Interspersed throughout this feature are text boxes such as this one, which will present you with concurrent events taking place in Tampa as told by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923.  His accounts offer a unique view of Tampa's history as he lived it. 

His father was a well-known personality, the "Scottish Chief" of Tampa, a daring and enterprising businessman and mayor of Tampa, and a Tampa icon.  McKay Jr. later also served as a mayor of Tampa, as did one of McKay Jr's. nephews, Donald Brenham McKay.

James McKay, Jr., was born in Mobile, Ala., in 1842 and moved with his parents to Tampa in 1846. In his later years he wrote two lengthy articles about the early history of Tampa and Hillsborough County. The first was printed in the Tampa Times, Dec., 20 1921, and was later reprinted in D. B. McKay’s Pioneer Florida. The second article (the one presented in the feature) appeared in the Tampa Times, Dec. 18, 1923.
 

There have been many articles published by the press of the early days of Tampa, composed by those who obtained their information from hearsay and not personal knowledge, that were only partly correct. I will, to the best of my memory, relate what I know from the late 1840s and 1850s of what Tampa was then, and its slow but substantial growth to the 1870s...Our family came to Tampa from Mobile, Ala. in 1846.

At that time there were but few citizens who were civilian and but few houses outside of the government reservation. The military post was known as Fort Brooke, garrisoned by the Fifth Infantry, and commanded by Colonel Waite. There was but one store, owned and operated by W. G. Ferris, on the reservation. He was known as the sutler  for the post. These stores are now called post exchange at army posts.

James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

The north side of the government reservation ran east and west along Whiting street. The town was situated north of this line, and was a bed of sand and thick growth of what was called the scrub. The post office was on the reservation. At the time our family came to Tampa, the postmaster was Dr. John M. Palmer. He constructed a small hotel on the north side of Whiting street near the river and named it the Palmer hotel. This was a building containing 10 or 11 rooms, with a dining room the entire length of it on the back, and about 15 feet wide, which was used later on as a dance hall for the young people.  Colonel Hugh T. Fisher was the manager of this hotel. He became the postmaster June 10, 1850. Colonel Fisher was the grandfather of our present deputy sheriff, Mr. Brooks.
 

In 1846 Darling & Griffin opened a store at the corner of Whiting and Tampa streets. Later on the name of this firm was changed to Kennedy and Darling. My father also opened a small store in 1850, at the corner of Washington and Franklin street, where the Tampa Daily Times is now published.

James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1848-49-50 my father owned and operated the schooner Sarah Matilda (named for my mother) between Tampa, Mobile and New Orleans. With the exception of the government vessels, this was the only vessel that was being used commercially for this port. He also constructed a twin wharf at the foot of Washington street. Cattle were penned between the wharves, for shipment to Key West, by schooner.

The Indians having moved to the Everglades and the country being in a peaceful condition, many settlers came into the country and some located in Tampa, purchasing lots and building homes, clearing up the scrub as they would build, putting down plank sidewalks and in some instances shell, but the sand remained in the streets making it hard on teams as well as pedestrians. No lot of 105 feet by 105 feet sold for more than $25 or $140 for the square. That is what our family paid for the lots where the Olive hotel is, also The Times lot, and the Almeria hotel square.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

[James McKay, Sr. became a member of Hillsborough Lodge No. 25, F&A.M. Apr. 10, 1850. He was expelled Dec. 15, 1855 due to a dispute with fellow Mason Madison Post. McKay was reinstated in the lodge, Sept. 5, 1863.]

In 1851 we shipped cedar logs that were cut from up the Hillsborough river, to Blanchard and Fitch in New York, for making pencils. In 1851 my father erected a saw mill at the place where the Tampa Steam ways is now situated, for the manufacture of lumber. Previous to this, all lumber was freighted from Mobile. Sawdust from this mill was placed on the municipal streets to assist teams in hauling. When the yellow fever appeared in town many of the citizens claimed it was from decayed sawdust and the practice was stopped.

Fort Myers was established, I think, in 1850 by the government. My father was appointed sutler of this post in 1852 and used a small schooner named Emma to take his goods from Tampa to Fort Myers. He also opened a store at Fort Denaud, which was on the Caloosahatchee river some 20 miles above Fort Myers and chartered a little steamer he owned, named the Woodduck to the quartermaster department to carry supplies to the troops at that place. She was operated between Punta Rassa, Fort Denaud, and Fort Myers.

