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.
Twentieth
Century History of Mercer County,
1909, Vol. I, page 509.
