John McDonald (politician)

John McDonald (born May 24, 1837 in Dingle , Ireland , †  January 30, 1917 in Rockville , Maryland ) was an Irish- American politician . Between 1897 and 1899 he represented the state of Maryland in the US House of Representatives .

Career

John McDonald attended public schools in his Irish homeland. After immigrating to the United States, he joined the US Army in Boston in 1857 . In the following years he was assigned to a regiment operating in what would become the state of Arizona and fighting against Indians. During the civil war he remained in the Union army . He was in a cavalry unit of the Army of the Potomac . After the war he was transferred back to the West, where he was again involved in Indian wars. McDonald remained in the army until July 1, 1868. On that day he retired as a captain for health reasons.

After the end of his military service, McDonald settled in Maryland, where he began a political career as a Republican . In 1881 he became a member of the Maryland House of Representatives . In the congressional election of 1896 he was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the sixth constituency of his state , where he succeeded George Wellington on March 4, 1897 . Until March 3, 1899 he was able to complete a legislative term in Congress . This was shaped by the events of the Spanish-American War .

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, John McDonald worked in agriculture in Montgomery County . He died in Rockville on January 30, 1917.

Web links

• John McDonald in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• John McDonald in the database of Find a Grave (English)