Bill McDonald (Texas Ranger)
Encyclopedia
William Jesse McDonald, known as Captain Bill McDonald (September 28, 1852– January 15, 1918), was a Texas Ranger
who served briefly as a bodyguard for both U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
and Woodrow Wilson
, opponents, along with incumbent
President William Howard Taft
, in the bitter 1912 United States presidential election
.
near Meridian
, Mississippi
, but relocated with his mother, the former Eunice Durham, and other relatives to east Texas
after the American Civil War
. His father, Enoch McDonald, had been killed in 1862 in the battle of Corinth
, Mississippi. The McDonalds settled on a farm near Henderson
in Rusk County
. At the age of sixteen, McDonald quarreled with federal officials during Reconstruction and was tried for treason
but acquitted through the intervention of future U.S. Representative David B. Culberson
. He graduated in 1872 from Soule Commercial College in New Orleans
, Louisiana
. As a young man, McDonald taught penmanship in Henderson until he opened a small store at Brown's Bluff on the Sabine River
in Gregg County
, Texas. He later established a grocery store
in Mineola
in Wood County
, Texas.
James Stephen Hogg, then a justice of the peace
in Quitman
, the seat of Wood County. It was through Hogg that McDonald met his wife, the former Rhoda Isabel Carter, whom he married in January 1876. In 1883, the couple moved to Wichita County
, Texas, and thereafter to Hardeman County
, where he was again a deputy sheriff and advanced to special Ranger and U.S. Deputy Marshal for the Northern District of Texas and the Southern District of Kansas
. His bold tactics drove the Brookins gang from Hardeman County. McDonald also apprehended cattle
thieves and train robbers in "No Man's Land" and the Cherokee Strip.
In 1891, Governor Hogg named McDonald to succeed Samuel A. McMurry as the captain of Texas Rangers Company B, Frontier Battalion, a position that he retained until 1907. McDonald and his company were involved in numerous matters throughout the state: the Bob Fitzsimmons
-Peter Maher
prizefight in El Paso
, the Wichita Falls
bank robbery, the murders by the San Saba Mob (during which time Mrs. McDonald was in camp with her husband), the Reese-Townsend feud
at Columbus
in Colorado County, Texas, the lynching of the Humphries clan, the Conditt family murders near Edna
in Jackson County, and the shootout with Mexican American
s near Rio Grande City in Starr County
. In all of these events, only one Ranger, T.L. Fuller, lost his life under McDonald’s command.
In 1893, McDonald was nearly killed in a gunfight in Quanah
, the seat of Hardeman County, with Sheriff John P. Matthews of Childress County, Texas. In 1906, McDonald came to Brownsville
, Texas, to restore order in what is now known as the Brownsville Affair
, in which 167 African-American
United States Army
soldiers in the 25th U.S. Infantry were falsely accused of causing a race riot. President Theodore Roosevelt gave all of the soldiers dishonorable discharges, having rashly accused them of engaging in a "conspiracy of silence" by not identifying the particular soldiers who may have fired shots that killed a white merchant. Years later, President Richard M. Nixon reversed Roosevelt's directive and cleared the lone survivor among the soldiers as well as posthumous recognition of the other 166 who had already died. As a result of McDonald's actions in Brownsville, he was referred to as "a man who would charge hell with a bucket of water."
McDonald and three other officers—John H. Rogers, John R. Hughes, and John A. Brooks—were known as the "Four Great Captains" of the Texas Rangers. McDonald was an outstanding marksman who used his weapons to intimidate and disarm his opponents. Though he had bullets in his body from shootouts, he never killed anyone in a clash.
In 1905, McDonald acted as bodyguard to President Theodore Roosevelt, who later entertained him at the White House
. His wife died in 1906. There is no indication in Who Was Who in America of any children or a second marriage. In 1907, McDonald relocated to Austin
to serve as state revenue agent in the administration of Governor
Thomas Mitchell Campbell
. In that capacity, he increased the state tax valuation by almost a billion dollars in two years. He was later a bodyguard for Roosevelt nemesis, Woodrow Wilson, who named his fellow Democrat
as the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas. McDonald had the skill to track down outlaws, to evaluate physical evidence found at the scene of a crime, and to disarm or defeat mobs.