The mails were brought to Tampa overland from Gainesville by stage first weekly, then semiweekly, under contract with my father in 1852. The first court house was constructed in [1848] and the second and larger court house was built by the Rev. John H. Breaker, being a two-story building in [1854].

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1852 we opened a ferry at the foot of Jackson street, so as to cross the stage with the mail. It was also used by the public. Ponds that were located on the east end of Jackson street caused the city officials as well as the people, considerable annoyance, especially during the rainy season. One of these ponds at the corner of Jackson and Marion street would take in all four corners and prevent pedestrians from passing in that direction. I have skated rocks over ice on this pond when it was frozen over during the winter.

The authorities dug a ditch in the center of Jackson street to drain these ponds, and in some places it was 12 feet deep. Across Franklin and Tampa streets small bridges were placed so as to permit passage of teams and the public. This did not accomplish what was desired so the ponds were filled in later on.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

It has been remarked that Tampa had not been visited with a hurricane since 1848 until the one of 1921, which is an error, Tampa was visited with a pretty stiff hurricane in 1853, that I recollect very well. The schooner John Roalef owned by W G. Ferris and sons arrived from New Orleans with a cargo of general merchandise and just as she had finished discharging this cargo, this hurricane came along, bringing in a tidal wave with it that landed this vessel about 100 yards north of the A. C. L. railroad warehouse where it stands now and about 100 yards from the river bank. My father bought this vessel, had her jacked up and repaired, dug a canal to the river and launched her into this canal, floating her. The tide must have risen some 10 feet above low water mark as this vessel was drawing some five feet or more of water, at the time she went ashore.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1855 the Morgan Steamship Line operated their steamers between New Orleans and Havana, touching at all the Florida ports semi-monthly, which also gave the town mails, freights and passengers. The Leonardy brothers conceived the idea of erecting a hotel of some 25 rooms on the lot occupied by the Scottish Rite building, naming it the Florida House. This building my father purchased from them and operated as a hotel until the beginning of the war. It was full every winter, with tourists who visited the town for their health.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1857 during the summer, Tampa was visited by an epidemic of yellow fever, but it being very late in the summer and cold weather coming on, there were not many cases and but few deaths, but in 1858 it started early in the season and spread rapidly over the town. All that could move to the country did so but there were many deaths, some of our best citizens passing away. I was stricken with the disease and only for my mother and grandmother, being most excellent nurses, they having passed through an epidemic in Mobile sometime previous, I would not be here today writing this article.

There were many theories advanced from what source came the disease. Some stated that it was introduced from New Orleans by schooner. Others claimed it originated from filth in the town. Any way there was a campaign of cleanliness and sanitary measures were adopted in the winter of ’58 and early ’59. These measures were rigidly enforced and before the summer of ’59 came in, the town, was placed in fine shape. But it gave the town a setback from which it did not recover for two years.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1858 my father came to the conclusion the country would be benefited from the exportation of cattle to Havana, Cuba, so he purchased the brig Huntress, fitted her up with cattle pens and contracted with the Morgan Steamship Line to load their decks twice each month, paying $1,500 per trip, whether he loaded the decks or not. He constructed a small dock at Ballast Point and lightered the cattle out of these vessels. Through this source quite a sum of money was placed in circulation in south Florida. In fact after the military left this part of the country the shipment of cattle was the only source of obtaining money. There was only a small amount of sea island cotton made in this section and some potatoes, sugar and hides. These were brought to town and sold in trade, for other goods.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

Born: May 17, 1808
Died: November 11, 1876
Term: February 12, 1859 - February 1, 1860

Captain James McKay was a most unusual man, physically and mentally. Over six feet tall, he weighed a hundred and ninety pounds and there was not an ounce of fat on his body. He was broad-shouldered and had the muscles of a prize fighter. He was a born leader and for three decades was one of the most out· standing men in south Florida.

James McKay, Sr. was born in Thurso, Scotland, May 18, 1808*, in the County of Caithness.  For generations, Caithness was the ancestral home of this sterling Scottish family, whose lineage runs back in unbroken lines to the time of Robert Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots.  *Grismer says March 17, 1809

McKay went to sea when a boy and became a master seaman before he was twenty-five.  As a mariner, he spent most of his time at sea but would return for brief periods to visit his family.

