A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for John Irving McDonald Jr.
Full name is from http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:1449016&id=I79509368. There is a cemetery record for Irving M. McDonald at http://www.mountmora.com/findagrave/main.asp?page=search_details&id=9281, which might be him (in which case the "Jr." is not correct).
"History of the Class of 1903: Yale College", edited by Ziegler Sargent, Yale University, 1906, pp. 184-185 (obtained from Google Books):
*Irving McDonald (B.A. 1903) died November 15, 1903. It is a duty associated with much grief to write of the death of a classmate, but when that classmate has been a lifelong friend and companion the duty becomes a sorrowful one indeed.
Irving McDonald was born in St. Joseph, Mo., November 5, 1881, prepared at the St. Joseph High School and at the Taft School, Watertown, Conn., and entered college with the Class.
His father, John Irving McDonald (Yale 1878), of the R. L. McDonald & Company, wholesale dry goods and manufacturers of men's furnishings of St. Joseph, was born in St. Joseph June 11, 1858, the son of Rufus Lee McDonald and Mary Ann (Wilson) McDonald. Mrs. R. L. McDonald was the daughter of General Robert Wilson, United States Senator from Missouri.
His mother, whose maiden name was Frank Haskell Fanning, was the daughter of Frank Fanning and Sarah (Scott) Fanning.
A great uncle, John Wilson, graduated from Yale in 1847.
Irving McDonald's life in college is more or less familiar to us all. While not a student in the strict sense of the word, he always maintained a high standing in his class and did so with the ease and apparent absence of effort which marks the quick, ready and absorbing mind. When his interest was aroused he showed a wonderful capacity for work and originality of thought. These mental qualities had already begun to assert themselves in his short business career after college and a life full of every promise of success was ended by his sudden death five months after graduation. He died the victim of an unfortunate accident, which left sorrowing his family, friends and the entire community in which he lived.
In his home he was the idol of his father and mother and loved and admired by his brother and sister. To know him was to love him, is the story of his social life. There never was a truer friend or a more genial and pleasant companion. It has been nearly three years since his death, yet among his intimate circle of friends his name is still fresh and his absence a lasting regret. His companionship was always sought, for he was truly a radiating focus of life, good will and happiness. He possessed a kind, generous and singularly unselfish disposition, ever ready to sacrifice his own pleasure for the enjoyment of those he loved. He was brave and honorable in every act; courteous and gentlemanly in all his associations with men. These noble traits of character endeared him to all who knew him and the Class of 1903 together with his many other friends will ever honor and cherish the memory of Irving McDonald.
John Barrow Motter.
At the Triennial Meeting of the Class, June 26, 1906, the following resolutions were adopted:
Whereas, It has pleased God in His infinite wisdom to remove from among us our beloved friend and classmate, Irving McDonald, be it
Resolved, That his untimely death came as a shock and surpassing grief to his friends, and that in behalf of the Class we hereby desire to convey to his family our keen sorrow and great sense of loss; and be it further
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be sent to his family and entered in the records of the Class.
Alfred H. Bill,
Willard A. Lyon,
J. R. Wait,
for the Class of 1903.
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
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