were not yet able to work and were just a liability to keep fed. As a result, no one would steal them. He put his money into them and people questioned his judgment. Then he arranged for his son and employees to take a Wagon train of supplies and all the young mules across the plains to California. They started as soon as the grass was out for the mules to feed on. Mr. McDonald later left by stagecoach and met the train in Salt Lake City and went through the mountains with them. The mules fed on the grass and by the time they reached the coast they were large enough to break and sell. It all worked out as planned, though it was a difficult experience for Mrs. McDonald who heard nothing from them for four months and did not know whether they were alive or dead.

Mr. McDonald took the gold received from his California sales back to New York by way of Panama. When the war was over, he purchased a new stock of goods and in 1865 opened up the wholesale business of R. L. McDonald & Company.

The business prospered and in December 1880 it moved to the splendid new building on the northwest corner of Fourth and Francis Streets. At that time the building was the largest devoted to a mercantile business in the city with floor space of seventy thousand square feet. In 1886 the business purchased the old Patee House and converted it to a factory manufacturing shirts and work clothes. Primarily a wholesale firm up to about 1900, after that time the emphasis was upon manufacturing. There was a large demand for the "Red Seal overalls and other products.

Mr. McDonald operated a large farm in Andrew County in the present Country Club district. This became one of the best-known livestock farms in Missouri, the Walnut Park Farm. Mr. McDonald gave his personal attention to the farming operations and the breeding of the livestock. The farm originally contained five hundred acres from which about one hundred were sold for the Country Club place. There was a track for training the horses, and many won fame on the track and in the show ring. In addition to the horses, the farm raised shorthorn cattle.

About 1882 Mr. McDonald began to purchase land along Beaver Creek in Rawlins County, in northwest Kansas. The original plan was to establish an open-range cattle ranch, and about ten thousand acres were accumulated at low prices. There was abundant Buffalo grass and plenty of water, so the ranch was profitable. About 1886 the “dry farming” method of raising wheat was developed so that much of the land was fenced and wheat was cultivated. A railroad line was built which became a branch of the Burlington system, and Mr. McDonald deeded sufficient acreage to establish the town of McDonald, Kansas. The McDonald family made many trips to the ranch, and annual hunting trips by the men of the family were long remembered. The hunting parties usually included Mr. C. M. Carter, Burlington official in St. Joseph, who provided transportation for men, dogs, and supplies, even including a cook. While the quail were plentiful, these trips usually lasted ten days. In 1914 the European war broke out and the price of wheat began its climb to top $2.00 a bushel. It was then decided to sell the land. The investment had been a profitable one and had brought much pleasure. Robert W. McDonald later wrote: “The policy of the ranch established by Father was always to deal justly with all, and if the line of justice was not clear, the possible error should be in favor of the other fellow. In 1948 an estimate was made of the then value of the original ranch. It was $4,000,000.

One of Mr. McDonald's granddaughters has described the patriarchal character of the home on Ninth Street, where the Convalescent Home is now (1975) located:

"The atmosphere at Grandfather McDonald's home was wonderful. As many as fifty people would be there for dinner on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the big occasions. There were sixteen of us children and we could see at least thirty adults in the huge formal dining room. Sometimes the adults would come to the door of our room and give three cheers for the children. Sometimes there would be roast pig in the center of the table-with an apple in his mouth. Old Sam was a negro who had worked there for years. He had a white coat and was assigned to serve the children. He would go round and round with seconds. Sometimes the boys would get up and run around the house so they could put the seconds down. The household maintained a staff of five negro servants. They all went home at night to their homes which were in the hollow north of the Hall Street homes, as the land slopes down toward the Goetz Brewery.

“Out of town friends and relatives were frequent visitors at the spacious and hospitable home. The household was a good example of gracious living, and as daughters of the house became young ladies, the home was the scene of much social activity.

Though he passed his ninetieth birthday, R. L. McDonald never retired. He was at his desk and active in the details of his farm to the very end. He was a director and vice-president of the First National Bank. He was a contemporary of the great merchants of St. Joseph--Milton Tootle, W. G. Fairleigh, James McCord, Abram Nave, R. E. Turner, William M. Wyeth, C. D. Smith, and others, but he lived far beyond their time. He died at his home, 811 North Ninth Street, on January 5, 1923, at the age of ninety.

