There is an interesting account of John Macdonald's life and impact,
in the Gleaner, at the time of his death in 1898. Unfortunately much
of the article is illegible, and much of the rest is hard to read. I have
done the best I can to transcribe the item, while I try to obtain a
better copy. JL.
Daily Gleaner, January 14 ,1898 p7 col 1
Death of Mr John Macdonald
One by one the friends of Jamaica who have seen her in sunshine and sorrow, and who belonged to a generation when property ruled are passing beyond the veil. And it is our sad duty this morning to announce the death of Mr. John Macdonald of Kingston, whose name is known and respected in every quarter of the colony. Mr. Macdonald had been ailing for some time back and [then] he revived sufficiently to [visit] his place [of] business in Harbour Street, but a sharp attack of influenza carried him off yesterday morning. He leaves a widow, a son and two daughters to mourn his demise.
The [ ?] and history of John Macdonald was [ influenced] by untoward incidents. And [ ??] is almost remarkable. He arrived in Jamaica in 18[48?] and was appointed foreman of the saddlery department of the firm of John [Brass?] on Harbour Street. Three years later he had established his own business at the conner of Church Street and Water Lane; later he removed to Harbour Street where the City Cafe now stands. The fire which started in the premises of Jordon and Osbourne spread to the adjining store of John Macdonald that occurred on a St Andrew's Day in 1874 or 1875. Then he restarted business at the corner of Port Royal Street and [Temple?] Lane where he remained for a short time. But the site of Jordon and Osbourne's store being offered for sale was bought by Mr. Macdonald. He built the solid establishment which stands there today and from that time until a few days before his death [ ?] known if one was to be found ??????????
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[ ???] John Macdonald, the pawky Scotsman [ ??] of broad humour and a host of reminiscences of old time Jamaica that people knew best. His store was the [ ?] of all and sundry planters in Trelawny or Westmoreland when they came to Kingston had their letters addressed to John Macdonald's store. Kingstonians dropped into the comfortable lounges there as a matter of course, business men in and out all day long and the day never dawned that [ ?] a dozen of the best known men in Jamaica chatting in this store. In fact the store partook of the [nature] of a 'salon'; many a speech has been [ ?] and composed in John Macdonald's
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[man, he was shrewd and sage[?] [as?] even original in his ideas as the best of his race.] His criticism was pungent and unstinting, and many a fad has received its quietus from the unflinching and relentless sarcasm of John Macdonald . Himself, he was one of the most unassuming of men; there was not a particle of false pride in his composition, for at the bottom he was of sterling quality.
When aspirants to the knowledge of pen-keeping and planting arrived in Jamaica, their steps were directed to Mr. Macdonald's store almost of their own volition, and there was no [ ?] afforded the stranger than that from the proprietor. It could never be said that he was [urbane??] or yet austere; he had all the traits of the Scotsman we know by reputation; the Scotsman of another [period.] He was [ ?] and sometimes rough, but always with an underlying kindliness which robbed his sharp utterance of sting. But he would stand no nonsense; he was upright himself, and the soul of integrity, and it used to be his boast that "No man can say John Macdonald cheated him of a farthing."
Naturally he associated with all the planting fraternity, penkeepers, coffee planters and those interested in agricultural pursuits generally, but the association was on the basis of friendship not business, and many a little 'soupçon' of light scandal rolled round the tongues of those who [ ?] the Kingston [ ?] events[?]. If old John Macdonald [had demeaned?] or sought to demean his character many a planter's business reputation might have been blasted. He was made the [confidant] of half the planters of the island; he knew all the ins and outs of their business and when times of depression fell upon them it needed but a word from the saddler to undermine everything. That word, however, was withheld.
In his merry days when his store was [crowded] with [visitors] who scrambled for the vacant chairs and related with all the gusto and heartiness of the traditional squire the [condition] of their affairs. John Macdonald would launch out on the broad waters of reminiscence. He remembered the coronation of the Queen, the liberation of the slaves, earthquakes which occurred when old men [of today] were boys, cyclones which wrought [ ?] and all the episodes of Jamaican history during the past half century. With a keen and clear memory he could [ ?] facts, even to little half-forgotten incidents - so much so that many called him "the Jamaica Encyclopedia." The younger men who visited his store were never so well pleased as when he began [ ??] sakes. And told as they were in the broad dialect of the Scotch which he never lost, there was a charm and interest which belonged to the telling rather than to the story itself perhaps.
There are many who will miss John Macdonald from his accustomed seat; many of the most respected citizens of Kingston and certainly the majority of estate-owners. But most of his old particular cronies, who belonged to his generation, and were the centre of business life in Kingston when he was a young man have already preceded him and there are only a few left now, like Mr. John MacLean of Cold Spring.
In racing circles, Mr. Macdonald was well known, and indeed was treasurer of the Race Fund for a short time. At all the races his rather bowed figure was to be seen in the stewards box, as eager and interested in the efforts of the animals as the veriest tyro.
In short, John Macdonald was almost considered a fixity on the horizon of Kingston. He was one of the landmarks of Jamaica, and it was wonderful how he had entwined around himself all the best associations of the island. He never entered public life in the sense of serving in a public capacity, but none will deny that he affected much, or contributed to affect much in the political opinions of the day. As a sturdy unbending Scot, he was radical to the backbone, and keenly alive to the possibilities of representative government. But he never said much on these subjects; what he did say was worth hearing and considering. Old John Macdonald has fallen out of the race; his day is done, for the Great Proprietor has claimed him for his own. But there is many a heart in which the memory of the famous saddler of Jamaica will be kept green for years to come.
