children. McDonald married Alice Gibson, who was a teacher at his school. McDonald helped organized a black state fair in North Texas. McDonald became active in the Republican Party and encouraged blacks to vote; he helped organize the party in Kaufman County and the region. In 1892, McDonald was elected to the Republican Party of Texas's state executive committee. He was a power in state politics for more than thirty years, and became a leader of the "Black and Tan" faction, African Americans within the Republican Party. He teamed up politically with white businessman Ned Green of Fort Worth, the son of the wealthiest woman in America. Green supported the "Black and Tan" faction in Republican internal struggles. At the 1896 Republican National Convention, McDonald was given the nickname "Gooseneck Bill" by a Dallas Morning News reporter. In 1898 he was defeated for state chairman of the Republican Party by Henry Clay Ferguson; the continuing rivalry of their factions resulted in a decrease in black influence in the party. Through these years, McDonald had also been active in black fraternal organizations, which developed rapidly throughout Texas and the South after the war as blacks established independent networks. He was elected as the Supreme Grand Chief of the Seven Stars of Consolidation of America. In 1890, he also joined the Prince Hall Freemasonry. In 1899 he was elected as Right Worshipful Grand Secretary of the African-American Texas Masons, a position that provided operating direction to the group. Under his leadership, the Masons developed several business enterprises: started "a cotton mill, published a magazine, offered insurance to members, and established a bank in Fort Worth." He remained the Grand Secretary of the Texas Masons for 50 years. White Democrats regained power in the state legislature and passed laws making voter registration more difficult, requiring payment of poll taxes and, later, restricting minority participation by the use of white primaries. These actions resulted in effective disenfranchisement of blacks, Mexican Americans, and many poor whites in the state. More than 100,000 blacks voted statewide in elections of the 1890s, but by 1906, their number had dropped to 5,000. "Lily White" Republicans essentially drove the "Black and Tan" faction out of power in the party in 1900. McDonald and the Black and Tans temporarily regained power in 1912, before losing it again. McDonald continued to be a notable figure in the national Republican Party, however,