There were six children: John I. McDonald, Robert W. McDonald, Mrs. Harry L. George, Mrs. John A. Dolman, Mrs. Marvin M. Davis, and Miss Marie McDonald.

In addition, Mr. McDonald paid back the kindness done him as a young man by his uncle, Dr. Silas McDonald. He learned that a kinsman of his, who lived near Clarksdale, Missouri, had been killed in the Civil War, leaving a little son, Rice McDonald, who was born in 1861. Mr. McDonald went out to the house and said, "I'll just take Rice with me and we'll raise him.’ So Rice McDonald grew up in the R. L. McDonald household. He married Miss Elizabeth Comstock, and their son was Claude C. McDonald.

JOHN I. McDONALD, 1858-1939

John I. McDonald was born in St. Joseph on June 11, 1858, the son of Rufus Lee McDonald and Mary Ann Wilson. He graduated from Yale College in 1878 where he was a classmate and friend of William Howard Taft, later President and Chief Justice of the United States. Mr. Taft visited Mr. McDonald in St. Joseph and Mr. W. K. James, another Yale classmate, first came to St. Joseph as guest of Mr. McDonald.

John I. McDonald entered his father's business, the R. L. McDonald Manufacturing Company, and served as president of the Company until his retirement about ten years before his death. He became an authority on cloth manufacture and secured patents on several of his inventions. An exceedingly versatile man, he was fond of music and within the family circle was a violinist.

Mr. McDonald's most notable service to St. Joseph was as a member of the Park Board for twenty years. Along with Milton Tootle Jr., and T. L. Ritchey, he carried out the development, often against opposition, of the present park and boulevard system. The park plan was adopted only after long public hearings and legal entanglements. It was the part of Mr. McDonald to persuade the public of the wisdom of the plans.

Mr. McDonald was married to Miss Frank Fanning and they had three children: Irving McDonald, who graduated from Yale in the Class of 1903, and met accidental death in St. Joseph on November 15, 1903; Louise, who married Ambrose Richardson of Chicago; and Rufus L. McDonald, an insurance agent in St. Joseph. The family home was first at 702 North Sixth Street, corner of Antoine, and later at 2810 Lovers Lane. Mrs. McDonald died in 1926 and in 1937 Mr. McDonald went to Chicago to live with his daughter, although he made short visits to St. Joseph. He died in Chicago on February 14, 1939.

ROBERT WILSON MCDONALD

1866-1955

Robert W. McDonald was born in St. Joseph in 1866, the son of Rufus L. McDonald and Mary Ann Wilson. He grew up at the family home, 811 North Ninth Street, and at the summer home, a farm near the present St. Joseph Country Club.

He attended Central College at Fayette, Missouri, and Virginia Military Institute at Lexington, Virginia. He then entered his father's business, R. L. McDonald & Company, manufacturers and wholesalers of men's furnishings. The factory at Twelfth and Penn Streets was in the old Patee House, and also occupied the building directly to the west, connected by a bridge over the street. Mr. McDonald became a vice-president of the business.

He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, as was his father before him. He served the church as an elder for fifty years, becoming the oldest elder both in age and in years of service. When the Missouri Methodist Hospital was built in 1924, the property of the old Ensworth Hospital was sold and the proceeds used to form a scholarship loan fund to assist young medical students to meet the cost of their education. Mr. McDonald served as the first treasurer of the fund and derived great pleasure in sending out the checks to the young future doctors.

He was married to Miss Katherine Heddens and their home was at 2400 Jackson Street. They had three sons and two daughters: Robert H. McDonald of Kansas City; James W. McDonald of San Antonio, Texas; Thomas H. McDonald of St. Joseph; Mrs. Catherine McDonald of Denver, Colorado; and Mrs. Mary Ann Edelen of Toledo, Ohio.

After the death of his wife in 1942, Mr. McDonald lived with his daughter Catherine and her son Jerry in southern California. He was appointed an honorary elder in the Hollywood Presbyterian Church, the largest in the United States. He made numerous trips to visit members of his family in St. Joseph, and in 1949, at the age of eighty-three, he returned to St. Joseph to live with his sister, Miss Marie McDonald. They lived in the very house where their parents had been married in 1855. Mr. McDonald died there one hundred years later--in 1955--and Miss Marie followed in 1964.

