allen donald
1929-1929
Life Story
A Brief Life in Lawrence
Allen Donald entered the world on October 31, 1929, in the rural community of Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi. He was the infant son of Abraham Donald, Jr. and Rebecca Rigsby Donald, joining a family whose roots extended deep into the African American farming communities of eastern Mississippi.
His birth came during a difficult period in American history. The nation had entered the Great Depression only days earlier following the stock market crash of October 1929. While the economic collapse would soon reshape the lives of millions, families in rural Mississippi already faced limited access to medical care, persistent poverty, and the hardships of agricultural life.
A Life Measured in Hours
Allen’s life was tragically brief. Born prematurely, he survived for only three hours before succumbing to complications associated with his early birth. His death certificate identified premature birth as the cause of death.
Dr. E. M. Wall of Newton attended Allen during his short life and completed the medical certification. Family member David Donald served as the informant for the official state record, ensuring that even this brief life was documented for future generations.
Although Allen never had the opportunity to know his family, his birth and death became part of the Donald family’s history—a reminder of the many infants whose lives ended before modern advances in prenatal and neonatal medicine dramatically reduced infant mortality.
Burial at Union Chapel
On November 1, 1929, the day following his birth, Allen was laid to rest in Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery in Lawrence, Newton County, Mississippi.
His grave joined those of other Donald family members and neighbors who had built lives within the Lawrence community. Though Allen’s time on earth lasted only a few hours, his burial in the family’s cemetery ensured that he remained part of the community’s shared history.
Remembering Every Life
Genealogy often celebrates long lives marked by marriage, military service, migration, and community leadership. Yet family history is equally shaped by those whose lives were measured in days—or, as in Allen’s case, only hours.
Remembering children like Allen Donald honors not only the child himself but also the grief carried by parents, siblings, and extended family. His brief life reminds us that every person recorded in the historical record, regardless of age, occupies a permanent place within the family’s story.
Resting Place
Union Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- Mississippi Death Certificate, Allen Donald, October 31, 1929, Mississippi Department of Health; giving date and place of birth and death, parents Abraham Donald, Jr. and Rebecca Rigsby Donald, cause of death, physician E. M. Wall, informant Dave Donald, and burial at Union Chapel Methodist Church Cemetery.
- Burial information recorded on Allen Donald’s Mississippi death certificate.
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