.
By Dixie Norwood
Collection Overview
Scope and Contents of the Materials
The William Lindsey McDonald Collection (1927-2009; eighty-one boxes) is part of the research collection of William Lindsey McDonald, alumnus of the University of North Alabama, Florence City (AL) historian, and author. Research includes notes, correspondence, ephemera, scrapbooks, duplicated manuscripts, organizational minutes, artifacts, and numerous photographs. Most of the materials relate to the history of the Shoals area. Research articles related to Alabama and surrounding states also are part of this collection. Some materials are personal in nature, particularly those related to family history.
Biographical Note
William Lindsey (Bill) McDonald (June 7, 1927- June 20, 2009) was a native of Florence, Alabama. A lover of history since his youth, Bill McDonald was renowned for his in-depth knowledge of the area's history. A tireless researcher, he served as the Florence City Historian from 1989 and authored or co-authored fifteen books, as well as numerous articles in magazines, newspapers, and periodicals. After serving in World War II, Dr. McDonald received a degree in business administration from Florence State Teachers College (now UNA) in 1952. He was a member of the first graduation class of the new ROTC program, and after graduation from college, he left to serve as a Second Lieutenant in the Korean War. After retiring as an Army Reserve Colonel with thirty-eight years of service, Dr. McDonald had assignments on the staffs of the Provost Marshal General and the Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel at the Pentagon. In addition to his Florence State degree, Dr. McDonald graduated from the Army's Command and General Staff College (1974), the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (1975), and pursued seminary studies in the United Methodist Church. He was a member of the National Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi.
After returning to the Shoals, Dr. McDonald was employed with the Tennessee Valley National Fertilizer Development Center and retired in 1988 as Chief of the Budget Staff. A retired minister, he served several rural churches in Lauderdale and Colbert Counties, and wrote prolifically on the history of Methodism in North Alabama. From 1968 to 1989, he served as Chair of the Florence Historical Board and in 1989 was appointed City Historian, a position he held until he died in 2009.
He also served as president of the Tennessee Valley Historical Society and the North Alabama Historical Association, as well as Conference Historian for the North Alabama United Methodist Church. Dr. McDonald assisted in the organization of five museums in the North Alabama area and researched and wrote the texts for more than seventy-five historical markers in Florence, Lauderdale County and Courtland. The recipient of numerous awards and commendations, Dr. McDonald was recognized by the UNA Alumni Association with a Community Service Award in October 2000 and conferred with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by UNA in May 2006.
Bill McDonald collected historical information about the Shoals area for more than half a century. His research involved personal interviews, painstaking analysis of original documents and materials, and an uncanny ability to piece together information and ideas in unique and interesting ways. His personal collection included notes, hundreds of photographs, research documents, and a number of limited and one-of-a kind resources. In addition to his books, the public most often had access to Dr. McDonald's wealth of knowledge through his writings on Shoals history in the Florence Times-Daily.
Bill McDonald was married to Dorothy Carter McDonald, an artist and retired teacher in the Florence City School System. They made their home in Florence and had two daughters: Dr. Nancy Carter McDonald and Suzannah Lee McDonald.
Box and Folder Listing
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Biographical],
[
Series 2: Organizations],
[
Series 3: Correpondence],
[
Series 4: Speeches],
[
Series 5: Writings],
[
Series 6: Sermons],
[
Series 7: Research Articles],
[
Series 8: Historic Sites],
[
Series 9: Historic Sites--Lauderdale County],
[
Series 10: Lauderdale County History],
[
Series 11: East Lauderdale],
[
Series 12: West Lauderdale],
[
Series 13: Cloverdale],
[
Series 14: Green Hill],
[
Series 15: Pickwick],
[
Series 16: St. Florian],
[
Series 17: Waterloo],
[
Series 18: Florence History],
[
Series 19: Florence Lauderdale Public Library],
[
Series 20: East Florence],
[
Series 21: Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital],
[
Series 22: Colbert County/Muscle Shoals],
[
Series 23: Gilbert Plantation Records],
[
Series 24: Wilson Dam/TVA],
[[information restricted]],
[
Series 26: University of North Alabama],
[
Series 27: Factories and Mills],
[
Series 28: Churches],
[Series 29: Lauderdale County Families],
[
Series 30: Families],
[
Series 31: Prominent Persons],
[
Series 32: John Coffee],
[
Series 34: Patton and Weeden Families],
[
Series 35: Black Residents in the Shoals],
[
Series 36: Veterans],
[
Series 37: Indian Collection],
[
Series 38: Civil War Materials],
[
Series 42: Journals],
[
Series 39: Alabama],
[
Series 41: Maps],
[
Series 33: Jackson Family],
[
Series 40: Tennessee],
[
Series 43: Image Collection Index],
[
All]
- Series 29: Lauderdale County Families
- Box 38
- Folder 1: "William R. King of Alabama"
- Folder 2: "The Bage and Nannie Butler Family" by Selma Elora Butler Putnam
- Folder 3: "My Life, My Husband, and Our Relatives" by Dessia Lula
- Folder 4: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McVay
- Folder 5: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Austin/Faires/Threet
- Folder 6: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McElvany
- Folder 7: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Negley
- Folder 8: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Koger
- Folder 9: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Brandon/Locke
- Folder 10: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Baker
- Folder 11: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Buttram
- Folder 12: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Boyd/Mitchell/Ezell/Waters
- Folder 13: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Ingrum/Ingram
- Folder 14: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Elliot
- Folder 15: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Kernachan
- Folder 16: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Herndon
- Folder 17: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McFarland
- Folder 18: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Elting
- Folder 19: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Irion
- Folder 20: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Sessions/Stewart
- Folder 21: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Farmer
- Folder 22: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Sanderson/Stanfill
- Folder 23: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McCutchen