ROBERT WILSON, 1800-1870

Robert Wilson was born near Staunton, Virginia, in November 1800. He moved to Howard County, Missouri, in 1820. He taught school and was employed in the office of the circuit clerk. He was appointed postmaster of Fayette, Missouri, and in 1823 was elected judge of the Probate Court.

In 1825 he married Miss Margaret Snoddy whose younger sister. Eliza, was later to marry Armstrong Beattie. In 1828 Wilson was elected clerk of the Circuit and County Court, a post he held until 1840. He studied law under his brother, General John Wilson, and was admitted to the Bar.

In 1837, on the outbreak of trouble with the Mormons in Daviess County, he was appointed brigadier general of the Missouri Militia by Governor Lilburn Boggs. He was firm and judicious in ordering the Mormons away from the vicinity of Gallatin, Missouri, in November 1838, though permitting them to spend the winter in Caldwell County before their final expulsion from the state in the spring of 1839.

In 1844, Wilson moved to Huntsville in Randolph County, where Armstrong Beattie and his wife, Mrs. Wilson's sister, were living. In 1852 General Wilson moved to Andrew County, became a substantial landowner, was elected to represent that district in the state Senate in 1854 and again in 1858.

During the 1850s, the great political issue was the question of permitting the extension of slavery into the new states as they were created out of the territories west of Missouri. Missouri had come into the Union in 1820 as a slave state, and it was the hope of many that Kansas, immediately west of Missouri could come in as a slave state, while Nebraska, further north, would be a free state. The issue was of great importance nationally, as the delicate balance in the U.S. Senate between slave and free states was affected. Sterling Price had established a brilliant record for his courage and leadership in the Mexican War and President Polk had promoted him to be brigadier general. He had served as governor of Missouri from 1852 to 1856. Robert M. Stewart of St. Joseph was governor from August 1857 to December 1860.

In the presidential election of November 1860, Lincoln received only ten percent of the votes of Missouri, and a similar proporton In Buchanan County. Missouri was the only state to give all of its electoral votes to Stephen A. Douglas. On January 3, 1861, South Carolina announced its secession from the Union, and on the same day Governor Stewart turned over his office to his successor, Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson. In his valedictory address Stewart said that he was not an abolitionist but he was an opponent of secession:

“Missouri loves the Union while it is a protector of equal rights, but will despise it as the instrument of wrong. Missouri came into the Union upon a compromise, and is willing to abide by a fair Compromise still, a compromise assuring all the just rights of the State. “Missouri cannot be frightened by the past unfriendly legislation of the North, nor be dragooned into secession by the extreme South If: South Carolina and other cotton states persist in secession, we desire to see them go in peace with the hope that a short experience as a separate government and an honorable readjustment of the Federal compact will induce them to return to their former position.

Governor Jackson, too, did not favor secession. He followed Sterling Price's view of 'conditional Unionism: He felt that the institution of slavery was too well entrenched to be abolished; he favored the preservation of the Union and the neutrality of the sovereign state of Missouri in the approaching crisis. There seems little doubt that such was the view of the overwhelming majority of Missourians at that time.

When President Lincoln called upon Missouri to furnish four regiments of volunteer troops to repel the rebellion, Governor Jackson denounced the call as 'illegal, unconstitutional, and revolutionary in its objective, inhuman and diabolical. On February 18, 1861 a Constitutional Convention of Missouri was elected to consider th relations between the state and federal governments, but the legislature provided by statute that no acts of the convention would be binding until ratified by a majority of the qualified voters of the state. At the first meeting of the convention, Sterling Price was elected president and Robert Wilson of Andrew County, vice-president. It was voted, “There is now no adequate cause to impel Missouri to dissolve her connection with the Federal Union.”

The second meeting of the convention was not held until July 22 1861, in Jefferson City, and by that time much had happened. On February 6 Captain Nathaniel Lyon of the U.S. Army arrived in St. Louis. On April 20 the U.S. Arsenal at Liberty, Missouri, was captured by Southern sympathizers. On May 2 the Missouri Volunteer Militia was ordered to march to Camp Jackson (named for the governor) and guard its arsenal. Lyon was promoted to brigadier general; he knew that the Commander at Camp Jackson was a Southern sympathizer and was in communication with the governor; on May 10 Lyon ordered federal troops to occupy Camp Jackson. A mob attacked the Union soldiers and twenty-five persons were killed. On June 11 Governor Jackson met with General Lyon in St. Louis. The meeting ended with Lyon's statement: "This means war. In one hour one of my officers will call for you and conduct you out of my lines.' The governor and Sterling Price left St. Louis aboard a special train to Jefferson City, burning railroad bridges behind them to forestall pursuit by Union troops. A proclamation was hastily drawn up calling Missourians to arms to resist federal aggression, ordering Price to muster an army, and appealing to Jefferson Davis to send Confederate troops to defend Missouri against the Union.

