John Lewis MacDONALD, Congress, MN (1838-1903)

MacDONALD, John Lewis, a Representative from Minnesota; born in Glasgow, Scotland, February 22, 1838; immigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada, with his parents, who later, in 1847, settled in Pittsburgh, Pa.; moved to Minnesota in 1855 and settled in Scott County; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1859 and commenced practice at Belle Plain, Minn.; judge of the probate court of Scott County in 1860 and 1861; during the Civil War was commissioned to enlist and muster volunteers for the Union Army; prosecuting attorney of Scott County in 1863 and 1864; county superintendent of schools in 1865 and 1866; member of the State house of representatives in 1869 and 1870; served in the State senate in 1871 and 1873-1876; unsuccessful Democratic candidate for attorney general in 1872; mayor of Shakopee in 1876; elected judge of the eighth judicial district of Minnesota in 1876 for a term of seven years and reelected without opposition in 1883; resigned in the fall of 1886, having been elected to Congress; elected as a Democrat to the Fiftieth Congress (March 4, 1887-March 3, 1889); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1888 to the Fifty-first Congress; engaged in the practice of his profession in St. Paul, Minn.; moved to Kansas City, Mo., in 1898 and continued the practice of law until his death from injuries received in a streetcar accident July 13, 1903; interment in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Kansas City, Mo.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present