John Matthews McDonald

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men just pass through a place and leave it exactly as they found it. John Matthews McDonald was not that kind of man.

Born in North Carolina in 1827, he made his way to Texas in 1848, and Texas, it seems, had plans for him. He landed first at Larissa, over in Cherokee County, and then moved on to Mound Prairie in Anderson County, where his brother Murdoch had already put down roots. Two years after that, he packed up again and headed to a young town called Athens.

And that's where the story really gets going. Athens was young, raw, still figuring itself out, and McDonald stepped into it as a teacher and a lawyer both. If that wasn't enough, he also became the town's first mayor.

First. The very first. The seat wasn't even warm yet.

In 1858 he married Mary Ann Elizabeth Pinson, born in 1842, and together they raised ten children. Ten. Then the Civil War came calling, and McDonald answered.

He fought with the Confederate Army as part of Hood's Texas Brigade, which anyone who knows Texas history knows was not a outfit that sat quietly in the back. He came home and he kept working. Justice of the peace.

County judge. State representative. The man collected public offices the way some folks collect regrets, except he actually did something with each one.

John Matthews McDonald died in 1883, and Mary Ann Elizabeth lived on until 1931. The marker calls his leadership vital to the early development of his adopted home. Athens would probably say that's putting it modestly.

What the marker says

North Carolina-born John Matthews McDonald (1827-1883) came to Texas in 1848 and lived first at Larissa, Cherokee Co. and then Mound Prairie, Anderson Co., where his brother Murdoch earlier settled. Two years later, he moved to the young town of Athens and became a teacher and a lawyer. He also served as the town's first mayor. He wed Mary Ann Elizabeth Pinson (1842-1931) in 1858, and the couple had ten children. During the Civil War, McDonald fought with the Confederate Army as part of Hood's Texas Brigade. Active in public service, he held the offices of justice of the peace, county judge and state representative. His pioneer leadership proved vital to the early development of his adopted home. (2005)