Robert Wilson's home was on the farm in Andrew County near the present site of the St. Joseph Country Club, but in the winter months he spent some time at the home of his daughter, Mrs. R. L. McDonald. This was "The Pines, still standing on Hundley Drive just west of Ashland Avenue.

Realizing the tremendous importance of the events taking place in St. Louis and Jefferson City, Wilson sent out a summons to the leading men of northwest Missouri to meet him at The Pines' and consider the stand they were to take in the coming struggle. The date of the meeting was sometime in January or early February 1861. Among those attending were Ex-Governor Robert M. Stewart, Willard P. Hall and Judge Silas Woodson (both future governors), and Judge Henry M. Vories, all of Buchanan County. The weather was mild enough to permit the men to meet under a large chestnut tree on the lawn. General Wilson presented the matter to them in approximately the following words:

'A crisis is approaching in Missouri's affairs. It is the expectation of those who called for the Constitutional Convention that Missouri will secede. Before we send our delegates to the Convention, we should consider the matter anew.

"First, has Missouri--as a State belonging to the Union by purchase--the right to secede?

"Second, seceding, will she triumph eventually in her course? "Third, should that secession endure, will it promote the future welfare and permanent progress of the State?

After careful weighing of all these questions, I tell you NO in answer to each one. Missouri has no right to secede. Missouri, even aided by her seceding sister States, can never victoriously face the overwhelming forces of the North. And last, secession implies the continuation of slavery in the State, and slave owner though I am, I declare to you that in time slavery will prove a source of weakness to Missouri. The political, economic, and moral interests of Missouri are with the North. While the emancipation of the slaves would force an immediate loss of money upon their owners, that loss would be far more compensated for by saving in costs of the war. If Missouri casts her lot with the seceding South, she will eventually stand alone with no support from either side, partly because of our geographical position, and partly because of the division of sentiment among our people.’

General Wilson's presentation won the endorsement of the meeting, and it was agreed that all would return to their respective counties and become candidates for delegates to the convention.

When the constitutional convention met again on July 22, 1861, Robert Wilson was elected president. The state offices of governor, lieutenant governor, and secretary of state were declared vacant and the election of a new legislature was called for. In the meantime, the convention appointed Hamilton R. Gamble as governor and Willard P. Hall as lieutenant governor. Mr. Gamble died January 31, 1864, and Willard P. Hall served as governor until the election of Thomas C. Fletcher of St. Louis in November 1864.

General Wilson was appointed to the United States Senate by the governor in January 1862 and served until a successor was elected in 1863. After his retirement from the Senate, he devoted himself to the management of his farm, though keeping in close touch with public affairs. In May 1870 he made a trip to Marshall, Missouri, to see his nephew, Captain Ben Wilson. He contracted pneumonia and died there on May 10, 1870. It was written of him: "He left a record unblemished in both his public and private life, rich in evidences of highest usefulness to his fellow men.”

Mrs. Wilson had died in 1836 leaving three children: John who graduated from Yale in 1847 and died in St. Joseph in 1858; James who attended Centre College, Danville, Kentucky, and died in St. Joseph in 1906; and Mary Ann who in 1855 was married to R. L. McDonald in St. Joseph and died in 1920 leaving numerous descendants, carrying the names of McDonald, Davis, Strop, and Ford.

MARTHA McDONALD, 1842-1911

CHARLES B. FRANCE, 1835—1895

Martha McDonald was born in 1842 near Wallace, Missouri. She was the oldest daughter of Dr. Silas McDonald and an older sister of Daniel McDonald. Her Diary, kept during the Civil War days, when she was about twenty years old, gives an excellent picture of the family life during those difficult times.

The family was living on the hemp farm, where the car barns are now (1975), their house at the top of the hill. Their front driveway was the present McDonald Street. Portions of the Diary follow:

'Sunday, February 3, 1861. This is the coldest morning we have had yet-the thermometer is 12 degrees below zero. I went to church with Dan in the sleigh.”

