Marshall McDonald

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For the French Napoleonic War General see Marshall Étienne Macdonald

Marshall McDonald
Portrait of Marshall McDonald
United States Commissioner
of Fish and Fisheries
In office
1888–1895
PresidentGrover Cleveland
Benjamin Harrison
Preceded byGeorge Brown Goode
Succeeded byJohn J. Brice
Chief Assistant Commissioner of the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries
In office
1885–1888
Personal details
Born(1835-10-18)October 18, 1835
mineralogist, pisciculturist, and fisheries scientist
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States of America
Branch/service Confederate States Army
Years of service1861–1865
Rank Major
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

Marshall McDonald (October 18, 1835 – September 1, 1895) was an American

watercourses resulting in an increased spawning ground. McDonald's administration of the U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries was notably free of scandal and furthered the "protection and culture" of fish species throughout the United States.[1][2]

Born in 1835 in Romney, Virginia (present-day West Virginia), McDonald was the son of Angus William McDonald, a military officer and lawyer, and his wife, Leacy Anne Naylor. From 1854 to 1855, McDonald studied natural history under Spencer Fullerton Baird at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. He then attended the University of Virginia and Virginia Military Institute, from which he graduated in 1860. McDonald served as an assistant professor of chemistry at the institute under Stonewall Jackson and continued to teach intermittently throughout the American Civil War.

McDonald joined the Confederate States Army in 1861 and was commissioned as a lieutenant and engineer officer. He served as an inspector general on Stonewall Jackson's staff, then served as staff officer for Major General Martin Luther Smith and as an engineer officer for Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton. McDonald was taken as a prisoner of war by the Union Army at Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1863. Following the war in 1865, McDonald returned to the Virginia Military Institute where he was appointed a professor with the rank of colonel, instructing and serving as chair of the subjects of chemistry, geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy. He also established the institution's first museum.

By 1875, McDonald was involved in fish farming and became the administrator of the Virginia state fish hatchery at

shad hatcheries, Chief of the Division of Fish Culture, and Chief Assistant Commissioner of the Fish Commission. In 1888, President Grover Cleveland
appointed McDonald as the Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries. McDonald died in office in 1895.

Early life and education

McDonald was born on October 18, 1835, to

1850 United States Census.[11] It is not known whether McDonald and his siblings accompanied their father on his temporary move to Missouri.[6]

Education and early academic career

From 1854 to 1855, McDonald studied natural history under Spencer Fullerton Baird at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.[12][13] McDonald entered the third class of the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, in 1855,[9][10][14] where Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was one of his professors.[1][2] During the 1858–1859 academic year, McDonald attended the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.[9][10] He resumed his studies at the Virginia Military Institute graduating in July 1860.[2][4][13][15] McDonald served as an assistant professor in chemistry under Jackson at the Virginia Military Institute from fall 1860 until the outbreak of the American Civil War in April 1861,[9][10][16] and taught intermittently throughout the course of the war.[1][17][18]

Military career in the American Civil War

McDonald joined the Confederate States Army on April 27, 1861, and was commissioned as a lieutenant and engineer officer.[1] He then served as inspector general on the staff of his former professor, Lieutenant General Stonewall Jackson.[9][16] McDonald later served as a staff officer for Major General Martin Luther Smith and as an engineer officer for Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton after being transferred to New Orleans.[15][16][18]

A two storey log dwelling where McDonald was raised now serves as an American Civil War Museum.
McDonald was raised (and likely born) in this log dwelling in Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia). Known as the Davis History House, McDonald's childhood home serves as an American Civil War museum maintained by the Hampshire County Public Library.

