Donald
McArthur
Contributor: Donna Lucille
Williams Rogers, great-great granddaughter
Portions of this text come from Janice Davis' research, Donna’s cousin.
Donald
McArthur had coal black piercing eyes and red hair. He was born in England,
of Scottish descent, in 1827. He came to New York at the age of one. He was put
in a boy’s school in Saratoga, and at the age of 14, Donald sold his books and
clothes and shipped out to sea on a whaling vessel. He was accompanied by three of his
schoolmates.
Life
on the ship was very rugged. Many died of scurvy because of the lack of fresh
meat and fruit. The Officers and Captain of the vessel ate well but others did
not. During a night watch Donald stole a piece of fresh meat and cooked it in
his coffee pot. Realizing the piece of meat was missing the captain searched
the ship and tried with no luck to get someone to confess.
Donald
and his shipmates would harpoon whales using harpoons from a smaller vessel.
They hated the sharks that would follow the smaller boats waiting for a boy to
fall out of the boat. The boys would heat up rocks to where they were literally
red hot and then throw them to the sharks and the sharks would literally tear
themselves to pieces with the burning rock in them. For a time the boys were
not allowed to go ashore when the ship would dock because it was feared they
would run away because they were so poorly treated.
During
this time many men were shanghaied aboard and made to work very hard. After
many months at sea the ship docked at the Kanaki Islands. The Captain, feeling confident
that the boys wouldn't run away in this tiny island in the mid-Pacific, allowed
the boys to go ashore. Donald and his three friends hid in the thick tropical
underbrush and up in coconut trees to hide. They only had coconut meat and milk
for 3 days. They watched the ship go back out to sea. Thinking it was safe,
despite Donald's warnings, Donald's friends went into town to find something to
eat. All three boys were captured by men the captain had left behind. When his
friend were made to reboard the ship and the ship left with his friends, Donald
was safe,
Over
the next 2 years Donald made friends with the Kanaki natives and, because he
repaired a broken barrel for the king, he also made friends with him. Donald
left the Kanaki Islands and by the age of 19 ended up in San Francisco.
From
San Francisco he traveled all over the western US. He ended up in Utah in about
1863 (I have no idea how long he was there prior to 1863). In Utah Donald met
Margaret Price Howells
Thompson. Margaret's husband, Nils, had been scalped by Indians
leaving her a 23 year old widow with a 2 year old and pregnant to boot. Donald
offered to marry her. Margaret agreed, but only after she had given birth to
the baby within her.
They
married
In
1874 Donald also ran for superintendent of schools for Churchill County and won
by a landslide (41 votes for Donald, 14 for his opponent Gray). Donald then
moved his family to Inyo County (near Bishop) where had had secured a land
grant for 160 acres. (BLM serial is cacaaa 134022)
Donald
was 13 years older than Margaret. He became ill and unable to support his
family. Margaret brought in the money for about a year and then sadly divorced
Donald in Inyo County on
I
have copies of the original divorce documents for any family member interested
(they were found by my cousin, Janice Davis), I also have a wonderful photo of
Donald, as well as Margaret Howell and many of those descended from them. We
don't know what happened to Donald after the divorce. We believe he is buried
in Inyo County somewhere, just do not know where but one day I am going to give
him a great big hug in heaven!
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