DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about William Jesse McDonald, out of Hardeman County. Now, there are lawmen, and then there are legends. And every so often, the two happen to be the same person.
William Jesse McDonald — born in 1852, gone in 1918 — was the kind of man Texas seemed almost purpose-built to produce. They called him fearless, and that wasn't just frontier flattery. McDonald was known for crack marksmanship and a lightning-fast gift for disarming his foes.
You want to think about what that means for a moment. Not just shooting straight — plenty of men could do that. But taking the weapon right out of someone's hands before they could use it.
That's a different kind of nerve altogether. His long-time friend Governor James Hogg saw exactly what he had in McDonald, and in 1891 made him captain of Company B, Frontier Battalion. That appointment put McDonald square in the thick of it.
He handled — and that's the word the marker uses, handled, like it was something to be managed — the Murder Society of San Saba. He dealt with the Wichita bank robbery. The frontier was not a quiet place, and McDonald was not a quiet answer to it.
But here's a chapter that's hard not to savor. In 1904, William Jesse McDonald conducted President Theodore Roosevelt on a wolf hunt. Think about the two personalities in that sentence.
Roosevelt, who considered himself no shrinking violet in the outdoors. And McDonald, a man who had faced down bank robbers and a murder society and still had time to escort the President of the United States after wolves. Some men just occupy a larger piece of the world than the rest of us.
Later, under President Woodrow Wilson, McDonald served as a United States marshal. The frontier lawman had grown into a federal one. He was married twice — first to Rhoda Carter, then to Pearl Wilkerson.
William Jesse McDonald. Born 1852. Died 1918.
Crack shot, fast hands, friend to governors, escort to presidents. Hardeman County's own piece of the frontier, still standing right here in marker form — because some stories the Texas plains flat refuse to let go of.
What the marker says
(1852-1918) Fearless frontier law officer. Known for crack marksmanship and lightning-fast disarming of foes. His long-time friend Governor James Hogg made him captain of Co. B, Frontier Battalion, in 1891. There he handled the "Murder Society of San Saba" and Wichita bank robbery. Conducted President Theodore Roosevelt on a wolf hunt in 1904. Was a U.S. marshal under President Woodrow Wilson. First wife was Rhoda Carter; second was Pearl Wilkerson. (1970)