Hillsborough County FlArchives Biographies.....McKay, Donald B. July 29, 1868 - 
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Nancy Rayburn http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00025.html#0006128 September 2, 2015, 11:40 pm

Source: Vol. II  pg.66  The Lewis Publishing Co. 1923
Author: History of Florida, Past and Present

        DONALD BRENHAM McKAY, owner and publisher of the Tampa Times, was born 
in Tampa, Florida, July 29, 1868. Amidst such surroundings and limited 
advantages common to the youth of that period in the then new country, he grew 
to maturity. Work was the honorable heritage of all in those times and when but 
a lad of fourteen years, he found employment in the office of The Tampa 
Tribune, one of the pioneer newspapers of South Florida, and there began a 
profession and a business career which, with but one short intermission, has 
been his life’s work, and which with the passing of the years has led from the 
humble position of general errand boy, with the honorable title of “Printer’s 
Devil,” to the ownership and sole management of a great daily publication
	When the Tampa Times was established, in 1891, he was its city editor,
and in 1898 became the sole owner. Under his able management the Times has
become a powerful factor for good and is recognized as one of the most
influential journals of the South.
	In June, 1910, Mr. McKay was elected Mayor of Tampa for a term of two 
years, was reelected in 1912 for a term of four years, and again, in 1916, for 
a third successive term of four years. He served as mayor during the strenuous 
times of the World war, and was an active factor in all the various local 
activities incident and thereto. During his administration many of the measures 
resulting in the modernization of the city were carried to completion, 
including the erection of the new City Hall, and the building of the Lafayette 
Street bridge; a modern sewerage system was installed, 50 percent of the street 
paving, and 75 percent of the sidewalks laid during that time. Every movement 
tending towards the public good and the city’s advancement, found in him an
earnest advocate and warm supporter. As an evidence of the public appreciation
of his services as mayor, it may here be noted, that upon his retirement from
the office, he was presented with a handsome silver service in a beautifully
embossed testimonial bearing the signatures of a large number of the most
representative citizens of Tampa, irrespective of political affiliations.
	October 7, 1900, Mr. McKay married Miss AURORA P. F. GUTIERREZ, born in 
Pelham Bay, New York, and a daughter of GAVINO and NELLIE E. (DALEY) GUTIERREZ. 
Her father, GAVINO GUTIERREZ, became an important factor in the upbuilding of 
Tampa and its environs. Born in Spain, a scion of a distinguished Castilian 
family, he had later established himself in business in New York City, as an 
importer and broker. He made a visit to Tampa, and while returning to New York, 
met VINCENTE MARTINEZ YBOR and IGNACIO HAYA at Key West. These two gentlemen 
were engaged in the manufacture of cigars and were then about to conclude 
negotiations for the establishment of their business in Galveston, Texas. Mr. 
Gutierrez persuaded them to investigate the superior advantages offered by 
Tampa as a desirable location, with the result that they decided to establish 
their factories there. Entering into business associations with Messrs. Ybor 
and Haya, Mr. Gutierrez surveyed and laid out the new industrial town, naming 
it Ybor City, and he also personally superintended the construction of the 
first buildings therein. This was the beginning of the cigar manufacturing 
industry in Tampa, an industry which has since attained such proportions as to 
make Tampa one of the leading industrial cities of the South, and to GAVINO 
GUTIERREZ belongs the honor of its establishment there. Mr. Gutierrez made Ybor 
City his permanent home for the remainder of his life. He served as the first 
Spanish Counsel in Tampa, and was otherwise prominently identified with public 
affairs. He died while on a visit to his old home in Spain, March 8, 1919.

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