The two sources below detail the life of James McKay, Sr., but they differ somewhat on the subject of when he came to America, where he went first, and when he first met and then married Matilda.  They do agree, however, on their marriage taking place in the U.S.   Their versions are presented below, side by side.   The City of Tampa Mayors website is incorrect on the bios of James McKay Sr. and James McKay Jr.  They claim James Sr. met and married Matilda and had their first four children in Scotland before coming to the US around 1846, and that James Jr. was their oldest son, born in Scotland.  Reputable historians and authors do not support the city's version, yet it is repeated word for word all over the web, including Wikipedia.  Three consecutive censuses support the versions that present the birth of all the McKay children in the United States--the first four in Alabama.

Interspersed among the two columns, are excerpts from Charles E. Harrison's Genealogical records of the pioneers of Tampa and of some who came after them, published in 1915.

In 1828, James McKay came to America, locating first in New Orleans, where for a period of nearly two years he was engaged in carpentry and building.

It could have taken 6 to 12 weeks to cross the Atlantic from Scotland in a 3-masted barque such as this one.  Read more at the source of this photo: "Crossing the Atlantic" at Ormiston.com.

He next located in St. Louis, Mo, where in 1837 he met and married Matilda Alexander Cail , a native of Scotland, born in Edinburgh, May 19, 1816.

Genealogical records of the pioneers, etc., by Charles E. Harrison, pub. 1915, states:

"They never met in the old country, but first became acquainted with each other in St. Louis, Mo., after both had immigrated to America.  They were married there in 1837. From St. Louis they removed to Mobile, Ala., where Mr. McKay engaged in mercantile business."
 

In 1838 James and Matilda moved to Mobile, Ala, where the couple had their first four children:  George, Sarah I., James Jr. and John Angus.

At Mobile, he first worked as a carpenter and builder, but in 1842 he entered into a partnership with a man named Brighton, and established a willow-ware business under the name of McKay and Brighton. The venture proving unsuccessful, he disposed of the business in 1846.

Purchasing a small schooner, he brought his family--his wife, four children, and his mother-in-law to Florida, locating first at a small place north of Tarpons Springs. The location was not a favorable one, so he took his family to Brooksville, where he secured teams and wagons and continued on to Tampa, arriving at here in September, 1846.
 

Genealogical records of the pioneers, etc., by Charles E. Harrison, pub. 1915, states:

They removed to Florida from Mobile in 1846 and settled first at Chassewiska, on the coast of Hernando County. They did not remain long, however, at that place and in the same year, 1846, removed again, this time to Tampa, which has been the family home ever since.

While in Edinburgh one day in 1835, James met a bonnie Scotch lass, Matilda Cail, with whom he fell in love. But Matilda was then only sixteen years old, altogether too young to be married, in the opinion of her mother, Madame Sarah Cail. To remove her daughter "from temptation," Madame Cail left Scotland and went to America, taking Matilda with her. They settled in St. Louis. [Probably by way of New Orleans, then up the Mississippi River]

By the 1830s, it was common to see more than 150 steamboats at the St. Louis levee at one time. Immigrants flooded into St. Louis after 1840, particularly from Germany.  Wikipedia: 1857 illustration from Ballou's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion, Boston, Massachusetts. The Levee or Landing, St. Louis, Missouri, 1857.

Not to be outwitted so easily, Captain McKay followed, found the Cails in St. Louis and immediately resumed his courtship. In 1837, Madame Cail finally relented and gave permission to Matilda to be married. The captain was then twenty-eight years old and his bride seventeen.

Soon after the wedding they moved to Mobile, Ala., where the captain engaged in the mercantile business.

In Mobile, Captain McKay met the Rev. Daniel Simmons, the Baptist minister who had established a mission in Hillsborough County in 1828 and had lived there until the Seminole War started, when he went to Alabama. Reverend Simmons was an ardent Florida booster and never ceased singing the praises of the Tampa Bay region. Captain McKay did not need much selling on the future prospects of the bay section. He knew that because of its geographical location, Tampa Bay was destined to become one of the leading ports of the nation. So in the early fall of 1846 he decided to go to Tampa.

Chartering a schooner, Captain McKay left Mobile with his family in September, 1846. Reverend and Mrs. Simmons went with him, and so did Madame Cail and Mitchell McCarty and his wife, Elizabeth, daughter of the Simmonses.

The schooner never reached Tampa. It was wrecked during a hurricane on shoals in Chassahowitzka Bay, in Hernando County. The cargo was lost but all on board escaped. The Simmons and McCarty families went on to Brooksville but the McKays soon afterward made their way to Tampa, arriving in November. Madame Cail came with them.

