Handwritten journal of David McDonald who is recognized as the first Professor of Law at Indiana University. The journal is undated but contains a transcribed article from the Cincinnati Gazette dated April 17, 1865.
McDonald was born in Millersburg, Kentucky and moved to Indiana when he was 14, in 1817. He eventually became a school teacher in Washington, before meeting a local lawyer who encouraged him to study law. He was licensed to practice in the Circuit Courts in 1830. He served as a member of the Indiana Legislature (1833-34) as well as being elected judge of the 10th Circuit Court in 1841, before joining the University. After retiring in 1852 he was presented with an honorary LL.D. degree. He died August 25, 1869 and is buried at Crown Hill Cometary in Indianapolis.
The journal paginated, indexed and divided into sections covering a wide variety of subjects.