September 16, 1861 Martial law was proclaimed in St. Jo today and the Union troops are carrying it into strict effect. There are nearly 3000 troops here now. They are camping at the Depot. The Secessionists have made a stand at Union Mills, I believe. I would give up everything I possess in this world if I could only live in peace. When will such strifes and wars end, I would like to know.’

September 18, 1861. We had rather rough visits paid us today. Six of Cramer's men stopped and demanded arms. We had none to deliver but an old shotgun and they did not get that. Dan had it and was not at home. They were very impudent. They went in the dining room and looked in the sideboard. I was very much frightened but I was going to stay with Pa to hear and see what they did to him. He has never done or said anything-he has always been for peace.

November 9, 1861 Fremont's forces are now at Springfield and it is thought that Generals Price and McC will give them battle soon if they have not already. We heard today that I 50 men from here and Kansas City were taken prisoners a day or two ago by a band of Secessionists.

'Becky Davis lying very low with consumption. I am very fearful she will not be long with us. I visit her nearly every day.'

“Monday eve. November 11, 1861 I have just got back from seeing Becky Davis. I sat up with her last night. She was very restless and this morning was much weaker. She talked beautifully to her Pa and Ma of her condition. She had all her little keepsakes collected and she distributed them to her sisters and brothers. I think it possible she may die tonight.

There has been a battle fought at Belmont in the southern part of the state. Confederates are supposed to have lost 300 men. Federal 400-500, I have not heard the particulars.'

'Saturday, November 16, 186I I received a letter from Cousin Lizzie McDonald yesterday. She is a strong Union girl. She thinks I am on the wrong side, but she cannot make me think it.

“I attended Becky Davis' funeral yesterday. I was there all day and helped make her shroud. She looked very sweet after she was dressed though she did not look natural. She died on the 14th just as the sun was setting. This was the first person I ever saw die. She died so easy, as a little babe going to sleep on its Mother's bosom. She said a short time before she died she longed to go to sleep and wake up in Jesus. I never saw anyone more resigned to death. The family will miss her very much. Farewell.

“November 29, 1861 Col. Scott returned from St. Louis the night I was there. He is a great Union man. He is trying to raise a regiment, He says South Carolina will never come back into the Union until every man there is hung. And he wants that done. Did ever anyone hear such a wish? The people there say South Carolina will be made the graveyard of free men rather than the home of slaves. I read President Jefferson Davis' message today-it was an excellent thing. He says the reconstruction the North wants to effect by arms becomes daily more and more impossible.”

'Monday, Dec. 2, 1861. Dr. Dulin did not preach yesterday on account of soldiers occupying the Church.'

“December 4, 1861. The City has been in a dreadful uproar today Martial Law has been proclaimed. All men leaving town are obliged to take the oath. Everyone has to take it-women, children, negroes. Mr. Dodson is with us tonight, he says he intends to try to run the blockade in the morning. He brought news that Uncle Allen Cox and sixty men had been taken prisoners. It was reported they shot him--I do hope it wasn't so. Ma went to town this evening-the soldiers were making a great parade, loading wagons, mounting four cannons, and are gone to Platte County to burn every house and get Gordon if they can. I hope he will be smart enough to keep out of their way. The picket guards are a few yards above our gate but we do not have to get a pass. One thing I know, I would stay at home all winter rather than take that oath. The Federals have Major Barrow in the entrenchments in close confinement.’

"December 5, 1861. Oh, how my heart aches this moment! What will become of this generation? They cannot get an education and dreadful times are these.'

“Friday, December 6, 1861 Cousin Rufus (R. L. McDonald) ate dinner here today. He brought news that Captain Reuben Kay was taken prisoner. He came in last night and went to his Uncle's house. It is supposed the hired girl informed on him-for he was taken in two hours after he arrived here and was put in the entrenchments.

“Saturday, December 7, 1861 I have never been so depressed in spirits since the War started. We should all be thankful that we are together-Father, Mother, brothers, sisters-all who hold each other dear. They took Mr. Frank Kercheval prisoner this morning for harboring his Rebel nephew-Reuben Kay.

"Friday, December 13, 1861. The country people have to stay at home, very close. Some cannot get passes and some will not take the oath to get one.’

