lewis willis donald
1847-1919
Life Story
Early Life and Family Origins
Lewis Willis Donald was born on February 17, 1847, in Alabama to Abraham Donald (1815–before 1880) and Milly Ann Donald (1825–before 1880). His father, Abraham Donald, is recognized as the first African American preacher to preach in Newton County, Mississippi, placing Lewis within a family deeply rooted in faith, leadership, and early Black institutional life in the county.
Lewis came of age during the final years of slavery and the upheaval of the Civil War. His early adulthood unfolded during Reconstruction, a period marked by fragile opportunity and violent retrenchment, which would shape the course of his life.
Civil War Service
During the Civil War, Lewis Willis Donald served in the Union Army as a soldier in the 48th Regiment, United States Colored Infantry, Company I. He enlisted as a private and was mustered out at the same rank. His service is commemorated as part of the African American Civil War Memorial, where he is listed under the name Will Donald.
His military service placed him among the generation of formerly enslaved men whose participation in the Union war effort laid the groundwork for claims to citizenship, land, and political participation during Reconstruction.
Reconstruction, Politics, and Displacement
In the years following the war, Lewis Willis Donald lived in Newton County at a time when African American men briefly exercised political authority. Contemporary newspaper and county board records indicate that L. W. Donald participated in public life during the early 1870s, when Black citizens held positions within county governance. Donald served on the Board of Police in 1870.
As white Democrats regained control of local government and dismantled Reconstruction-era gains, Black officeholders were systematically removed or marginalized. By 1880, Lewis Donald was living with his family in Edwards, Hinds County, Mississippi. While no direct record states the reason for his relocation, the timing suggests political displacement during the violent rollback of Reconstruction rather than voluntary migration.
He would later return to Newton County.
Marriage and Family Life
Lewis Willis Donald married Laura Herd Donald (1855–1894) by 1880. From this union, the following children were born:
- Rebecca Donald (1874–1945)
- David A. Donald (1876–1957)
- Handy Donald (1878–?)
- Ezekiel Donald (1880–?)
- Mattie Donald (1883-?)
- Louisa Donald (1886–?)
- Bessie Donald (1888–1983)
- John Donald (1891–?)
- Laura Donald (1893–1978)
- James Donald (1894–?)
After Laura’s death in 1894, Lewis married Nora Johnson (1875–1901) in 1895, a native of Hinds County. Their children were:
- Cordelia Donald (1896–1966)
- Rosa Donald (1897–?)
- Thomas Donald (1898–?)
By 1910, Lewis had married Mattie Rand Donald (1869–?), with whom he had two additional children:
- Sarah Donald (1904–?)
- Ruth Donald (1905–?)
Across three marriages, Lewis Willis Donald fathered at least fourteen children, creating an extended family network that would later become central to land inheritance and legal proceedings.
Land Ownership and Farming
By the late nineteenth century, Lewis Willis Donald had acquired approximately 240 acres of land across multiple sections of Newton County, including Sections 2, 6, and 7 (Township 5, Ranges 10 and 11). For a formerly enslaved man, this level of land ownership was a remarkable achievement and placed him among the most substantial Black landholders in the county.
He worked primarily as a farmer and farm laborer, sustaining a large household through agricultural production.
Debt, Crop Liens, and Financial Pressure
Like most Black farmers in the post-emancipation South, Lewis Donald operated within the crop-lien system, which tied credit to future harvests and land. Beginning in the 1890s, he entered into repeated financial agreements with local merchants, most notably W. B. Richardson and later J. C. Viverette & Bro.
On October 22, 1889, J.B. & E.J. Price deeded land to Lewis Willis and Laura for the sum of $1,680. Lewis and his wife Laura then initiated five deeds of trust with W.B. Richardson totaling $2,224. Due dates ranged from November 1890 to 1894. Failure to repay the debt placed their land at risk of foreclosure. Additional deeds and contracts ensued:
- Lewis and Nora initiated a $500 transaction with J. C. Viverette & Bro. in 1899
- An $800 contract on January 15, 1901 (with Nora not listed, suggesting her death before that date)
These agreements reveal that while Lewis Donald owned land, much of it was financially encumbered, limiting flexibility and exposing the family to long-term risk.
