Will County IL Archives Biographies.....McDonald, John ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/il/ilfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Deb Haines ddhaines@gmail.com September 5, 2007, 11:24 pm Author: Biographical Publishing Company JOHN MCDONALD. There are probably few in the county (and certainly none within the immediate vicinity of Frankfort Station) who are more familiar with the grain business than the subject of this sketch. He came to Frankfort Station when the place was just started and has since been intimately associated with its business interests, contributing to its growth and aiding in its development. He owns an elevator on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railroad at this point and makes shipments that aggregate thousands of bushels. Besides his grain interests he owns a farm of one hundred and sixty acres in Greengarden Township and has real estate in Frankfort Station. In the incorporation of the village Mr. McDonald took an active part. He was elected its first president and filled the office for two years, aiding in placing the municipality upon a sound financial basis. During his term of several years as supervisor of the township he assisted in work connected with the building of the court house, and as chairman of the finance committee, successfully engineered a loan of $22,000 to be used in the building of the house. He has attended many of the state, congressional and county conventions of the Republican party, for he is a stanch Republican and an active worker for his party. In educational affairs, as in public matters, his interest has continued over the long period of his residence here, and for more than twenty years he has efficiently filled the office of school director. As the name indicates, the McDonald family is of Scotch origin. During the days of the Scotch rebellion John McDonald, who was actively connected therewith, was forced to flee from his native land. In common with many other Scotchmen, he sought refuge in Ireland. His son, John, was born in County Tipperary, and engaged in farming there until his death. By his marriage to Ellen Gleason he had five children: James, Patrick, Mary, Elizabeth and John, of whom our subject alone survives. He was born in County Tipperary December 11, 1823. His educational advantages were of a superior character. He not only became familiar with common-school studies, but also acquired a fair knowledge of Latin and Greek. Mathematics was his hobby, and he was without a rival in this study in the entire school. When eighteen years of age our subject came to America. In the summer of 1841 he sailed from Liverpool and after five weeks landed in New York. During the next few years he traveled through various parts of the country. In 1850 he began to work for the Michigan Central Railroad Company at New Buffalo, Mich., which was then the terminus of the road. In 1852 he removed to Chicago, the road having been extended to that point. He remained there for two years, being employed in checking freight. In 1854 he came to Joliet, where he was employed as checkman until the starting of Frankfort Station. He came to this place in 1857 and held the position of agent until 1875, when he resigned. For eighteen years he was also agent for the American Express Company. Meantime he became interested in the grain business. In 1859 he began to buy grain for J. L. Heard & Co., of Michigan, and from that time until 1876 he was engaged in the commission business. For a number of years afterward he carried on the grain business, using the railroad company's elevators. Later he built the second elevator in Frankfort, which was 35x50 on the ground, and had a capacity of twenty-five thousand bushels. In 1885 he bought out the other elevator in Frankfort, and from that time operated both. May 24, 1889, the first was burned to the ground, but immediately afterward he built another elevator on the Elgin, Joliet & Eastern road. This has a capacity of forty thousand bushels, is run by steam power and supplied with the clipper and cyclone dust consumers. In 1890 he bought an elevator on the Michigan Central road, but it burned down three years later. Besides his grain interests, at one time he carried on the largest lumber business in Frankfort, also dealt in coal and built up a large business in selling tile. His interests are varied and important, and although widely divergent in character, he nevertheless manages all with gratifying success. His thorough understanding of the grain business, coming from long experience backed by sound judgment, makes him a leader in his line of work and insures for him a continuance of his past success. In 1862 Mr. McDonald was made a Mason. The following year he became identified with the Knights Templar and in 1870 he took the thirty-second degree. His interest in Masonry continues undiminished to the present. Two years after he came to Frankfort Station he married Miss Elizabeth Doty, a native of this county. Of their four children, the youngest died when eight months old. The others are: Herbert John, Edward Everett and Charles Howard, the last two deceased. Herbert J. is connected with S. E. Gross, the large real-estate dealer of Chicago. Edward E. was educated in the Northwestern University at Evanston, Ill., as was also his brother, Charles H., who was educated for the ministry, and was an evangelist well known throughout the Methodist Episcopal denomination. Additional Comments: Genealogical and Biographical Record of Will County Illinois Containing Biographies of Well Known Citizens of the Past and Present, Biographical Publishing Company, Chicago, 1900 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/il/will/bios/mcdonald912gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/ilfiles/ File size: 6.0 Kb