MacDonald Family Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0361

Staff Only

Finding aid note: Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Scope and Contents

The Alexander MacDonald Family Papers consist of correspondence, books and a few miscellaneous lists, maps and genealogical charts. The letters from Alexander to Margaret encompass the bulk of the papers. His letters discuss many things including land disputes and importation of goods to Texas. James Latham MacDonald also wrote a number of letters to his mother, the same Margaret. He was serving with the 1st regiment of Carter's Brigade, and died in Arkansas. His letters include descriptions of illness, military life and Confederate battle victories.

Included in the papers are letters from other family members, several maps, and a genealogy.

Dates

Creation: 1834 - 1953

Creator

MacDonald, Alexander, of Huntsville, TX (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This material is open for research. Stored off-site at the Library Service Center. Please request this material via woodson@rice.edu or call 713-348-2586.

Use Restrictions

Permission to publish material from the MacDonald Family Papers must be obtained from the Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University.

Biographical Note

Alexander MacDonald was born in Canada in 1820. He married Margaret S. Roberts in 1842 and settled in Huntsville, Texas. They had two sons, James Latham MacDonald, born in 1845, and Randal MacDonald, born in 1847. Census records list Alexander as a farmer. He died in 1850, possibly from yellow fever.

James Latham was killed in Arkansas in 1862, fighting in the American Civil War. Randal married in 1876. Margaret died in 1892 and was buried in Trinity County, Texas.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract:

Letters from Alexander MacDonald to his wife, Margaret MacDonald, including information concerning land disputes and importation of goods to Texas; letters from James MacDonald, serving with a Texas regiment during the Civil War, to his mother, Margaret MacDonald; letters of condolence to Margaret MacDonald after James's death during the war; letters from other family members; wills; maps; and documents.