'Saturday, December 14, 1861 There is nothing going on, St. Jo is as still as it can be. I expect we will go up to Jimtown to church tomorrow.'

December 18, 1861 Cousin Katie and Parthena Faris came over from Cousin Rufus' and stayed all night, going back this morning. They came through the woods. I would have gone part way with them if it had not been for the pickets. They are getting so strict they don't allow neighbors to visit. I will stay at home all winter rather than take the oath and go to them for a pass. They are expecting a great battle in Kentucky soon, near Columbus.

December 24, 1861. Pagot him a pass Wednesday and has been going to town every day since. Public men now think that England and France will recognize the Southern Confederacy. The papers say that the English are highly indignant at the taking of Mason and Slidell. The North thinks it can whip the South and England combined. We cannot see the future and do not know how these troubles will end. There are 90 to 100 prisoners in jail and they are being treated worse than criminals. They let out murderous thieves and jayhawkers and keep innocent men in little damp cells with nothing to lie on. Some have a little straw and old quilts. They are taken away from home because some private enemy has an old grudge against them and for nothing that they have done. All they have to eat is a little tainted beef, some burnt white beans, and a few grains of coffee to a gallon of water. A good many prisoners are out on parole, confined to the City limits. Reuben Kay has been quite sick, so they took him from the jail to the entrenchments, which the prisoners say are better than the jail. I do not have a pass and I am a little too proud to go and ask for one if I have to take the oath. I would rather stay at home all winter. Major Barrow and the two Mr. Blairs have been released on parole and have to report every morning.’

“Friday, December 28, 1861 Dan brought us sad news today of one of our young friends being killed in battle. It was Godie A. He went out with a foraging party and they were all surrounded by three times their number yet they fought bravely to the last. He was in Virginia near Centerville. He has two other brothers in the Army. Oh what anguish must that Mother's heart feel! I feel deeply for her for he was a kind, dutiful son, so joyous and full of animation. Poor Godie died in the hands of the enemy (Federal) without even a comrade's face to gaze upon. Oh, this war, this War! When will it be ended? My prayer is it will not be long.

“Wednesday, January 1, 1862 Many sad changes have taken place since last New Year's. My cousin was killed in the Springfield battle, a friend in the Battle of Lexington, and another in Virginia on December 20. I would I could say they are all in a better world, but alas I fear it is not so.”

"Friday, January 10, 1862 General Loan (Federal Provost Marshal) sent word to Dr. Fackler (1st Presbyterian) and Rev. Mr. Rush (Francis Street Methodist) and the Episcopal minister to report themselves to him. He wanted to know if they had taken the oath to be loyal to the Government. I think he wanted very much to show his authority. Today it has been eight months since Cousin Bob left. “Mason and Slidell left for Europe. They will be perfect lions there now and I think it is all for the best that they were captured. Prince Albert's death has cast a gloom over the Royal Family and Queen Victoria's health is very delicate.

Monday, January 13, 1862 I heard from Cousin Lizzie-she told me of Godie's death. He was wounded at Drainsville, Virginia and taken to a Federal hospital where he died. The Surgeon who was in charge wrote to his friends about it. As I look back on this past year, my heart sinks within me. Who can record the sorrow and destruction that has been brought to so many hearts? God is surely merciful and long suffering or he could not have borne with this wicked world.'

“Saturday, January 25, 1862. The pickets were taken in a week ago. We met at Cousin Rufus' on Wednesday and had a good time.' "Tuesday, January 28, 1862. It is reported today that Thomas Barrons and Reuben Kay made their escape last night. I hope it is so for the poor fellows have been treated shamefully. There are about 80 prisoners left at the jail. The Republicans stated today that eight men are to be shot at Palmyra for burning a bridge. It was a military necessity and I think shooting them will be a cruel act.'

'Monday, February 3, 1862 The great Burnside expedition has been a failure. They started with 100 vessels but encountered a dreadful storm near Hatteras. Half the ships have been destroyed, some sunk, others run ashore. Their expeditions are not going to accomplish much.'

“March 3, 1862 It is reported that Nashville is held by the Federals-I don't believe it. There is a flying report that General Price has had a fight-some say he was whipped-others the Federals. We hear so many stories it is hard to believe anything. They are tighten down on secessionism very fast. Another and more binding oath for Southern men has been paraded. They have to give bonds of $1000 up according to a man's worth, and if he favors the South in any way all his property is confiscated. They are trying to get all the Southern property in the State. The Federals would never had such a hold in Kentucky and Tennessee if it had not been for the traitor, Crittenden. The last I heard from him, he was at Richmond trying for his life. I think he ought to be hung. His conduct deserves it, selling our army for the small sum of $45,000. And so many valuable lives lost.

