Name James Sr. | ||
James McKay Sr. (May 17, 1808 - November 11, 1876) was a cattleman, ship captain, and the sixth mayor of Tampa, Florida from February 12, 1859 – February 1, 1860. He is buried in Tampa's Oaklawn Cemetery.
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McKay will be memorialized with a bronze bust on the Tampa Riverwalk, along with other historical figures prominent in the History of Tampa.
Background
McKay was born in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland. He left to become a mariner and spent many years at sea, returning home for brief family visits. During a visit in 1837 he met Matilda Cail in Edinburgh and they were married.
The couple had four children (George, Sarah, James and John) in Scotland; although subsequent Census entries all show them as being born in Alabama. The family immigrated to the United States in 1846. Upon moving to Tampa, McKay opened a general store on Franklin Street (Tampa), invested in real estate, and operated a sawmill on the Hillsborough River. He also owned and operated two schooners for cargo transport cargo from Tampa to Cuba, Central America and South America. From 1858 McKay built a successful business purchasing and transporting large herds of cattle. He and his wife had five more children in Tampa (Donald, Marion, Almeria, Matilda and Charles).
Mayor
McKay was elected mayor on February 12, 1859. His accomplishments include the establishment of standard procedures and forms for licenses, ordinances and legal notices; regulatation of the Jackson Street ferry service, and a rental agreement for the Fort Brooke military reservation after purchase attempts failed. The rental deal lasted 18 months until April 1861 when Confederate troops occupied the fort and declared martial law.
McKay was a citizen of the United Kingdom throughout his life and is the only non-U.S. citizen to serve as Mayor of Tampa.
Captain McKay
In 1858 McKay made a contract with the Morgan Line allowing him to use USS Magnolia (1854) twice a month at a price of $1,500 each run in order to ship cattle to Cuba. This established the Magnolia as the first of many ships to be used in the same way, and the introduction of Spanish doubloons to Florida can be traced back to the trading trips made by Magnolia.
Civil War
During the Civil War McKay used his ships to run the Union naval blockade and brought guns, ammunition, foodstuffs and other merchandise for the Confederate army and civilians.
In late 1861, the Union navy set up a blockade near the mouth of Tampa Bay as part of the overall Anaconda Plan, which sought to squeeze the Confederacy off from outside sources of money and supplies. Local blockade runners continued to slip out undetected to the Gulf of Mexico. Most notable (though not most successful) among these was McKay who delivered Florida cattle and citrus to Spanish Cuba in exchange for gold and supplies before being captured and imprisoned by Union forces. McKay Bay, the portion of Tampa Bay adjoining the port, is named in his honor.
On October 14, 1861, McKay was caught. He and his and vessel were seized and he was imprisoned in Key West until March 1862 when he took an oath of allegiance to the United States.
In 1863, McKay was appointed Commissary Agent for the 5th District of Florida by Confederate Major Pleasant W. White. He stymied Confederate army attempts to ship beef, employing a series of excuses.
End of life
After the Civil War McKay resumed his cattle and shipping business. James McKay Jr. was the 34th Mayor of Tampa from June, 1902 – June, 1904. McKay Sr.'s grandson, Donald Brenhan McKay, was also a Mayor of Tampa. He served 3 terms from June 1910 to Jun 1920 and a 4th term from January 1928 to October 1931