McDonald died of pneumonia
in Wichita Falls, Texas
. He was buried at Quanah, west of Wichita Falls. His tombstone carries the motto: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'."
in Waco
. Other works mentioning McDonald are Walter Prescott Webb
's The Texas Rangers (1935) and W.W. Sterling's, Trails and Trials of a Texas Ranger (1968).
Harold J. Weiss, Jr., a Pennsylvania
native and a professor emeritus at Jamestown Community College
in Jamestown
, New York
, has done extensive research on McDonald. He describes the old Ranger as having "intrigued people with his charisma, bravery, and dynamic qualities." Weiss said that McDonald's exploits often provided fodder for the plots of western novel
s. Weiss's wrote Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald. Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger: A Story of Frontier Reform by Albert Bigelow Paine had been the principal work on the Ranger. Paine's biography has an introduction by Theodore Roosevelt.
Texas Ranger Division
The Texas Ranger Division, commonly called the Texas Rangers, is a law enforcement agency with statewide jurisdiction in Texas, and is based in Austin, Texas...
who served briefly as a bodyguard for both U.S. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
and Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, opponents, along with incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
, in the bitter 1912 United States presidential election
United States presidential election, 1912
The United States presidential election of 1912 was a rare four-way contest. Incumbent President William Howard Taft was renominated by the Republican Party with the support of its conservative wing. After former President Theodore Roosevelt failed to receive the Republican nomination, he called...
.
Early years, family, education
McDonald was born in Kemper CountyKemper County, Mississippi
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 10,453 people, 3,909 households, and 2,787 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile . There were 4,533 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
near Meridian
Meridian, Mississippi
Meridian is the county seat of Lauderdale County, Mississippi. It is the sixth largest city in the state and the principal city of the Meridian, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, but relocated with his mother, the former Eunice Durham, and other relatives to east Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
after the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. His father, Enoch McDonald, had been killed in 1862 in the battle of Corinth
Corinth, Mississippi
Corinth is a city in Alcorn County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 14,054 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Alcorn County. Its ZIP codes are 38834 and 38835.- History :...
, Mississippi. The McDonalds settled on a farm near Henderson
Henderson, Texas
Henderson is a city in Rusk County, Texas, United States. The population was 11,273 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Rusk County...
in Rusk County
Rusk County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 47,372 people, 17,364 households, and 12,727 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile . There were 19,867 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...
. At the age of sixteen, McDonald quarreled with federal officials during Reconstruction and was tried for treason
Treason
In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
but acquitted through the intervention of future U.S. Representative David B. Culberson
David B. Culberson
David Browning Culberson was a Confederate soldier, a Democratic U.S. Representative from Texas and Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.-Early years:...
. He graduated in 1872 from Soule Commercial College in New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. As a young man, McDonald taught penmanship in Henderson until he opened a small store at Brown's Bluff on the Sabine River
Sabine River (Texas-Louisiana)
The Sabine River is a river, long, in the U.S. states of Texas and Louisiana. In its lower course, it forms part of the boundary between the two states and empties into Sabine Lake, an estuary of the Gulf of Mexico. The river formed part of the United States-Mexican international boundary during...
in Gregg County
Gregg County, Texas
There were 42,687 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.00% were married couples living together, 13.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.50% had...
, Texas. He later established a grocery store
Grocery store
A grocery store is a store that retails food. A grocer, the owner of a grocery store, stocks different kinds of foods from assorted places and cultures, and sells these "groceries" to customers. Large grocery stores that stock products other than food, such as clothing or household items, are...
in Mineola
Mineola, Texas
Mineola is a city in Wood County, Texas, United States. It lies at the junction of U.S. highways 69 and 80, eighty miles east of Dallas in southwestern Wood County...
in Wood County
Wood County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 36,752 people, 14,583 households, and 10,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 56 people per square mile . There were 17,939 housing units at an average density of 28 per square mile...
, Texas.
Law enforcement
Still operating his store, McDonald grew interested in law enforcement. He became a deputy sheriff in Wood County. He was friendly with future GovernorGovernor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
James Stephen Hogg, then a justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in Quitman
Quitman, Texas
Quitman is a city in Wood County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,030 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Wood County. It is most notable for being the birthplace of American Academy Award winning actress Sissy Spacek. The city's slogan is "Come grow with us." It was...