March 4, 1862 The news today is that Nashville is in the hands of the Federals. The Southern army and 20,000 inhabitants left. The terror of the citizens must have been great. I don't know what the South will do. I believe they will all die fighting rather than die slaves. I don't think the North can conquer the South although it looks very discouraging now. We read President Jefferson Davis' message on Saturday. He seems in good spirits and trusts in God to deliver his people.'

March 15, 1862 The Gazette says that General Price had an engagement with Sigel and Curtis, a terrible battle with 1000 Rebels killed and 400 Federals. The same paper says Price was victorious and the Federals were routed with a loss of 5000. So we don't know what to believe. Price has given them a good thrashing in my opinion. The Feds have possession of the telegraph and if the news was in their favor we would see it in capital letters. It is something so uncommon for them to gain a victory it makes them act as madmen. We are still hearing of their gains at Donelson.'

“Saturday, March 22, 1862 We got private news that Price has gained a glorious victory, that Curtis is a prisoner, and Sigel mortally wounded. Uncle Bob (Robert Washington Donnell) is doing very well. He has been a prisoner for sixteen days. (He was jailed for refusing to sign the oath.)”

"Tuesday, April 1, 1862 Uncle Bob was released on Friday. He, Mr. Israel Landis, and Mr. Richardson were sent to St. Louis and gave bond without taking that abominable oath. Charlie France came out this evening to see Pa. I had not spoken to him for several months. I don't believe he looks very well.

April 16, 1862 There was another Manassas fight. My heart almost burst with grief when I heard our noble Sidney Johnston had fallen and Beauregard (God Bless him.) was wounded. I cried the whole day when I heard it. The Federals say they lost 10,000 killed, wounded, and missing, the Rebels 15,000. I know the Southern generals display great bravery and I hope they will give God the praise. I hope the poor soldiers will not have to fight much longer.

July 21, 1862. A year ago the Battle of Manassas. I hope the war is over a year from now. The Battle before Richmond was as great a victory for the South. We hear today that Price has taken Sedalia.

'August 20, 1862 The Militia of the State has been called up and many prisoners have been taken. About half the Southern men have left the City. The soldiers last night took the Davis boys. John and Joe were released but Abe is a prisoner. The soldiers are taking the grain from all the Southern people around. Those they don't kill they want to starve out. General Loan is down in Clay County trying to disperse the Rebels. I hope he may never get back. I wish the same bad luck for Mr. W. R. Penick. It would be a blessing for the country. There has been another big battle in Virginia between General Jackson and Pope-who got the worst of it.'

September 6, 1862 The armies have had several severe skirmishes. The Federals have fallen back to Washington where they are strongly entrenched. I don't think the Southerners will try to take it -it would sacrifice too many lives. The people of Cincinnati are much alarmed for fear of attack from the South. Kentucky is now in the hands of the Confederates. I have great confidence in the Southern generals, they know what they are about. The South never sends men into battle until well disciplined and equipped. Their regiments move around on the field like clock work.

"October 30, 1862 I have been writing to Vick Fellows. She is for the old Union, the Constitution as it was. The War seems no nearer an end than when it started, but we shortsighted mortals cannot see the end.'

December 23, 1862. The great battle of Fredericksburg has been fought and we can thank God for the victory. The enemy loss was 40,000, the Southern very little. The Feds won't get to Richmond soon-they have two Hills, one Longstreet, and a Stonewall to get over before they arrive there.

January 7, 1863 Last night we heard that the Federals had gained a victory at Murfreesboro. I doubt if they gained a victory it might have been a draw. They suffered a terrible slaughter at Fredericksburg. I fear Vicksburg has fallen to the Yankees. If the North should gain a battle or two, it would make them foolish and they would prosecute the war. It is to be hoped it will be brought to a close soon.’

March 11, 1863 General Guitar has been removed and Harding has taken his place with the Twenty-fifth Missouri Regiment. That is Peabody's company, the meanest set that ever lived. They came here to enforce the conscription bill.”