Transfers to Children and Preservation Efforts
In an effort to stabilize the family’s holdings, Lewis Willis Donald began transferring portions of land to his children:
- In 1909, he sold 40 acres to his son David Donald and daughter-in-law Lula Donald for $400
- On October 10, 1913, Lewis Willis gifted his beloved son David an additional 40 acres of land
- On February 12, 1919, shortly before his death, Lewis and his wife Mattie sold an additional 15 acres of land to David for $250.
These transactions appear to have been strategic efforts to preserve land within the family amid ongoing financial pressure.
Death and Burial
Lewis Willis Donald passed away on November 24, 1919. He is laid to rest at Pleasant Grove Cemetery, a burial ground associated with early Black families of the area.
His death marked the end of a life shaped by war, faith, land acquisition, political participation, and persistent economic struggle.
Legacy and Aftermath
Following Lewis Donald’s death, his remaining land passed to his widow and children as heir property, jointly owned and legally complex. In 1922, this culminated in the Chancery Court case Mattie Donald et al. v. David Donald et al., which partitioned approximately 213 acres among ten heirs after excluding land already adjudged to belong to David Donald.
Lewis Willis Donald’s life illustrates the paradox of Black landownership after emancipation: a man who achieved what slavery had denied him—land, family stability, and civic participation—yet remained constrained by debt, inheritance law, and racialized economic systems.
His story stands as a testament to persistence rather than failure, revealing how freedom was built not through ease, but through endurance.
sidebar: Mattie Donald v. David Donald
Based on the Chancery Court records from 1922, the total amount of land involved in the Mattie Donald v. David Donald case was approximately 240 acres, with roughly 213 acres ultimately partitioned into ten specific shares for the heirs.
The land was spread across three different sections in Newton County:
Total Land Described in the Case
The court identified the following tracts as being part of the estate:
- Section 2 (Township 5, Range 10): 80 acres (comprising the SW 1/4 of the NE 1/4 and the SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4).
- Section 6 (Township 5, Range 11): 60 acres (comprising the SW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 and the W 1/2 of the SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4).
- Section 7 (Township 5, Range 11): 100 acres (comprising the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4, the W 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of the NW 1/4, and the SW 1/4 of the NW 1/4).
- Gross Total: 240 acres.
The Partition Breakdown
After excluding 5 acres in Section 6 that the court “adjudged to belong to David Donald,” the remaining land was divided into ten numbered shares drawn by lot. The sum of these individual allotments equals 213 1/3 acres:
| Share | Heir | Acreage Allotted |
| Share 1 | Rosa Donald | 20 acres |
| Share 2 | Bessie Drummond | 18 acres |
| Share 3 | Sarah Donald | 24 acres |
| Share 4 | Delia Walker | 4 acres |
| Share 5 | John Donald | 20 acres |
| Share 6 | Ruth Donald | 24 acres |
| Share 7 | Thomas Donald | 23 acres |
| Share 8 | Mattie Donald | 26 2/3 acres |
| Share 9 | Laura Williams | 26 2/3 acres |
| Share 10 | Louisia Donald Fountain | 26 2/3 acres |
| Total | 213 1/3 acres |
The difference between the total 235 acres (after David’s exclusion) and the 213 acres in shares appears to be due to portions of Section 7 (specifically the South 1/2 of the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4) and other minor fractions that were either not part of the specific partition or were reserved for court-ordered liens and fees.
Resting Place
Old Pleasant Grove/Morning Star Cemetery
Photos/Albums
Sources
- 1870 Federal Census
- 1880 Federal Census
- 1900 Federal Census
- 1910 Federal Census
- U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
- Michigan, U.S., Death Records, 1867-1952
- Michigan, U.S., Marriage Records, 1867-1952
- U.S., Civil War Soldiers, 1861-1865
- U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936-2007
- The Newton Record, Bessie Donald Drummond Obituary, Wed, May 04, 1983 ·Page 22
- The Newton Record, Willis Donald Republican Office Holder, Thu, Sep 01, 1910 ·Page 4
Leave a Reply