[TampaPix opinion:  Perhaps more D.B. McKay drama?]

This pencil sketch of the Captains' Quarters at Fort Brooke was drawn by one of the officers stationed there in 1845. Beyond the majestic, moss-laden oak tree at the left is seen the ancient Timuquan ceremonial mound enclosed by a fence. Leading from the gate is a path that forks to the left and to the right towards the top of the mound where a small Chinese summer house was perched. The ladies of the fort had socials there. Beyond the small cottage to the right of the mound is a glimpse of Hooker's Point. The first three large dwellings to the right of the cottage were the officers' quarters. The fourth building was occupied by Rev. Henry Axtell, the Army Champlain, his wife Juliet, and two of their daughters. The last building to the right was the chapel with its broad portico and small front yard set out with mulberry trees. Wide shell and gravel walks criss-crossed the post. The sketch has been preserved by the family of Chaplain Henry Axtell for over 150 years.

The first home of the McKay family in Tampa was a crude structure at Fort Brooke, situated on the riverbank at the foot of Whiting St. This building, which was rented from the Government, was totally destroyed in the disastrous hurricane which swept over the post in 1848.

The next location of the McKay home was at the corner of what became Tampa and Lafayette Street, which was later occupied by Knight & Wall Co. McKay purchased half the block for $50 and built his home there. The building was of log construction, and the lumber used for finishing it was brought by boat from Mobile, Alabama.

Later, he purchased the block on the northeast corner of Washington & Franklin St. for $100 and a more commodious and modern home was built there.  On the south side and opposite corner, was located the building McKay used as a warehouse and general store, where for many years his merchandising and other business interests were located.

Capt. McKay became a dominant factor in the up-building of the community. He established a line of schooners from Tampa to New Orleans, thus giving to the city business a connection with the outside world. He built a sawmill on what was then the outskirts of town, at what would become the Tampa Heights area on the Hillsborough River, supplying the town's needs for building purposes.

He accepted contracts to build the first non-log cabin courthouse for Hillsborough County and carry the mail from Tampa to Gainesville. He built and owned the only wharf in the harbor.

He owned and operated steamers and sailing vessels, and with these made large shipments of cattle from Florida to Cuba. He established this business in 1855, thereby putting a great deal of money through is purchases of cattle in South Florida.

By personally guaranteeing the company against financial loss, he induced the Morgan Steamship Company to have two of their vessels, on the route from New Orleans to Havana, make semi-monthly calls at Tampa and other points in Florida. This was in 1856 and the same year he established a merchandising and trading business in Fort Myers, another post garrisoned by US troops.

He expanded this business until it attained such proportions that in 1859 he fenced off the Gadsden Point peninsula, the fence extending from where the Spanish sanitarium stood to a point on Old Tampa Bay, about a mile north of today's Port Tampa, and in this pasture grazed thousands of head of cattle in preparation for their shipment to Cuba.

McKay was joined in this endeavor by other Hillsborough County residents, notably the Lesleys, Lykes and Hookers. [Tampa Bay History Center Blog]

Both Captain McKay and Madame Cail were well off and soon after arriving in Tampa they began investing heavily in real estate, buying some of the best blocks in town as soon as the property was put on the market. They also purchased many large tracts throughout the county, becoming two of Hillsborough's largest land owners.

Genealogical records of the pioneers, etc., by Charles E. Harrison, pub. 1915, states:

Some of the older children of this family were born before their parents' arrival in Tampa, but the majority of them...were born here.  The family was a large one, consisting of George, James, John Angus, Donald S. and Charles; sons, and Sarah, Marion, Matilda and Almeria Belle; daughters.

One of the blocks purchased by Captain McKay was the one bounded by Franklin, Jackson, Florida and Washington Streets. There he built his home. On another of his blocks, the one adjoining on the south, he built a store building and went into business. But he was not long satisfied with store keeping.

Late in 1848 he purchased a schooner, naming her the  Sarah Matilda, and started making runs to Mobile and New Orleans.

Two years later he bought another schooner Emma, for use between Tampa and Fort Myers.

During the 1850s he added to his fleet, buying the 125-ton steamer Venice, a smaller steamer called the Woodduck, and the brigantine Huntress, purchased at federal auction in Key West after it had been condemned as a slaver.  

In 1859 he chartered the steamer Magnolia from the Morgan Line and entered the cattle business, buying herds and selling the them in Cuba. He is credited with being the first shipper of cattle from Florida to the Cuba market.

