Lowndes County GaArchives Biographies.....McDonald, William 1810 - December 1, 1889
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File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
William McDonald williamteomi@yahoo.com June 6, 2008, 9:42 am

Author: Henry W. McDonald, Jr.

William McDonald was born in Hawkinsville, Pulaski County, Georgia in 1810. He 
was the son of Isham McDonald, who fought under Col. Francis Marion in the 
American Revolutionary War. His mother's name, Isham's wife, is unknown.

When William was 22 years of age the State of Georgia held a lottery in 
Milledgeville. It was known as "The Gold Lottery."

The 1832 Gold Lottery was created for the purpose of dispensing land bought 
from the Indians. It was called "The Gold Lottery" because gold had been 
discovered in areas on this land. William drew lot #1032 in Cherokee County. 
The name of this county was later changed to Lumpkin County. Lot# 1034 
consisted of 40 acres located in what is presently known as Dahlonega, Georgia.
At the time of the lottery drawing, lot #1034 was Indian land, but now a 
carpet mill is located there.

William found gold on this land and mined it for a year. There was a large
mountain stream close to the mine shaft, and each time the water rose, the 
mine flooded. Therefore, William sold the mine to William Smith for $5,000,
which was a significant amount of money at a time when land was selling for
.25 cents an acre!

After this sale, William moved to Lowndes County, Georgia where he purchased 
2,000 acres of land at Cat Creek, (which is located a few miles north of 
Valdosta, Georgia.) There he married Priscilla Ann Giddens. They had six
children.

Priscilla was pregnant with their sixth child when she experienced a terrible 
accident. While carrying a pail of scraps to feed the chickens, she fell down 
the kitchen steps. Although the baby survived the accident, the fall was fatal 
for Priscilla. During her struggle for survival, Harriett Hightower, William's 
eventual second wife, took care of Priscilla.

One year later, William married Harriett Hightower, the author's and 
submitter's maternal ancestor. William bought more land and ultimately owned 
over 3,000 acres. Tax records in Atlanta disclose that William paid taxes on 
over 3,000 acres of land later in his life.

William died December 1, 1889. Harriett, his wife, died October 9, 1898. They 
are interred at Cat Creek Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery near Valdosta, 
Georgia. Prior to his death, William had donated the land for the church and 
cemetery.


Additional Comments:
William McDonald was the son of Isham McDonald, our first Scottish immigrant 
ancestor. (Isham first settled in Lexington, SC.) William participated in the 
Georgia State Militia's various armed conflicts against Native Americans in 
that state. 

File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/lowndes/bios/mcdonald951gbs.txt

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