Alameda
County
Biographies
JOSEPH B. MCDONALD
As a contractor and builder, Joseph B. McDonald
of Oakland for more than thirty years has been an important factor in the
advancement and prosperity of that city, as well as one of its actual builders.
For twenty-seven consecutive years he was associated in business with Peter A.
Cameron as a member of the firm of Cameron & McDonald,
and these two gentlemen are the only ones living to-day (sic) who were
identified with the building interests of the city in 1870.
A native of the province of Prince
Edward Island, Canada, Mr. McDonald was born December 24, 1840, a son of
Alexander and Margaret McDonald. Reared and educated in his native land, in
young manhood he learned the trade of carpenter. Being unusually skillful in
the use of tools, he acquired great proficiency early in life. A stalwart
youth, rugged and ambitious, in 1869 he came to the Pacific coast in search of
congenial work. Locating at once in Oakland, he found ample work at his trade.
In 1871, having accumulated sufficient capital, he and his lifelong friend and
neighbor, Peter A. Cameron, formed a partnership which
continued unbroken until Mr. Cameron’s retirement from the active cares of
life. Upon launching out for themselves they first undertook modest contracts,
such as small residences and shops, but as the quality of their work became
known and approved, they offered their services more freely. After purchasing
about thirty-five city lots and erecting houses thereon, and selling them at a
profit, they built ninety residences for Galen M. Fisher. Besides this
extensive contract they erected many of the larger business blocks of Oakland,
the cotton mills, the glass factory and the nail factory, in all of which they
were at one time stockholders. Mr. McDonald also became a shareholder in the Oakland
Home Insurance Company. In 1901 he met with an accident which has prohibited
him from active work since that time. By a severe fall his left leg was broken,
and after months of suffering, in spite of the very best medical and surgical
aid that could be obtained, it was found necessary to amputate the leg above
the knee. Although now practically retired from business, he is frequently
called upon in consultation and to superintend extensive building operations,
his knowledge, skill and artistic ability in architecture and construction
being widely acknowledged and appreciated. At No. 764 Nineteenth street he has
one of the most pleasant and attractive residences in the city.
A man of keen intelligence, public
spirited and liberal, Mr. McDonald has devoted as much time to public matters
as his work would allow, but has never aspired to official honors. During the
Midwinter Fair held in San Francisco, however, he served as treasurer and as a
member of the building committee, devoting a considerable share of his time to
the work for six months without remuneration. As a man and a citizen he is held
in high repute, and by his honorable, straightforward business methods he has
fully established himself in the esteem and confidence of the community. As one
of the practical builders of the city the record of his useful life forms no
unimportant chapter in the annals of Alameda county,
and deserves a permanent place in the history of the state.
Transcribed
by: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California &
Biographical Record of Coast Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A.
M., Pages 990-993. The Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.
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