Henry R. McDonald, BiographyPorter County biographical sketches . . . .
Transcribed biography of Henry R. McDonald
HENRY R. MCDONALD. The agricultural interests of Pine township, Porter county, Indiana, are represented by a most intelligent and prosperous class of men, and well to the forefront among the leading farmers of that section must be mentioned Henry R. McDonald, who has conducted his farming operations in an up-to-date manner and has a finely cultivated and improved place comprising two hundred and forty acres of land. Mr. McDonald is well known throughout the county, since it is here that he has spent his entire lifetime to the present date. His birth occurred September 22, 1870, at Furnessville, Westchester township, Porter county, he being the son of Henry R. and Martha (Wilson) McDonald. The elder McDonald was born in Canada, in 1825, and lived to an advanced age, the date of this death being 1901. Mrs. McDonald was a native of the Isle of Man, and was married to Mr. McDonald at Watertown, Wisconsin, September 18, 1851. They became the parents of a family of eight children. Elizabeth, Charles, Sidney, and Mary L. are deceased, while the living sons and daughters are Martha, wife of J. E. Vail; Fannie, wife of Edward Lynd; Abbie, wife of T. A. Heinemann; and Henry R., whose life we are briefly reviewing.
Henry R. McDonald was reared on the farm in Westchester township and attended the district schools of that community in his boyhood. At an early age he commenced to devote his entire time to discharging duties that fell to his share in the conduct of the home farm and remained with his father until he married and established an independent household of his own.
Mr. McDonald chose for his wife Grace Way, to whom he was united in marriage on June 22, 1899. Mrs. McDonald was born February 25, 1870, the daughter of Charles and Florentine (Fultz) Way, the mother a native of Germany and the father was born near Elmira, New York. The union of Mr. and Mrs. McDonald was blessed in the birth of two children, Sidney D., born December 18, 1901, and Howard R., born July 3, 1904. The family is a hospitable one and they occupy influential positions in the social life of the community in which they reside. Mr. McDonald is a member of Calumet Lodge, No. 379, A. P. & A. M., while his wife belongs to the Order of Eastern Star, at Chesterton, Indiana.
Mr. McDonald was of Republican persuasion in politics and holds the distinction of having been the first Republican township trustee since the Civil war, the date of his inception into that office being 1905, and his term extending to 1909. The annals of Porter county contain no name indicative of a higher order of citizenship than is represented by Mr. McDonald. He is a man of many sterling personal qualities liberal and progressive in his principles and methods and is held in the highest esteem by all who have the pleasure of his acquaintance.
Source: Lewis Publishing Company. 1912. History of Porter County, Indiana: A Narrative Account of its Historical Progress, its People and its Principal Interests. Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company. 881 p.
Page(s) in Source: 817-818
This biography has been transcribed exactly as it was originally published in the source. Please note that we do not provide photocopies or digital scans of biographies appearing on this website.
Biography transcribed by Steven R. Shook