William Lindsey McDonald papers, 1927-2009 | UNA Archives and Special Collections

By Dixie Norwood

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Collection Overview

Title: William Lindsey McDonald papers, 1927-2009

Primary Creator: William Lindsey McDonald papers, 1927-2009

Extent: 60.0 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: The Collection arranged into series.

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 38: Civil War Materials

Box 54

Folder 1: Civil War Materials--Volume A-Section 1
Folder 2: Civil War Materials--Volume A-Section 1
Folder 3: Civil War Materials--Volume A-Section 2
Folder 4: Civil War Materials--Volume B-Section 3
Folder 5: Civil War Materials--Volume B-Section 3
Folder 6: Civil War Materials--Volume B-Section 4
Folder 7: Civil War Materials--Volume C-Section 5
Folder 8: Civil War Materials--Volume C-Section 6
Folder 9: No Folder
Folder 10: Civil War Materials--Volume C-Section 7
Folder 11: Civil War Materials--Volume C-Section 8
Folder 12: Civil War Materials--Volume C-Section 8
Folder 13: Civil War Materials--Volume D-Section 9
Folder 14: Civil War Materials--Volume D-Section 9
Folder 15: Civil War Materials--Volume D-Section 9
Folder 16: Civil War Materials--Volume D-Section 9
Folder 17: Civil War Materials--Volume E-Section 10
Folder 18: Civil War Materials--Volume E-Section 11

Box 55

Folder 1: Civil War Materials--Volume F-Section 12
Folder 2: Civil War Materials--Volume F-Section 12
Folder 3: Civil War Materials--Volume F-Section 12
Folder 4: Civil War Materials--Volume F-Section 12
Folder 5: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 13
Folder 6: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 14
Folder 7: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 15
Folder 8: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 16
Folder 9: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 16
Folder 10: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 17
Folder 11: Civil War Materials--Volume G-Section 18
Folder 12: Civil War Materials--Volume H-Section 19
Folder 13: Civil War Materials--Volume H-Section 20
Folder 14: Civil War Materials--Volume H-Section 21
Folder 15: Civil War Materials--Volume H-Section 22
Folder 16: Civil War Materials--Volume H-Section 23
Folder 17: Civil War Materials--Volume H-Section 24
Folder 18: Civil War Materials--Volume I-Section 25
Folder 19: Civil War Materials--Volume I-Section 26
Folder 20: Civil War Materials--Volume I-Section 27
Folder 21: Civil War Materials--Volume I-Section 28
Folder 22: Civil War Materials--Volume J-Section 29
Folder 23: Civil War Materials--Volume J-Section 30
Folder 24: Civil War Materials--Volume J-Section 31
Folder 25: Civil War Materials--Volume J-Section 32
Folder 26: Civil War Materials--Volume J-Section 33

Box 56

Folder 1: Civil War Materials--Volume K-Section 34
Folder 2: Civil War Materials--Volume K-Section 35
Folder 3: Civil War Materials--Volume L-Section 36
Folder 4: Civil War Materials--Volume L-Section 36
Folder 5: Civil War Journal of Mrs. Weakly
Folder 6: James Bennington Irvine Diary (1864-1865)
Folder 7: Articles and Research on Confederate Studies
Folder 8: "Songs of the Confederacy and Plantation Melodies" (1901)
Folder 9: Civil War Materials--"Confederate Veteran" (3 Issues)
Folder 10: Civil War Materials--"To Armsin in the Valley" Official Program (1961)
Folder 11: "Location and Classification on the Dates of Military Events in Alabama, 1861-1865"
Folder 12: Chronology of Civil War in the Tennessee Valley
Folder 13: Miscellaneous Publications--"Edmund Ruffin--Southern Patriot and Conservationist" (Victor J. Kilmer)
Folder 14: "Alabama Confederates Imprisoned and Buried at Johnson's Island"
Folder 15: "Civil War History of 35th Alabama Regiment" (J.W. Harmon)
Folder 16: Colbert County--Civil War
Folder 17: Civil War--Ezell Brothers
Folder 18: Civil War Maps & Graphics (Catalogue)
Folder 19: Letters and Confederate Army Rolls from the Local Area Between the States
Folder 20: A Narrative from an Old Confederate by Dr. J.W. Harmon
Folder 21: Civil War Claims at Lauderdale County
Folder 22: Civil War Claims at Lauderdale County
Folder 23: Civil War Claims at Lauderdale County
Folder 24: Civil War Claims at Lauderdale County
Folder 25: Civil War Claims of Christopher Brewer (Maternal Grandfather to W.C. Handy)
Folder 26: Civil War Claims for Adrian Sharp of Gravvelly Springs
Folder 27: Civil War Summary (Florence and Lauderdale County)
Folder 28: Hood's Crossing at Bainbridge
Folder 29: Andrew Devilbliss
Folder 30: Civil War--S.C. Units
Folder 31: Civil War
Folder 32: Confederates Veteran Magazines (1897,1898 incomplete copies)
Folder 33: Civil War in Florence--News Stories and Recollections by Citizens
Folder 34: "War Against the Citizens--Lauderdale County, Alabama 1862-1865" (William L. McDonald and Earl Daniel)
Folder 35: "The Confederate Capture of Florence, Alabama" (William L. McDonald)