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 10: Lauderdale County History

Box 21

Folder 1: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--"History of Lauderdale County" (Judge William Basil Wood)
Folder 2: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--William Herman (First Known White Child Born in Lauderdale County)
Folder 3: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--"Lauderdale County"
Folder 4: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--Early Maps of Alabama
Folder 5: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--Gabe Butler and His Posterity (Charles G. Butler)
Folder 6: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--Early Alabama Appointments and Militia Records
Folder 7: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--Early Lauderdale County Marriages (Journal of Rev. James L. Sloss)
Folder 8: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--Miscellaneous (1)
Folder 9: Lauderdale County History (Vol.1)--Miscellaneous (2)
Folder 10: Lauderadle County History (Vol.2)--"The Governors of Alabama" (John Craig Stewart)
Folder 11: Lauderdale County History (Vol.2)--"Historical Official Souvenir Centennial Celebration" Booklet (1918)
Folder 12: Lauderdale County History (Vol.2)--"County Seats in the Valley of the Tennessee" (Frances Roberts)
Folder 13: Lauderdale County History (Vol.2)--Excerpts from a History of Lauderdale County Alabama (Jill Garrett)
Folder 14: Lauderdale County History (Vol.2)--Cypress Mill Village 1870 Census
Folder 15: Lauderdale County History (Vol.2)--Miscellaneous
Folder 16: Lauderdale County History (Vol.3)--Madison County, MS Territory (Later Alabama)
Folder 17: Lauderdale County History (Vol.3)--Florence and Lauderdale County Descriptive
Folder 18: Lauderdale County History (Vol3)--People and Population
Folder 19: Lauderdale County History (Vol.3)--1850 Census of Lauderdale County
Folder 20: Lauderdale County History (Vol.3)--Miscellaneous
Folder 21: Lauderdale County History (Vol.4)--Miscellaneous
Folder 22: Lauderdale County History (Vol.4)--History of Postal Department (William Q. Hill)
Folder 23: Lauderdale County History (Vol.5)--Miscellaneous
Folder 24: Lauderdale County History (Vol.5)--Gravelly Springs/Waterloo
Folder 25: Lauderdale County History (Vol.6)--Historical Reminiscenes (Various)
Folder 26: Lauderdale County History (Vol.6)--Miscellaneous
Folder 27: Lauderdale County, AL Pamphlet by L&N Railroad (1913-1914)
Folder 28: History of Legal System, Lauderdale County, AL
Folder 29: Lauderdale County Records
Folder 30: "Life in East Lauderdale County, Alabama, Just After the Civil War Years" by Charles G. Butler
Folder 31: "Archaeological Testing at The Saddlebag Cabin, Forks of Cypress Plantation, Lauderdale County, Alabama" by Dr. Linda France Stine
Folder 32: "Springs in Colbert and Lauderdale Counties, Alabama" by Hobart B. Harris
Folder 33: Lauderdale County History--"A Humdinger of a History for a Humble Hollow"
Folder 34: Lauderdale County, Alabama Cemeteries--Volume 1
Folder 35: Lauderdale County, Alabama Cemeteries--Volume 2

Box 22

Folder 1: Collection of Notes and Obituaries Kept by Mrs. Hendon, Florence, Alabama from circa 1930's until circa 1950's
Folder 2: Collection of Notes and Obituaries Kept by Mrs. Hendon, Florence Alabama, from circa 1930's until circa 1950's
Folder 3: Cemeteries and Early Obituaries--Lauderdale County, Alabama
Folder 4: "A Study of Lauderdale County" by Nora Corrigan
Folder 5: Lauderdale History (Oscar Lewis)
Folder 6: Lexington, Alabama History
Folder 7: Pre-Civil War Physicians Log for Smithsonia and West Lauderdale County Area (1821)
Folder 8: Florence (Ala.) Enquirer Ads (1840-1847)
Folder 9: Frontier (Shoals)
Folder 10: Lauderdale County History Crossword Puzzle
Folder 11: Publicly Owned Land (Schools, Churches, Cemeteries) in Lauderdale County (January 1940) (Part 1)
Folder 12: Publicly Owned Land (Schools,Churches, Cemeteries) in Lauderdale County (January 1940) (Part 2)