Mackay's Namesake

Mackay, Idaho, was named for either John W. Mackay or his son Clarence H. Mackay. The City of Mackay website states Mackay was named for John.  The book "Mackay's Yesterdays" states the community was named for Clarence.

Regardless of which individual is the true namesake for Mackay, both were notable and interesting in their own right, although for far different reasons.

John W. Mackay had a truly incredible life story. He shared his “Family Room” in Dublin with cows and pigs and often didn't have anything to eat. He came to American at the age of 9 and then his Dad died. So he worked building steamships to support his Mom and Sister. He hardly had a speck of formal education and stuttered his speech well into his 20's. As a teenager he hitched a ride to California on a boat he helped build and never looked back. Irishman John W. Mackay arrived in San Francisco in late 1851 and went to back-breaking work as a day-laborer in the placer mines on the Yuba River near Downieville, California.
Eight years later he heard of a rich silver strike in Utah Territory. Mackay and his buddy, Jack O'Brien, walked across The High Sierra with their scant backpacks. As they crested a hill overlooking the newborn Virginia City mining camp tents and shanties, O'Brien asked Mackey if he had any money. “Not a cent,” Mackay replied. “Well, I've only got a half dollar, and here it goes,” said O”Brien, flinging the coin downhill. “Now we can walk into camp like gentlemen.”
Thus the man who would become one of The World's Richest men entered Virginia City penniless in early 1860.

We plan to greatly expand our interpretation and narrative of John W's life and times. (See footnotes.)

Clarence Mackay, on the other hand, was clearly born with the proverbial silver spoon.  Money was never a worry until much later in Clarence's life.  We will be telling his story, too, but it is nowhere near as interesting as the story of his Dad's life. Clarence's life is more notable for its early excesses and improbably odd twists and turns later.

The blog author prefers to believe Mackay was named for John W.  John W's Life was far more in keeping with the Life and Times of the People of Mackay, Idaho, throughout the community's history.  He was a truly exceptional man who earned and deserves respect and admiration in spite of his vast wealth.

In any event, neither John W. or Clarence H. ever set foot in Mackay.

 Above and below are additional images of John W. Mackay.  The image that appears on The City of Mackay website (shown at top) seems to convey an aristocratic tone.  John Mackay was far, far from being an aloof, snobbish "high brow" rich man.  Throughout  his life, Mackay kept the spirit of his humble beginnings very much in mind.  He was much more comfortable spending time with workers and miners than he was hob-nobbing in elite social circles.

By far the best biography we've found (so far) of John W. Mackay is contained in book entitled, "Silver Kings" by Oscar Lewis, originally published in 1947.  It is now available as an eBook and was also republished in paperback in 1986 (ISBN-10: 0874171105 or ISBN-13: 978-0874171105)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Mackay 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Mackay

John W. Mackay perhaps foresaw the future we enjoy today.  It's a story yet to long to tell here but we need to post this graphic and link.  This is PURE John W. Mackay Stuff here morphed into The Modern Day!



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