, the seat of Wood County. It was through Hogg that McDonald met his wife, the former Rhoda Isabel Carter, whom he married in January 1876. In 1883, the couple moved to Wichita County
Wichita County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 131,664 people, 48,441 households, and 32,891 families residing in the county. The population density was 210 people per square mile . There were 53,304 housing units at an average density of 85 per square mile...
, Texas, and thereafter to Hardeman County
Hardeman County, Texas
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,724 people, 1,943 households, and 1,319 families residing in the county. The population density was 7 people per square mile . There were 2,358 housing units at an average density of 3 per square mile...
, where he was again a deputy sheriff and advanced to special Ranger and U.S. Deputy Marshal for the Northern District of Texas and the Southern District of Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. His bold tactics drove the Brookins gang from Hardeman County. McDonald also apprehended cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
thieves and train robbers in "No Man's Land" and the Cherokee Strip.
In 1891, Governor Hogg named McDonald to succeed Samuel A. McMurry as the captain of Texas Rangers Company B, Frontier Battalion, a position that he retained until 1907. McDonald and his company were involved in numerous matters throughout the state: the Bob Fitzsimmons
Bob Fitzsimmons
Robert James "Bob" Fitzsimmons , was a British boxer who made boxing history as the sport's first three-division world champion. He also achieved fame for beating Gentleman Jim Corbett, the man who beat John L. Sullivan, and is in The Guinness Book of World Records as the Lightest heavyweight...
-Peter Maher
Peter Maher (boxer)
Peter Maher was an Irish-American boxer known for his powerful punch. Early in his career Maher won the 1888 Middleweight Championship of Ireland, and the 1890 Heavyweight Championship of Ireland...
prizefight in El Paso
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
, the Wichita Falls
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
bank robbery, the murders by the San Saba Mob (during which time Mrs. McDonald was in camp with her husband), the Reese-Townsend feud
Reese-Townsend feud
The Reese–Townsend feud, also called the Colorado County Feud was a politically motivated feud taking place in the closing days of the Old West, in Columbus, Texas, and other parts of Colorado County...
at Columbus
Columbus, Texas
Columbus is a city in Colorado County, Texas, United States, west of Houston along Interstate 10, on the Colorado River. In 1890, 2,199 people lived in Columbus, Texas; in 1900, there were 1,824 residents. The population was 3,916 as of the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Colorado County...
in Colorado County, Texas, the lynching of the Humphries clan, the Conditt family murders near Edna
Edna, Texas
Edna is a city in Jackson County, Texas, United States. The population was 5,899 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Jackson County.Edna is the gateway to Lake Texana, which covers the site of Texana, Texas...
in Jackson County, and the shootout with Mexican American
Mexican American
Mexican Americans are Americans of Mexican descent. As of July 2009, Mexican Americans make up 10.3% of the United States' population with over 31,689,000 Americans listed as of Mexican ancestry. Mexican Americans comprise 66% of all Hispanics and Latinos in the United States...
s near Rio Grande City in Starr County
Starr County, Texas
Starr County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. In 2010, its population was 60,968. Its county seat is Rio Grande City. The county is named for James Harper Starr, who served as Secretary of the Treasury of the Republic of Texas. It is part of the Rio Grande City-Roma, TX,...
. In all of these events, only one Ranger, T.L. Fuller, lost his life under McDonald’s command.
In 1893, McDonald was nearly killed in a gunfight in Quanah
Quanah, Texas
Quanah is a city in and the county seat of Hardeman County, Texas, United States, northwest of Fort Worth, and a few miles from the Oklahoma-Texas state line...
, the seat of Hardeman County, with Sheriff John P. Matthews of Childress County, Texas. In 1906, McDonald came to Brownsville
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
, Texas, to restore order in what is now known as the Brownsville Affair
Brownsville Affair
The Brownsville Affair was a racial incident that arose out of tensions between black soldiers and white citizens in Brownsville, Texas, in 1906. When a white bartender was killed and a police officer wounded by gunshot, townspeople accused the members of the 25th Regiment, an all-black unit...