July 15, 1863 From the newspaper, the South is getting whipped. I can't believe what they say, they are such a lying set. But if things are as they say, I am still with the South and will never forsake her. Her people are my people. Living or dying I am still with Old Dixie! I think she is in the right and God will bless the side of Justice. Our noble Jackson has fallen and so has Vicksburg. Our noblest General and one of our strongholds. The negroes are in a great commotion all leaving home and setting up for themselves. We expect ours to leave any time.

October 22, 1863

All is not gold that glitters

All that's bright must fade

Noble, noble Jefferson Davis.'

Martha knew Charlie France because he had been associated with Donnell and Saxton for ten years, and Mr. Donnell was her uncle, the brother of her mother. In 1863 France left St. Joseph for Denver, where for a year he managed the Denver office, and the middle division of the Overland Stage Route. In 1864 he entered the employ of Kountze Brothers, Bankers, and felt secure enough to ask Martha McDonald to marry him. This development was opposed by her family but Martha had made up her mind. Her grandchildren had a letter she wrote Charlie:

'We'll be married, but I don't know who the minister will be. The minister of our family church won't do it, because of my family's feelings, and that only leaves Dr. --, and we can't have him because he's a Republican.”

The marriage took place in 1864 and in 1865 Charles France returned to St. Joseph to become a teller in the St. Joseph Branch of the Bank of the State of Missouri, of which Martha's uncle, Robert Washington Donnell, was president.

CHARLES B. FRANCE, 1835—1895

Charles B. France was born in Roanoke County, Virginia, October 5, 1835. His forebears lived in Pennsylvania and his grandfather moved to Virginia about the year 1800. His father, John France, died when his son was an infant. When Charles was eleven years of age, in 1846, the widow and her sons moved to southern Kentucky. At the age of sixteen, he went to Louisville and the next year, 1852, became cashier of a large retail dry goods establishment. The next year, when he was eighteen, he entered the old banking house of J. P. Curtis & Company. On the dissolution of that firm, he became connected with Wm. E. Calver & Company, a large private banking institution of Louisville.

In December 1854, at the age of nineteen, he left Kentucky and came directly to St. Joseph where he had neither relatives nor friends. The California-bound traffic was in full swing and he secured a position as bookkeeper in the large mercantile house of Donnell and Saxton. Four years later, in 1858, when the business of that firm was turned over to R. L. McDonald, he was selected to represent the interests of Mr. Donnell and Mr. Saxton, a process that extended over five years. During that same time he was manager of the hemp warehouse of Donnell and Saxton.

In 1863, when he was twenty-eight, he went to Denver and for a year was manager of the Middle Division of the Overland Stage Route and in charge of its Denver office. In 1864 he joined the banking house of Kountze Brothers and came back to St. Joseph to be married to Miss Martha McDonald. The next year, 1865, the Civil War was over and he returned to St. Joseph, becoming teller in the St. Joseph Branch of the Bank of the State of Missouri which had been organized by his old employers, Robert Washington Donnell and Albe M. Saxton.

Mr. Donnell had left St. Joseph for Montana in 1863, and in 1866 the Bank was reorganized as the State National Bank with Leonidas M. Lawson, Mr. Donnell's brother-in-law, becoming president and C. B. France, assistant cashier. In 1867 Mr. Donnell returned from Montana and in 1870 the Bank became the State Savings Bank with Albe M. Saxton, president, and C. B. F rance, cashier. Mr. Donnell and Mr. Lawson went to New York City to organize the private banking firm of Donnell, Lawson & Simpson. In 1881 Mr. Saxton withdrew from the Bank to start the Saxton National Bank and Charles B. France was elected president, R. L. McDonald, vice president, and Ernest Lindsay, cashier. In 1890 the Bank again took a national charter and was known as the State National Bank.

Charles B. France was an active business leader of St. Joseph, and was identified with many of its successful business enterprises. He conceived the idea of establishing the stockyards at St. Joseph and floated the bonds that made the enterprise possible. He was the largest individual stockholder of the Stockyards Company.

He died at his home, 708 Hall Street, in 1895, and Mrs. France died in 19II. They had four children: Charles, Albert, Mrs. Sarah Pratt, and Robert Donnell France. Only Robert had children. He married Miss Lenore Corbett and their children were: Charles B. France (1900-1928), Gladys France Hargrove (1902-1939), and Sarah Catherine France (1909-1969).