A careful search of the bibliography of Westchester County has disclosed comparatively few direct references to John

1 Geo. H. Moore, LL.D., was born in 1823. In 1841 he became assistant librarian of the New York Historical Society and librarian in 1849. In 1872 he was elected superintendent and a trustee of the Lenox Library. He died May 5, 1892, leaving a large and valuable collection of historical materials. These were sold in two parts--Part I, on May 8 and 9, 1893, and Part II, on Feb. 5 and 6, 1894. JOHN MACLEAN MACDONALD 91

Macdonald and his labors. Such as were found are herein recorded. In the account of "The Bench and Bar of Westchester County,"1 Hon. Isaac N. Mills gives the following biography: "John McDonald, a native of White Plains, practiced law from 1814 to 1826, with moderate success. He then moved to New York and became a Master in Chancery there. He spent the latter part of his life in gathering materials for a history of Westchester County. The result of his labors is a manuscript which is deposited in the Lennox Library, New York." It is now clear how the manuscript came to be in the Lenox Library at that time (1886). In his article on White Plains,2 Josiah S. Mitchell states: "The first Orawaupum Hotel was built about 1844, near the New York and Harlem Railroad depot, and was kept by Mr. Isaac Smith. The name was suggested by the historian, John McDonald, it being the name of the principal Indian chief of whom the White Plains lands were purchased." For many years the story of the "McDonald Papers" and their author has remained a mystery. This is well illustrated by the following 3: "John McDonald is said to have practiced law in West-chester County from 1814 until 1826.