James McDonald
James McDonald (1758-1848) was a Revolutionary War veteran who fought in the North Carolina militia during the war and moved to present-day Scott County after the war.
See Also: Revolutionary War Veterans
Biography
James McDonald was born Aug. 21, 1758 in Cumberland County, N.C. He married Sarah Cox in Randolph County, N.C., on July 20, 1797, and they moved to present-day Scott County soon thereafter. She was the daughter of Amos Cox (1751-1838). Her mother is unknown.
The McDonalds had at least seven children: Allen (1803-1862), Amos (1808-1884), James (1813-1863), Nancy (1818-1896), Samuel (1820-1882), Sterling (1823-1863) and Sarah (1827-1863). They may have had as many as four more children.
Revolutionary War
McDonald served in the North Carolina militia during the war, entering the fight in Burke County, N.C. He fought Indians on the Catawba River early in the war, and was later at the battles of Stone Ferry, Camden, Ramsour’s Mill and the Siege of Ninety-Six. McDonald was also one of 150 militiamen who took the front line against the British at the Battle of Cowpens, helping to screen the regulars of the Continental Army as the colonists scored a decisive victory. McDonald served at the Battle of Kings Mountain, as well.
After the War
James and Sarah McDonald moved to the Huntsville area sometime in the early 1800s, after McDonald received a land grant of 500 acres on New River, near present-day Winona.
Allen McDonald, one of their children, was Scott County’s first Court Clerk and fought with the Union army during the Civil War. He died of camp fever during the war, shortly after being captured by the Confederate army and escaping.
Another son, James McDonald, was one of many Scott Countians captured at the Battle of Rogersville in 1863 while serving in the Union army. He later died after being imprisoned at the Belle Isle Confederate prison.
James and Sarah also had a grandson, Samuel McDonald, who was captured at the Battle of Rogersville and later died.
McDonald has had several descendants serve in public office in Scott County. His great-grandson, Melva Lawson “M.L.” McDonald served as Scott County Superintendent of Schools from 1909 to 1917. His second-great-grandson, Raymond Jeffers, served as Superintendent of Schools from 1968 to 1972. His third-great-grandson, Donald Ray Jeffers, was a long-time member of the Scott County Commission and the Scott County Board of Education.
McDonald died on Jan. 12, 1848 and is buried at Winona Cemetery.
Help complete the historical record. Have something to add? Email newsroom@ihoneida.com.