A REVOLUTIONARY AMERICAN FAMILY
The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey
About the Book
The name McDonald in all of its various spellings is one of the most common in America today. But when did the earliest McDonalds come to these shores? Where did they come from? Why did they come? Where did they establish themselves?
This book traces the ancestry and descendants of what is arguably the oldest known lineage of the McDonald family in America.
They settled in Somerset County, New Jersey, but their memory has long been forgotten and very nearly erased. Even among their descendants, there are very few who know and understand who they were and what they accomplished.
Theirs is a story of a Revolutionary American family. They were there when America was being born and helped to shape its destiny. Their names include Col. William McDonald of Pluckemin, Maj. Richard McDonald of Bedminster and Col. George McDonald of Somerville.
The McDonalds' story is worthy of a Hollywood movie. There is envy, lust, murder - and dinner with George Washington. And it's all true.
Unfortunately for this family, tragedy struck in 1820 in the great state of Indiana and most of the descendants of the different branches of the family tree have been cut off from one another ever since. Over time, the people and the stories of this remarkable past have been forgotten.
This book restores the memory of those who have gone before and re-connects the living to one another. It is the most thorough and the most comprehensive investigation of this family ever to be undertaken, encompassing over ten years of research and thousands of hours to see it through to completion. Some of the branches of the tree are revealed here for the very first time: the lines of Daniel Perrine McDonald, Dr. Jacob D. G. McDonald, Sarah Henrietta McDonald Piatt, James Augustus McDonald, Amos McDonald and William Bradford Boudinot, a descendant of Revolutionary War Captain Jacob De Groot. Other more familiar lines include those of Mayor Richard MacDonald of New Brunswick, Alexander Campbell McDonald of Mendocino County, California, and Dr. Samuel and Aletta (De Groot) Swan of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
These McDonalds, their ancestors, their descendants and all their fellow citizens, some celebrated and some ordinary, hard-working people, helped to create the America we see before us today. No one is insignificant. Their story is our story. They are a part of us all and deserve to be remembered for what they endured, what they overcame, and what they achieved.
Now for the price of a family outing, you and your descendants can have a treasured family heirloom to hand down from generation to generation. The creators of this book received no remuneration to research it, nor will they ever recoup the costs necessary to produce it. It is their gift to the family and to the world.
The book is hardcover burgundy red with gold foil stamping, 8½" x 11½", 482 annotated pages, filled with biographies and family stories, and over 440 B&W photos, maps and illustrations.
This book traces the ancestry and descendants of what is arguably the oldest known lineage of the McDonald family in America.
They settled in Somerset County, New Jersey, but their memory has long been forgotten and very nearly erased. Even among their descendants, there are very few who know and understand who they were and what they accomplished.
Theirs is a story of a Revolutionary American family. They were there when America was being born and helped to shape its destiny. Their names include Col. William McDonald of Pluckemin, Maj. Richard McDonald of Bedminster and Col. George McDonald of Somerville.
The McDonalds' story is worthy of a Hollywood movie. There is envy, lust, murder - and dinner with George Washington. And it's all true.
Unfortunately for this family, tragedy struck in 1820 in the great state of Indiana and most of the descendants of the different branches of the family tree have been cut off from one another ever since. Over time, the people and the stories of this remarkable past have been forgotten.
This book restores the memory of those who have gone before and re-connects the living to one another. It is the most thorough and the most comprehensive investigation of this family ever to be undertaken, encompassing over ten years of research and thousands of hours to see it through to completion. Some of the branches of the tree are revealed here for the very first time: the lines of Daniel Perrine McDonald, Dr. Jacob D. G. McDonald, Sarah Henrietta McDonald Piatt, James Augustus McDonald, Amos McDonald and William Bradford Boudinot, a descendant of Revolutionary War Captain Jacob De Groot. Other more familiar lines include those of Mayor Richard MacDonald of New Brunswick, Alexander Campbell McDonald of Mendocino County, California, and Dr. Samuel and Aletta (De Groot) Swan of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
These McDonalds, their ancestors, their descendants and all their fellow citizens, some celebrated and some ordinary, hard-working people, helped to create the America we see before us today. No one is insignificant. Their story is our story. They are a part of us all and deserve to be remembered for what they endured, what they overcame, and what they achieved.
Now for the price of a family outing, you and your descendants can have a treasured family heirloom to hand down from generation to generation. The creators of this book received no remuneration to research it, nor will they ever recoup the costs necessary to produce it. It is their gift to the family and to the world.
The book is hardcover burgundy red with gold foil stamping, 8½" x 11½", 482 annotated pages, filled with biographies and family stories, and over 440 B&W photos, maps and illustrations.
See Sample Pages from A Revolutionary American Family below:
Additional Information:
Are you a descendant of the McDonalds of Somerset County?
Visit Mr. Overmire's Rootsweb database and use the index, pedigree and descendancy links to find your family tree.
Be sure to explore the supplemental books of two newly discovered lines descended from the McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey: William R. McDonald and Abigail Fowler of Herkimer County, New York and Their Descendants and The McDonalds of Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County, New York: The Pioneering Family of Richard and Catharine (Lansing) McDonald and Their Descendants