While he was serving as chief engineer under Pemberton, the

black-board, until he can once more point with his sword towards 'the looming bastion fringed with fire'."[17] Of the professors at the institute during the war, Wise remarked, "they taught with a zest and freshness as we seldom see".[17]

McDonald was promoted to the rank of

7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment.[6][18]

Return to Virginia Military Institute

Following the war in 1865, McDonald returned to the Virginia Military Institute where he was appointed a professor with the rank of colonel. He served as both instructor and chair of chemistry, geology, mineralogy, and metallurgy.[2][9][10][19] During his tenure, McDonald established the institution's first museum.[20] During the 1867–1868 academic year, McDonald's chair was further subdivided as new lecture halls were being completed within the restored barracks; he retained the subjects of mineralogy, geology, and metallurgy.[21] His colleagues among the faculty included Superintendent Francis Henney Smith and professors Matthew Fontaine Maury, Scott Shipp, John Mercer Brooke, and George Washington Custis Lee.[21] Toward the end of his tenure at the Virginia Military Institute, McDonald occupied the chair of geology and mining engineering.[10]

An illustration of General Francis Henney Smith addressing the faculty of the Virginia Military Institute
An illustration of General Francis Henney Smith addressing the faculty of the Virginia Military Institute, including McDonald, about the institution's restoration following the American Civil War.

In 1875, McDonald was involved in

mineral resources within the James River basin, and to report his findings to the Virginia General Assembly in 1879.[13] McDonald continued to instruct at the Virginia Military Institute until 1879, when Spencer Fullerton Baird offered him a position with the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries.[1][9][12][18] McDonald accepted, and submitted his resignation from the Virginia commission to Governor Fitzhugh Lee.[9]

United States Fish Commission

McDonald was appointed to an assistant's position within the United States Fish Commission, where he was a special agent under Baird, responsible for compiling and publishing fishery statistics related to the

Field and Stream, McDonald was one of the most accomplished fish culturists in the United States at the time of his appointment.[12] As Fish Commissioner, McDonald was initially paid $5,000 per annum[13] and had at his disposal three yachts and 22 fishing stations to conduct research and carry out the commission's efforts.[2]

12 medals awarded to McDonald for his work and inventions
McDonald was awarded medals (pictured) at international fishery exhibitions in Berlin and London, and from the Société d’Acclimation in Paris for his inventions and improvements in fish farming.

As Fish Commissioner, one of McDonald's most important works was his plan to undertake a biological and physical survey of American fisheries and fish culture more thorough than any previously undertaken.[24] McDonald believed the first step toward building "a comprehensive knowledge of the conditions of greatest productiveness" of American fisheries was to understand the primary food supply of fish, which he termed "aquatic pastorage."[24] He initiated controversial changes at the Fish Commission, imposing a bureaucratic structure inspired by his previous military career and solidifying the commission's focus on fish culture.[23]

In 1893, McDonald warned Oregon's Governor Sylvester Pennoyer of "the disastrous outlook for the future of the salmon fisheries of the Columbia".[25]

Fish hatching innovations

Throughout his tenure at the Fish Commission, McDonald designed and invented several innovative

eggs.[26] McDonald perfected his design of the cod box in 1888.[26] In the winter of 1883, McDonald developed a tidal apparatus for hatching floating halibut eggs and those of other marine species.[12] The vast production and distribution of fish eggs by the Fish Commission was made possible through the utilization of this tidal apparatus.[12] Its use made the process of hatching eggs cheaper and increased the commission's fish farming output capacity.[12]

Awards and honors

Early in his career at the Fish Commission, McDonald was awarded gold medals and diplomas from international fishery exhibitions in Berlin and London, and a silver medal from the Société d’Acclimation in Paris for his inventions and improvements in the field of fish farming.[12][13][18] He also received a "special medal" from the Société d’Acclimation for a fish ladder he devised for the River Vienne in southwestern France.[12][13]

Later life and death

Logan Circle
neighborhood of Washington, D.C. where he resided until his death in 1895.

By 1890, McDonald was residing at 1514 R Street,

Logan Circle neighborhood of Washington, D.C.[3] After suffering from tuberculosis for several months,[12][22] He traveled to the Adirondack Mountains with his wife in the early summer of 1895 seeking to benefit from the region's "health-giving air".[22] His condition deteriorated, and he returned to his residence in Washington, D.C. where he died the following week on Sunday morning, September 1, 1895.[2][12][22] McDonald was interred on September 3 next to his daughter Nannie in Lot 432 East at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood.[28]

