About

Who were Angus McDonald's parents?

This is a question that my great-great-grandfather, Rev. Claiborne McDonald, would have known. Claiborne spent time with his grandfather Angus McDonald in North Carolina while attending school. My great-grandfather Claiborne McDonald Jr. wrote about how his father recorded lots of information about our family's earliest settlers. Sadly, that information and a diary he kept for many years has been lost.

Later in life, Claiborne McDonald Jr. took up the hobby of genealogy. He passed on this love to my uncle, Claiborne “Buddy” McDonald IV. Buddy spent many years researching family history. He followed in his grandfather’s footsteps by writing to distant family members, collecting writings, and employing professional genealogists—just like his grandfather.

In the second grade, my uncle helped me complete a picture of my family tree for a school project. My tree was five times bigger than any other kid’s. I was shocked because I thought everyone’s tree would be as big. My tree was composed of war fighters and even a legendary baseball player. This began my journey into genealogy.

I listened to Buddy’s stories about the family over the years, but it wasn’t until the year of the pandemic that I really dove into the research. I made my first family tree since the second grade and began filling in all the details. This brought on more and more questions rekindling my conversations with Buddy on family history. We would talk for a while, and he would always end with, “When you come down, we will look through all my information.” Being in Baltimore, Maryland, and Buddy in Picayune, Mississippi, I did not make it down much, and when I did, it never seemed like we had the time. Therefore, we just kept talking and sharing our findings.

Buddy passed away on January 1st, 2024. This website is my attempt to answer Buddy’s questions about family history and a means for me to keep our discussions alive. It is sad that I no longer have my uncle with me to discuss our family history. I continue researching but often find a new nugget and now have no fellow family researcher to share it with. I wonder if Buddy felt the same way after his grandfather had passed away.

While there are many areas to explore, my main goal is discovering Angus’ parents. It’s the unanswered question that my great-grandfather wrote about in his letter to Rev. A W “Gus” Hall and the unanswered question that eluded Buddy too. Now, I (we?) will carry on the quest that’s been in the works for over 80 years.

Obraich sinn!