MCDONALD, Andrew Young

Andrew Young McDonald

Grave marker in Linwood Cemetery

MCDONALD, Andrew Young. (Glasgow, Scotland, Feb. 14, 1834--Dubuque, IA, 1891). McDonald came to the United States in 1854 and settled in St. Louis. He moved to Dubuque in 1856 and established the firm of A.Y.MCDONALD MANUFACTURING COMPANY the same year and found work as a gas and steam fitter who serviced steamboats and RAILROADS. By 1863, working in his spare time, McDonald invented an improvement to the popular monkey wrench. He sold the idea to a man who was later found to be a representative of Coes and Co., the largest wrench manufacturer in the nation. McDonald then wished he had demanded more than the five hundred dollars he received.

Andrew Young McDonald's Civil War uniform has been carefully preserved by the McDonald for generations. Early in the Civil War, Governor's Greys wore grey colored coats leading to confusion and many "friendly fire" deaths. As the war progressed, the Union forces wore blue coats. Photo: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium

This wooden chest was used by A. Y. McDonald to carry his belongings during the Civil War. Photo: National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium

A member of the GOVERNOR'S GREYS during the CIVIL WAR, McDonald was wounded at the Battle of Wilson's Creek. He lay unattended four days on the battlefield before being taken captive by the Confederates. McDonald and ten other Union soldiers were rescued by McDonald's brother who journeyed behind enemy lines. After recovering from his wounds in Dubuque, McDonald re-enlisted in the 21st Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He was commissioned a lieutenant of Company E and was again wounded at the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi. (1)

Returning to Dubuque after the war, McDonald recognized the need prairie farmers had for water and decided to become a manufacturer of pumps and well systems. He was first located in the old TURNER HALL building, then 6th Street, and finally around 1877 he constructed his factory at Iowa and Fifth STREETS. (2) He began making wire-wound drive well points in his kitchen with his wife's help. By 1870 he had developed and patented an improved cylinder for a hand pump. A brass lining in the iron cylinder kept the working parts of the cylinder from rusting which caused the leather gasket to wear out. McDonald began the manufacture of plumbers' brass goods and waterworks’ brass goods in 1882. The same year he ended his plumbing business because of the phenomenal growth of his manufacturing company.

In 1883 McDonald's factory could boast of being one of America's largest manufacturers of pumps. It was equipped with steam elevators that he had invented. Steam from huge engines for the elevators was recycled to heat the plant during the winter.

In 1982 McDonald's name was one of the first four local business people inducted into the DUBUQUE BUSINESS HALL OF FAME.

Source:

1. "Dubuque Loses a True Man," Dubuque Daily Herald, July 30, 1891, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=_OG5zn83XeQC&dat=18910730&printsec=frontpage&hl=en

2. Ibid.

"175 Years" Vol. II Telegraph Herald, p. 100

Oldt, Franklin. History of Dubuque County, Iowa. Chicago: Western Historical Company, 1880, p. 845