- Folder 24: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Brown/Butler/Spencer/Davis/Newton/Jackson
- Folder 25: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Smith
- Folder 26: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Rice
- Folder 27: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McCabe/Aaron/Milner/Allen/Bretherick/Pettus/Harrison/Bailey
- Folder 28: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Lamb
- Folder 29: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Koonce
- Folder 30: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Carmack
- Folder 31: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Jordan
- Folder 32: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Cantrell/Coburn/Hays/House
- Folder 33: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Ezzell/Tompkins/James/Hester
- Folder 34: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Givens
- Folder 35: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Belue
- Folder 36: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Fuqua/Gibson/Goode
- Folder 37: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Davidson/Johnston/Sannoner
- Folder 38: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Missing Folder
- Folder 39: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Newman/Adams/Cherry/Waters
- Folder 40: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Duckett/White/Young/Whitten
- Folder 41: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hooks
- Folder 42: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Pruitt
- Folder 43: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Andrews
- Folder 44: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Sinnard
- Folder 45: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hamm
- Folder 46: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Blassingame
- Folder 47: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Missing Folder
- Folder 48: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Bliss
- Folder 49: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Bounds/Lucas/Haddock/Phillips
- Folder 50: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Barton/Cook
- Folder 51: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hammond/Litrell
- Folder 52: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McClure
- Folder 53: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Moore/Perryman
- Folder 54: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Chisholm
- Folder 55: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Foster
- Folder 56: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hendrix
- Folder 57: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Gresham
- Folder 58: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Byler
- Folder 59: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--James/Martin
- Folder 60: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Dickson
- Folder 61: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Chapelle
- Folder 62: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Baldridge/Price/Mason/Mussleman
- Folder 63: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Baldridge/Price/Mason/Mussleman
- Box 39
- Folder 1: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Herman
- Folder 2: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Holland/Ross
- Folder 3: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McCoriston
- Folder 4: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Peters
- Folder 5: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Springer
- Folder 6: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Bryson
- Folder 7: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Brown/Lovelace/Duncan
- Folder 8: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Southworth
- Folder 9: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Stephenson
- Folder 10: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Beckwith
- Folder 11: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Harmon
- Folder 12: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Willis/Wilson
- Folder 13: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Kimbrough
- Folder 14: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Creede/White
- Folder 15: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--File Missing
- Folder 16: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Scruggs
- Folder 17: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Pickens
- Folder 18: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Glasscock
- Folder 19: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Parrish
- Folder 20: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McMurry
- Folder 21: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Barclay
- Folder 22: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Rickard/Rikard
- Folder 23: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--LeMay
- Folder 24: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Grigsby
- Folder 25: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hillis
- Folder 26: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Butler/Taylor
- Folder 27: Butler Family History Part 2
- Folder 28: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Van Buskirk
- Folder 29: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Tate
- Folder 30: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Bumpass
- Folder 31: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Stevenson
- Folder 32: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Posey
- Folder 33: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Dice
- Folder 34: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Reynolds
- Folder 35: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Phillips
- Folder 36: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Carroll
- Folder 37: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Abrams
- Folder 38: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Lee
- Folder 39: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Oates
- Folder 40: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Wood
- Folder 41: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Bedford
- Folder 42: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Simpson
- Folder 43: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Rapier
- Folder 44: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Boddie
- Folder 45: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Lindsey/Nix
- Folder 46: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Rhodes
- Folder 47: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Frierson
- Folder 48: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Sewell
- Folder 49: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Randall
- Folder 50: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Gist
- Folder 51: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--O'Neal
- Folder 52: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Perry
- Folder 53: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Walker
