ALEXANDER
B. McKAY well known in business circles of Grove City, was born on a
farm near Pardoe, Mercer county, Pennsylvania, July 26, [1844] a son of
William and Eliza (Lenigan) McKay. The father was born in Ireland of
Scotch-Irish parentage and came to this country about 1820. The mother
was also a native of Ireland. The parents were united in marriage in
Philadelphia and came to Mercer county about 1830-32, settling in
Findley township. where they died. He died at the age of sixty-three
years, his wife surviving him several years, dying in 1903, aged
ninety-one years. Her mother lived over the one hundred year mark, by
one year. William and Eliza (Lenigan) McKay were United Presbyterians
and had the following family: William J.; Sarah A.; Alexander B.; James
L; Daniel G.; Mary J.; Robert.
The son, Alexander B. McKay, was
reared to farm labor and given the advantages of a common school
education. On February 27. 1864, during the Civil war period, he
enlisted in Company H, One Hundredth Pennsylvania Regiment, and served
until that long civil conflict had ended and the Union was once more
restored. Upon the organization of the Grand Army of the Republic he
joined the Marion Craig Post No. 325. He learned the carriage making
trade, and in 1867 began manufacturing carriages at Pardoe, and in 1876
removed his business to Grove City, when the McKay Carriage Company
became the outgrowth of the business. He severed his connection with
the company in 1904, having been successful in building up a large and
profitable business.
In his political views, Mr. McKay has
always been a Republican and has done his part toward good government,
from his viewpoint. In 1870, he was united in marriage to Miss Anna M.
Paxton, a daughter of Thomas and Mary A. Paxton, of Mercer county. The
children born to this union are: William S.; Stella M., wife of Dr. L.
D. Shafer, of Grove City; and Bertha. The family are members and
workers in the Presbyterian church.
Source: (Twentieth Century History of Mercer County, 1909, Vol. I, page 509)
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