Los Angeles County
Biographies
JAMES WISEMAN MACDONALD
MACDONALD, JAMES WISEMAN, Attorney-at-Law, Los Angeles, Cal., was born in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, Jan. 17, 1866, the son of Allan Macdonald and Eleanor (Wiseman) Macdonald. He is a descendant of the famed Macdonalds of Clan Ranald, of the Western Highlands of Scotland, whose name is frequently mentioned in song and story. He married Jane Boland in San Francisco, June 23, 1902. They have three children, Allan, Eleanor and James Wiseman Macdonald, Jr.
Mr. Macdonald, although born an American, spent his boyhood and part of his early manhood in England. His father died in 1869, and the mother took the children back to England to her original home where she was born. He was educated at the Grant School, a private institution at Burnly, Lancashire, England, conducted by the late W. M. Grant, one of the best known educators of England. On the death of his mother he immediately returned to America, coming to Los Angeles in 1891.
In 1892 he was admitted to the bar before the Supreme Court of California.
He has served two terms as trustee of the L. A. Bar Association, and was Lecturer on Corporations for the University of So. Cal. He is a director and attorney for the Park Bank of L. A., and president of the Dimond Estate Co. of S. F., a close corporation having large real estate holdings in and near that city. He has been for many years legal adviser of the Catholic Bishops of Monterey and of Los Angeles. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus and of the California Club.
An interesting phase of the history of the Macdonald family is that for several generations they were under the displeasure of the present royal family on account of their adherence to the Stuart cause and the part they took in the Jacobite wars of 1715 and 1745.
Transcribed 3-24-09
Marilyn R. Pankey.
Source: Press
Reference Library, Western Edition Notables of the West, Vol. I, Page 221,
International News Service, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Boston, Atlanta. 1913.
© 2009 Marilyn R. Pankey.
GOLDEN NUGGET'S LOS ANGELES BIOGRAPIES