- Folder 54: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Boggs/Houston/Thompson/Irvine/Hall/Brock
- Folder 55: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hill/McClusky/LaFan
- Folder 56: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Richards/Rice
- Folder 57: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Heslep/Hood
- Folder 58: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--King/Rand
- Folder 59: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Belew/Davis/Porter/Howard
- Folder 60: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Johnson
- Folder 61: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Gross/Harris
- Folder 62: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Paulk
- Folder 63: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Wheeler
- Folder 64: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Henry
- Folder 65: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Cox
- Folder 66: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Cannon
- Folder 67: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Sinclair
- Folder 68: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Rowell/Woodward
- Folder 69: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Cooper
- Folder 70: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Roberts
- Folder 71: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Sullivan
- Folder 72: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Beavers/Joiner
- Folder 73: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Beadle
- Folder 74: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Mathena
- Folder 75: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Nelson
- Folder 76: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McDougal
- Folder 77: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Haddock
- Folder 78: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Qualls
- Folder 79: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Daly/Daily
- Box 40
- Folder 1: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Romine
- Folder 2: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Dowdy/O'Neal/Sharp/Wright
- Folder 3: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Campbell/Norton/Picketts/Sloss
- Folder 4: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McCain
- Folder 5: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Staggs
- Folder 6: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Wiley
- Folder 7: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Douglass/Kennedy
- Folder 8: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hollis
- Folder 9: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Killen
- Folder 10: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Morrison
- Folder 11: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Galloway
- Folder 12: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--DeShazo/Scott
- Folder 13: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Higgins
- Folder 14: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Kimble
- Folder 15: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Lancaster
- Folder 16: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Banks
- Folder 17: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Shelton
- Folder 18: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Rucker
- Folder 19: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Mason
- Folder 20: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Turrentine
- Folder 21: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Todd
- Folder 22: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Weakley
- Folder 23: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Woodcock
- Folder 24: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Vaught
- Folder 25: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Atkins
- Folder 26: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Chappell/Dickie/Kindred
- Folder 27: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hertz
- Folder 28: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Barner
- Folder 29: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Coffee
- Folder 30: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Deshler
- Folder 31: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Watts
- Folder 32: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Falconnet
- Folder 33: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hubbard
- Folder 34: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hamby
- Folder 35: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Redding
- Folder 36: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Russell
- Folder 37: Kirkman & Erwin (Nashville Business)
- Folder 38: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--McKinley
- Folder 39: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Martin
- Folder 40: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
- Folder 41: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
- Folder 42: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Proctor/Waddell
- Folder 43: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Wittshire
- Folder 44: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
- Folder 45: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
- Folder 46: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Teas
- Folder 47: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Hannah
- Folder 48: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Henley
- Folder 49: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--Karsner
- Folder 50: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
- Folder 51: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
- Folder 52: Records of Lauderdale County, Alabama Families--
Browse by Series:
[
Series 1: Biographical],
[
Series 2: Organizations],
[
Series 3: Correpondence],
[
Series 4: Speeches],
[
Series 5: Writings],
[
Series 6: Sermons],
[
Series 7: Research Articles],
[
Series 8: Historic Sites],
[
Series 9: Historic Sites--Lauderdale County],
[
Series 10: Lauderdale County History],
[
Series 11: East Lauderdale],
[
Series 12: West Lauderdale],
[
Series 13: Cloverdale],
[
Series 14: Green Hill],
[
Series 15: Pickwick],
[
Series 16: St. Florian],
[
Series 17: Waterloo],
[
Series 18: Florence History],
[
Series 19: Florence Lauderdale Public Library],
[
Series 20: East Florence],
[
Series 21: Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital],
[
Series 22: Colbert County/Muscle Shoals],
[
Series 23: Gilbert Plantation Records],
[
Series 24: Wilson Dam/TVA],
[[information restricted]],
[
Series 26: University of North Alabama],
[
Series 27: Factories and Mills],
[
Series 28: Churches],
[Series 29: Lauderdale County Families],
[
Series 30: Families],
[
Series 31: Prominent Persons],
[
Series 32: John Coffee],
[
Series 34: Patton and Weeden Families],
[
Series 35: Black Residents in the Shoals],
[
Series 36: Veterans],
[
Series 37: Indian Collection],
[
Series 38: Civil War Materials],
[
Series 42: Journals],
[
Series 39: Alabama],
[
Series 41: Maps],
[
Series 33: Jackson Family],
[
Series 40: Tennessee],
[
Series 43: Image Collection Index],
[
All]
