William Madison McDonald

Who was William Madison McDonald?

William Madison McDonald, nicknamed "Gooseneck Bill", was an African-American politician, businessman, and banker of great influence in Texas during the late nineteenth century. Part of the "Black and Tan" faction, by 1892 he was elected to the Republican Party of Texas's state executive committee, as temporary chairman in 1896, and as permanent state chairman in 1898.

During this period, McDonald was also elected as top leader of two black fraternal organizations, serving as Grand Secretary of the state's black Masons for 50 years. In 1906 he founded Fort Worth's first African-American-owned bank as an enterprise of the state Masons; under his management, the bank survived the Great Depression. The black chapters of Masons banked with him, he made loans to black businessmen, and he became the first black millionaire in Texas.