Legacy

In his Forest and Stream magazine following McDonald's death in 1895, Charles Hallock recounted "the record of [McDonald's] administration is an honorable one. By the death of Commissioner McDonald the country loses a public officer who has served faithfully honestly and well."[12] He added, "The closing of his life is a loss to fish culture and to the public interests."[12] Marcus Benjamin, in his remembrance of McDonald for the District of Columbia Sons of the American Revolution, remarked: "His articles and reports on the fishing industries of the world are of great interest and his efforts in behalf of the oyster have resulted in much good."[18] Benjamin further stated, "McDonald's bearing was always kind and generous to a fault, and his tread and manner carried for him a remembrance of his long line of military ancestry."[18]

Personal life

Marriage and family

McDonald married Mary Eliza McCormick (October 18, 1840 – February 8, 1934),[29][30] daughter of Colonel Francis McCormick and his wife Rose Mortimer Ellzey, on December 17, 1867 at her family's estate "Frankford" near Berryville in Clarke County, Virginia.[29][31] Mary was born on October 18, 1840, at "Weehaw" in Clarke County and was educated at Richmond Seminary.[29] McDonald and his wife had four children, two of whom survived to adulthood:[29]

  • Mary McDonald (born and died March 1869, Lexington, Virginia)[29]
  • Rose Mortimer Ellzey McDonald Skoggs (November 23, 1871, Lexington, Virginia – 1953, Berryville, Virginia)[29]
  • Angus McDonald (May 28, 1873, Lexington, Virginia – January 17, 1905, Milner, Idaho)[29][32]
  • Nannie Frank McDonald (January 17, 1883, Washington, D.C. – April 10, 1886, Washington, D.C.)[29]

Religious affiliation

McDonald was a member of the

Lee Chapel, which he was partly instrumental in building.[33]

Genealogy

In 1890, McDonald applied for and acquired membership in the

commissioned officers in Virginia revolutionary forces.[3][4] He was formally elected to the society on January 27, 1890.[4]

Publications

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Blume 2011, p. 315.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle 1896, p. 99.
  3. ^ a b c d e National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution (1890). "Sons of the American Revolution Membership Application: Marshall McDonald". Louisville, Kentucky: National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Benjamin 1897, p. 35.
  5. ^ a b Williams 1911, p. 218.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Munske & Kerns 2004, p. 183.
  7. ^ Virginia General Assembly 1839, p. 131.
  8. ^ Morrison 1917, p. 152.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Leslie 1888, p. 419.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Moore 1895, p. 1043.
  11. ^ National Archives and Records Administration (1850). "1850 United States Federal Census, Year: 1850; Census Place: District 24, Hampshire, Virginia; Roll: M432_948; Page: 176A; Image: 355". Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Archived from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Bruette 1895, p. 200.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Col. Marshall McDonald; Newly Appointed Fish Commissioner". The Meriden Daily Republican. January 28, 1888. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  14. ^ Williams 1911, p. 219.
  15. ^ a b c d e Davis 1992, p. 323.
  16. ^ a b c d e Williams 1911, p. 222.
  17. ^ a b c d Wise 1882, p. 19.
  18. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Benjamin 1897, p. 36.
  19. ^ Virginia Military Institute 1869, p. 13.
  20. ^ Williams 1911, p. 227.
  21. ^ a b Smith 1890
  22. ^ a b c d "Death of Marshall McDonald; The United States Fish Commissioner Dies After Long Suffering from Pulmonary Disease" (PDF). The New York Times. September 2, 1895. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 20, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  23. ^ a b Taylor 2001, p. 83.
  24. ^ a b Moore 1895, p. 1042.
  25. ^ Taylor 2001, p. 3.
  26. ^ a b c Bowers 1902, p. 317.
  27. ^ McDonald 1883, pp. 34–35.
  28. ^ "Oak Hill Cemetery: Burials in Lot 432 East" (PDF). Georgetown, Washington, D.C.: Oak Hill Cemetery. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
  29. ^ a b c d e f g h McIlhany 1903, pp. 153–154.
  30. ^ Couper 1952, p. 13.
  31. ^ Williams 1911, p. 229.
  32. ^ Williams 1911, p. 238.
  33. ^ Williams 1911, p. 235.

Bibliography

External links

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