One day, quite by accident, genealogist Laurence Overmire came across a document that contained some bits of information that proved to be the explosive piece of evidence that completely demolished a previously impenetrable brick wall of centuries-old McDonald ancestry.
As the author of A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey (Indelible Mark Publishing, 2015) and the world's foremost authority on this most ancient line of the McDonald family in America, Overmire understood immediately the significance of the information he had uncovered. Like an archaeologist digging through the layers of earth and sand to expose the long-buried entrance to an Egyptian tomb, he immediately went to work to verify the discovery and to trace all the descendants that he could find.
These mysterious McDonalds, as it turns out, were pioneers of Lansingburgh, Rensselaer County, New York, and were descended from Revolutionary War veteran Maj. Richard McDonald of Bedminster, Somerset County, New Jersey.
This particular branch of the McDonald tree has been lost for generations - until now. None of the living descendants retained the memory of their illustrious forebears who played such an important role in the Revolutionary War and whose forefathers set sail for America during the turbulent period known as "The Killing Time" in 17th century Scotland.
This special book is a family treasure chest filled with gold nuggets of well-documented history that you can proudly share and pass down to your children. It traces all the known descendant lines of Richard and Catharine (Lansing) McDonald of Lansingburgh complete with biographies and family stories.
Many interrelated and descendant families are discussed including those with the surnames Ackley, Adams, Augustine, Baker, Calden, Collard, DeLamater, Gale, Goodwin, Harlow, Hun, Kelley, Kerr, Ladewig, Lang, Lansing, MacAdams, MacDonald, Main, Marsland, McAllen, McCurley, Miles, Miller, Morris, Peltz, Ransom, Robinson, Russell, Schmidt, Siek, Smith, Stapf, Tucker, Turner, Unger, Van Arnum, Wahlstrom, Wells, White, and Williams.
This is a must read for anyone who descends from Richard and Catharine (Lansing) McDonald, as well as all those who are descended from any branch of the Maj. Richard McDonald family tree originating in Somerset County, New Jersey.
You will meet cousins here that you never knew you had, some of whom might even be living nearby. After all, the descendants of the McDonalds spread all across America and have contributed in many ways, large and small, to making our country what it is today.
LAURENCE OVERMIRE has had a multi-faceted career as genealogist, poet, actor, director, and educator. He is the author of five genealogy books, including the epic family histories: One Immigrant's Legacy: The Overmyer Family in America, 1751-2009 and A Revolutionary American Family: The McDonalds of Somerset County, New Jersey. To help others become aware of their intriguing ancestral ties, Overmire researched many of the early immigrants to America, tracing not only their celebrated ancestors, but also the prominent Americans who descended from them. He published this work in several genealogical studies online, most notably in The Ancestry of Overmire, Tifft, Richardson, Bradford, Reed, which includes the family trees of many U. S. Presidents and European monarchs, and a host of famous statesmen, soldiers, artists, actors, writers, poets, musicians, scientists, inventors, and social reformers. As one of the pioneers in this type of research online, he has helped hundreds of thousands of people discover their family roots and find their intimate connections to the people and events that have shaped world history. laurenceovermire.com