, in which 167 African-American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
soldiers in the 25th U.S. Infantry were falsely accused of causing a race riot. President Theodore Roosevelt gave all of the soldiers dishonorable discharges, having rashly accused them of engaging in a "conspiracy of silence" by not identifying the particular soldiers who may have fired shots that killed a white merchant. Years later, President Richard M. Nixon reversed Roosevelt's directive and cleared the lone survivor among the soldiers as well as posthumous recognition of the other 166 who had already died. As a result of McDonald's actions in Brownsville, he was referred to as "a man who would charge hell with a bucket of water."
McDonald and three other officers—John H. Rogers, John R. Hughes, and John A. Brooks—were known as the "Four Great Captains" of the Texas Rangers. McDonald was an outstanding marksman who used his weapons to intimidate and disarm his opponents. Though he had bullets in his body from shootouts, he never killed anyone in a clash.
In 1905, McDonald acted as bodyguard to President Theodore Roosevelt, who later entertained him at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. His wife died in 1906. There is no indication in Who Was Who in America of any children or a second marriage. In 1907, McDonald relocated to Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
to serve as state revenue agent in the administration of Governor
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas is the head of the executive branch of Texas's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Texas Legislature, and to convene the legislature...
Thomas Mitchell Campbell
Thomas Mitchell Campbell
Thomas Mitchell Campbell was the 24th Governor of Texas from 1907 to 1911.-Biography:Campbell was born in Rusk, Texas, the son of Thomas Duncan and Rachel Campbell. He attended school at Rusk and entered Trinity University in 1873 to study law. He was unable to support himself and withdrew after...
. In that capacity, he increased the state tax valuation by almost a billion dollars in two years. He was later a bodyguard for Roosevelt nemesis, Woodrow Wilson, who named his fellow Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
as the U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Texas. McDonald had the skill to track down outlaws, to evaluate physical evidence found at the scene of a crime, and to disarm or defeat mobs.
McDonald died of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls, Texas
Wichita Falls is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States, United States. Wichita Falls is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay and Wichita counties. According to the U.S. Census estimate of 2010,...
. He was buried at Quanah, west of Wichita Falls. His tombstone carries the motto: "No man in the wrong can stand up against a fellow that's in the right and keeps on a-comin'."
Legacy
McDonald is an inductee of the Texas Ranger Hall of FameTexas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, is the state-designated official historical center of the famed Texas Rangers law enforcement agency. It consists of the Homer Garrison, Jr. museum gallery, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, the Texas Ranger Research Center and the Headquarters...
in Waco
Waco, Texas
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. Situated along the Brazos River and on the I-35 corridor, halfway between Dallas and Austin, it is the economic, cultural, and academic center of the 'Heart of Texas' region....
. Other works mentioning McDonald are Walter Prescott Webb
Walter Prescott Webb
Walter Prescott Webb was a 20th century U.S. historian and author noted for his groundbreaking historical work on the American West. As president of the Texas State Historical Association, he launched the project that produced the Handbook of Texas...
's The Texas Rangers (1935) and W.W. Sterling's, Trails and Trials of a Texas Ranger (1968).
Harold J. Weiss, Jr., a Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
native and a professor emeritus at Jamestown Community College
Jamestown Community College
Jamestown Community College is a two-year college in the SUNY system. JCC has two campuses in Chautauqua County, New York, located in Dunkirk and Jamestown. A third campus serves Cattaraugus County in Olean. A fourth site is located in Warren, Pennsylvania...
in Jamestown
Jamestown, New York
Jamestown is a city in Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. The population was 31,146 at the 2010 census.The City of Jamestown is adjacent to Town of Ellicott and is at the southern tip of Chautauqua Lake...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, has done extensive research on McDonald. He describes the old Ranger as having "intrigued people with his charisma, bravery, and dynamic qualities." Weiss said that McDonald's exploits often provided fodder for the plots of western novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s. Weiss's wrote Yours to Command: The Life and Legend of Texas Ranger Captain Bill McDonald. Captain Bill McDonald, Texas Ranger: A Story of Frontier Reform by Albert Bigelow Paine had been the principal work on the Ranger. Paine's biography has an introduction by Theodore Roosevelt.