"Portrait & Biographical Record of the Willamette Valley Oregon."  Chapman 
Publishing Company, 1903. p. 769.
 
WILLIAM R. McKAY

     One and a half miles from Champoeg is a farm which, from the standpoint of
equipment, cultivation and general productiveness, is unexcelled in Marion
county or in the entire Willamette valley. That its owner, William R. McKay, is
a master in his line and an agriculturist who works along scientific lines, is
evident to all who are permitted to avail themselves of the hospitality of this
ideal rural home, and to visit the various departments which contribute to his
large annual income.
     Much may be accomplished on seven hundred acres of land located in the
center of one of the most fertile valleys in the world; and this fact has not
been lost upon Mr. McKay, who has the keen and far-sighted judgment of the
typical northwestern business man. Three hundred and fifty acres of his estate
are under cultivation, and the balance is devoted to timber and pasturage.
During the year 1902 the yield from his forty-acre hop-yard was fifty-two
thousand pounds, and for the proper care of this product he maintains three
large hop-houses. The barns, outhouses, implements and general improvements are
on the most extensive scale, in keeping with similar enterprises in the oldest
and most advanced centers of agricultural activity. Upon the fertile pastures
graze large numbers of Shorthorn cattle and other high-grade stock, and general
farming is conducted on a large scale.
     The knowledge of such marked success naturally presupposes years of
exertion and struggle with adversity, which are emphasized in the career of Mr.
McKay. He is a native son of Oregon, having been born near St. Paul, Marion
county, December 30, 1849. His father, James McKay, was born in Ireland and came
to America in young manhood where after various locations. he made his way to
Oregon and from that time until his death was actively interested in the growth
and upbuilding of the state. For more complete details, refer to the sketch of
James McKay, which appears on another page of this work. William R. McKay was
favored with an education in the public schools and Santa Clara College, Santa
Clara, Cal. In 1873 he became foreman of the Glynn ranch at Jacinto, Cal. For
about five years he resided in California, spending most of the time in
Sacramento and San Francisco. Upon his return to Oregon he first assisted his
brother, John N., in the management of his father's ranch, where general farming
and stock-raising was carried on on an extensive scale.
     January 13, 1885, Mr. McKay was united in marriage with Anna Kavanaugh, a
native of St. Louis, Marion county, Ore., and a daughter of Daniel and Catherine
(Doyle) Kavanaugh, both of whom were natives of Ireland, came to America in
youth, were married in Illinois and settled in Oregon about 1861. In that year
he and his brother severed their partnership, William R. McKay removing to the
farm upon which he has since accomplished such splendid results. He and his wife
are the parents of five children : Stanley J., Arthur W., Estelle C., Justin L.
and Albert J.
     Mr. McKay is a Democrat in politics and with his family he finds a
religious home in the Roman Catholic Church. To an exceptional degree he enjoys
the esteem and confidence of all who know him, and his personal characteristics
are such as to render him a popular member of the community. Though he has never
been a seeker after political honors, he has been actively identified with most
of the movements of a public nature calculated to benefit the moral, educational
or industrial standing of Marion county. The indefatigable energy, the industry
and businesslike methods he has displayed in the development of his magnificent
farm have naturally resulted in placing him in a conspicuous position among his
fellowmen, and the younger men of the present generation feel that, in him, they
have an example well worthy of emulation. Few agriculturists have done so much
as Mr. McKay to illustrate the possibilities of the soil of the Willamette
valley, and for this reason, if no other existed, he is entitled to rank among
the representative men of the valley.


     
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Submitted to the Oregon Bios. Project in February 2007 by Diana Smith.
Submitter has no additional information about the person(s) or family mentioned
above.