Macdonald, eldest son of Donald Macdonald, by Mary, daughter of William Bell of Rammerscales, near Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire, was born in Scotland in 1807, and was educated at the University of Glasgow, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts 1827.
After studying medicine he served as surgeon in Sir Pulteney Malcolm"s flagship in the Mediterranean from 1828 to 1831, and was afterwards a commissioner of supply. On the death of an uncle named Bell he succeeded to the estate of Rammerscales, where he collected a large and valuable library. He died at 114 West Campbell Street, Glasgow, 5 December 1862, and was buried in Dalton churchyard.
In 1839, Macdonald married Helen, third daughter of Thomas Johnstone of Underwood.
