James Green McDonald, Sr.

Full Name: James Green McDonald, Sr.
Date of birth: September 20, 1824
Date of death: March 11, 1903

Terms of Service top

Chamber District Dates of Service Legislatures Party City/County Note Counties in District
S 16 Apr 6, 1882 - Jan 9, 1883 17th (1) (2)   Democrat Anderson / Grimes   Grimes, Madison, Trinity, Walker
H 37 Nov 2, 1863 - Aug 6, 1866 10th     Anderson / Grimes   Brazos, Grimes, Montgomery
H 37 Nov 4, 1861 - May 2, 1862 9th (3) (4) (5)     Anderson / Grimes   Brazos, Grimes, Montgomery

(1) No record of party affiliation. Assumed democrat due to affiliation in other sessions, service in the Confederate Army, convention attendance, or information included in biographical sketches. Legislative Reference Library.
(2) James G. McDonald, sworn 4/6/1882, succeeded John T. Buchanan, died 1/29/1882. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) Resigned Legislature in 1861, having been appointed Brigadier General of Texas troops, by Governor Clark, which office he held for two years; elected District Attorney 1872 for 4 years; 1882 elected to Senate, pp. 124-125. Early History of Grimes County, 1930.
(4) Biographical sketch of James Green McDonald, Jr., states James Green McDonald, Sr. was in Legislature before the Civil War and in the Senate after the war, and 1861-62 was brigadier-general. Texas Under Many Flags, 1930, Volume V, p. 76. (Created 10/19/2007.) HeritageQuest Online.
(5) James K. Holland, sworn 2/2/1863. succeeded James G. McDonald, resigned 5/2/1862. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 16
Apr 6, 1882 - Jan 9, 1883
Legislatures: 17th (1) (2)  
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Anderson / Grimes
Counties in district: Grimes, Madison, Trinity, Walker
House District 37
Nov 2, 1863 - Aug 6, 1866
Legislatures: 10th  
Home City/County: Anderson / Grimes
Counties in district: Brazos, Grimes, Montgomery
House District 37
Nov 4, 1861 - May 2, 1862
Legislatures: 9th (3) (4) (5)  
Home City/County: Anderson / Grimes
Counties in district: Brazos, Grimes, Montgomery

(1) No record of party affiliation. Assumed democrat due to affiliation in other sessions, service in the Confederate Army, convention attendance, or information included in biographical sketches. Legislative Reference Library.
(2) James G. McDonald, sworn 4/6/1882, succeeded John T. Buchanan, died 1/29/1882. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.
(3) Resigned Legislature in 1861, having been appointed Brigadier General of Texas troops, by Governor Clark, which office he held for two years; elected District Attorney 1872 for 4 years; 1882 elected to Senate, pp. 124-125. Early History of Grimes County, 1930.
(4) Biographical sketch of James Green McDonald, Jr., states James Green McDonald, Sr. was in Legislature before the Civil War and in the Senate after the war, and 1861-62 was brigadier-general. Texas Under Many Flags, 1930, Volume V, p. 76. (Created 10/19/2007.) HeritageQuest Online.
(5) James K. Holland, sworn 2/2/1863. succeeded James G. McDonald, resigned 5/2/1862. Members of the Texas Congress 1836-1845; Members of the Texas Legislature 1846-2004, 2005.

Biographical Information top

Resolutions and Journal entries

  • 28th Legislature, R.S., 3/13/1903, pp. 570-572. McDonald was "a democrat whose sword was ever drawn in defense of his party." Resolutions - Memorial.

Biographical Sketches

Military Service Notes

  • Texas State Troops, Brigadier General, District 17. James Green McDonald. Texas Burial Sites of Civil War Notables: A Biographical and Pictorial Field Guide, 2002.
  • Brigadier Generals of the Texas State Troops, 1861, pp. 58-59, and portrait, Plate No. 64. Texas in the War, 1861-1865, 1965.
  • "Though the freshman senators of the Seventeenth Legislature generally were Democrats . . . No fewer than eleven had fought for the Confederacy," [among them Browne, McLane, McDonald, and Davis,] p. 280. The Texas Senate: Volume II, Civil War to the Eve of Reform, 1861-1889, 1999.

Other Resources

  • Listed in "Men who have represented Grimes County in the House of Representatives/State Senate, 1846-1931," pp. 205-209. Includes Date, Legislatures, District, and Source of Data. Early History of Grimes County, 1930.
  • James Green McDonald, birth date 9/20/1824, death date 3/11/1903, burial in Odd Fellows Cemetery, Anderson, Grimes County. Find a Grave.

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

Committee Information top

17th R.S. - 1881
Judicial Districts  
Judiciary No. 2  
Penitentiaries  
Public Claims and Accounts  
Retrenchment and Reform  
State Asylums  
10th R.S. - 1863
Confederate Relations (Chair) 
Enrolled Bills  
Judiciary  
Public Land  
9th R.S. - 1861
Judiciary  
Penitentiary  
Public Lands  

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