Oohhh! I knew the name was familar it escaped my memory that there was a Hugh MacDonald born in 1852 in Eastwood to James MacDonald and Margaret Alexander. I don't know why it didn't come up in my history of Scotlands People searches.
Do you think the Hugh McDonald listed in 1871 census as born Neilston aged 22 as a servant in a farm in Paisley could be him?