Biographical Sketch of B. D. McKay, Johnson County, Missouri, Rose Hill Township. >From "History of Johnson County, Missouri," by Ewing Cockrell, Historical Publishing Company, Topeka, Cleveland, 1918. ********************************************************************** B. D. McKay, a successful and prosperous farmer and stockman of Rose Hill township, is a native of Wisconsin. He was born in 1861, a son of George and Jessie (McDonald) McKay both of whom were of Scotch descent. Mrs. McKay was a daughter of James McDonald, an emigrant from Scotland who settled in Wisconsin in the early days. B. D. McKay has in his possession the naturalization papers taken out by his father, in which it is prominently designated that he promised especially "to be loyal to the United States against Queen Victoria of England." George McKay emigrated from Scotland in 1836 and located first in Illinois. His first work in America was on a canal. He and his three brothers settl- ed on adjoining tracts of land in Wisconsin and Mr. McKay owned the first building having a shingled roof in the township. He sold his interests in Wisconsin in 1878 and moved to Johnson county, Missouri, purchasing a farm in Rose Hill township, where he died one year later, in 1879. Mrs. McKay survived her husband thirty-six years. She died in 1915. For six years after his father's death, Mr. McKay continued to reside on the home farm in Rose Hill township, engaged in general farming and stock raising, and then he moved to Holden, Missouri. His only brother, who was employed in teaching school in Johnson county for several years, is now located on a ranch in Arizona. Mr. McKay has three sisters living: Mary A., who resides in Nebraska; Jessie, Tama City, Iowa; and Mrs. Amanda Coleman, Latour, Missouri. Mr. McKay states that when he and his brother were young lads, they were often put to work cutting hay out on the open prairie. He recalls the time in Johnson county when a buggy was unknown and has attended funerals when there were horses and wagons, used as automobiles are now. Cattle ran at large over the prairie and it was not small or easy task to "drive up" the cows in the evening. In 1888, B. D. McKay purchased 160 acres of land in Rose Hill township and in 1907 built a handsome residence, a house of nine rooms, and a large barn. Later, Mr. McKay added a feeder to the splendid improvements then on his place. The farm is now well equipped with numerous farm buildings and supplied with an abundance of running water. Mr. McKay has equipment for one hundred head of cattle and a large herd of horses. He has at present, in 1917, one hundred four head of Shorthorn cattle and seventy head of Poland China hogs. He harvested 150 tons of hay this past season of 1917 and planted 20 acres of the place in wheat last autumn. The McKay farm now comprises 400 acres, 240 acres owned by B. D. McKay and the remainder owned by other members of the family. In September, 1915, B. D. McKay and Emma E. Iirle, of Warrensburg, were united in marriage. Mrs. McKay is of German descent. Politically, Mr. McKay is a Democrat. He is a worthy and consistent member of the Catholic church. Both Mr. and Mrs. McKay are highly regarded in their community and they are numbered among the county's valued and substantial families. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor. This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by: <> Penny (Eisenbarger) Harrell ====================================================================