Born and Lived on Same Farm For Over 80 Years

William McDonald, territorial pioneer, died Sunday morning, April 16th. He was born October 20, 1858 on the same farm on which he lived his entire life. Being one of our territorial pioneers he was well known in this vicinity and his mannerisms of life have in times past been related by The Enterprise.

He was known for his sterling qualities and his untiring interest in the things relative to his community. Since 1900 he has kept a diary of his doings and in this diary he noted the conditions of the weather and related interesting happenings.

He was the father of four children, Donald of Kansas City, Missouri; Laurel of Lincoln; Mrs. Luther Brandert of Hooper, Nebraska; and Mrs. Chester Aronson of Herman, Nebraska. These with the devoted wife grieve deeply his death.

Besides the immediate family he leaves two brothers, George and John of near Blair; Mrs. Frank Overman of Colorado; Mrs. Mark Shipley of Lyons Nebraska; Mrs. Frank McBride of Blair and Mrs. Frank Shipley of Valentine, Nebraska.

Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Methodist church in Blair with Rev. R. P. Rasmussen officiating and interment was made in the Fort Calhoun cemetery.

#2-The date and place of publication of this newspaper article was not recorded.

WM. McDONALD IS DEAD AT AGE 80-WELL-KNOWN PIONEER HAD RESIDED ON SAME FARM ALL HIS LIFE

William McDonald, 80, who lived his entire life on the same farm south of Blair, was found dead in bed Sunday morning. Death was attributed to old age.

Long prominent as a pioneer, Mr. McDonald was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas McDonald, natives of Scotland. The elder Mr. McDonald moved his family to Oskaloosa, Iowa, where he was a tailor, and they came to Washington County in 1858, only a few days before William McDonald, second of their children, was born, October 16.

William McDonald often recalled his boyhood on his farm during Civil War days, when wild game and fish abounded in the surrounding countryside. It was a simple matter, he often related, to go on a half-hour foray and bring back enough game to supply the family table for several days.

He often told of the famous grasshopper plagues of the middle 70s, when he was a young farmer. He saw whole fields of heard-earned grain eaten by the pests in less than half an hour. The hoppers would come in such dense clouds, he stated, that one could look directly at the sun without squinting. The huge clouds of insects would settle on a cornfield and strip it bare before moving on.

Sine 1900 Mr. McDonald had kept a diary of everyday doings about his farm, including a comprehensive weather report day by day.

Mr. McDonald is survived by his wife; two sons, Donald of Kansas City and Laurel of Lincoln; two daughters, Mrs. Chet Aronson of Blair and Mrs. Luther Brandert of Hooper; three brothers, John, George and Henry, all of Blair; and four sisters, Mrs. Frank _verman of Fort Lupton, Colorado, Mrs. Mark Shipley of Lyons, Mrs. Frank Shipley of Valentine and Mrs. Frank McBride of Blair.

Funeral services were held at First Methodist Church here at 2 p.m. Tuesday, the Rev. Ralph Rasmussen officiating. Internment followed at Fort Calhoun.

Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society – Newspaper clipping on file in the Blair Public Library in Blair, Nebraska.

FindaGrave Memorial #7670195