McKay served as Tampa's 6th mayor, from  February 12, 1859 to Feb. 1, 1860, and established the use of standard procedures and forms for licenses, ordinances and legal notices. He also regulated the Jackson Street ferry service in town to ensure the safety of passengers and cargo. McKay also attempted to purchase the Fort Brooke military reservation for Tampa but was only able to negotiate a rental agreement. For eighteen months, the City rented Fort Brooke from the U.S. government until April 1861 when Confederate troops occupied the fort and declared marshal law in Tampa.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, McKay and a handful of other local men used their vessels to run the Union Naval Blockade to bring guns, ammunition, foodstuffs and other merchandise for the Confederate army and civilian population in Tampa and the surrounding area.  At the same time, he provided beef cattle and supplies to the Union troops in Key West and the Tortugas.

(More on this and his capture is presented further down in this feature).

In 1863, after his release from imprisonment in Key West, Confederate Major Pleasant W. White appointed McKay Commissary Agent for the 5th District of Florida. True to his promise made to the Union, McKay seems to have frustrated attempts to supply the Confederate army with beef using a series of excuses ranging from "bad weather, lack of funds, a scarcity of cow hunters and drivers and poor health." As a result, the cattle shipments that did arrive from Florida were far below the needs of the Confederate Army. Extremely displeased with the number of cattle being transported to the army, the Confederate government conducted inspections of the cattle and methods of supply but could not determine if there were intentional delays.

After the war, McKay resumed his cattle and shipping business until 1876 when he had an accident from which he never fully recovered. He died in Tampa on Nov. 11, 1876.

McKay Family Censuses in Tampa

Their 1850 Census shows James & Matilda's first four children, George, Sarah, James & John, all born in Alabama.
Donald and Marian born in Florida, and Sarah Cail, Matilda's mother, born in England.
 

1860 Census of the McKay Family in Tampa
The McKay's had a music teacher from London in their household--J.A. Butterfield.
See the table of combined census info below for explanation of names.

1870 Census of McKay family members
It wasn't until the 1880 census that the relationship to head of house for each person was recorded.
Res. 319 James Jr. now married to Mary E. (Chrichton) with 3 children,
Res. 321 John A. married to Mary J. (McCarty) with son Donald.  (This is Donald Brenham McKay.)
Res. 323 Donald (S.) now living in his own residence.  Enumerator failed to record a "1" for
"Parents of foreign birth" in Col. 11 & 12 for Donald.
This census has been pieced together from 2 successive pages; the 2nd page starting with 15-year old Charles McKay. 
(See table below for notes concerning Charles.)

McKay Family Census Comparisons

Genealogical records of the pioneers, etc., by Charles E. Harrison, pub. 1915, states:

1. George, the first son, died in early manhood, unmarried.

2. Sarah, married Robert B. Thomas of Kentucky.

3. James Jr. married Mary E. Crichton, the mother of all his children, 2nd to Helene Turton, of Mass., and 3rd time to Lillian Nimms Warren, of NJ. 

4. John Angus married Mary Jane McCarty. 

5. Donald S.  was born at Chassewiska, Aug 8, 1846, and came to Tampa with his parents in the same year. He married Mary M. Collier, then 2nd to Martha A. Hayden.

6. Marion E. married William Randolph of Tallahassee.

7. Matilda Ann married Dr. John P. Wall.

8. Almeria Belle married Howell T. Lykes, of Brooksville.

9. Charles McKay was not mentioned by Harrison.  Charles died at age 20 in 1877.

THE JAMES MCKAY, SR.  HOMESTEAD

THE OLD McKAY HOMESTEAD
This was the homestead of Capt. James McKay. This view shows the home in the 1870s, and was located on the southeast square of Franklin and Jackson Streets, the present-day site of the Tampa City Center skyscraper. The McKay children were reared in this house.
Photo courtesy of Helen McKay Bardowsky
Historic marker from Exploring Florida
McKay homestead from THE SUNLAND TRIBUNE Volume VIII Number 1 November, 1982

During the winter of 1859 the young men of the town organized the Tampa Cornet band, employing J. A. Butterfield as leader. This band was composed of some 14 members and when, after practicing a few weeks, it ventured in giving promenade concerts and dances, charging a nominal sum for admittance, it gave the young people many evenings of pleasure and enjoyment. There are only two of this band now living. Henry Crane and myself.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

[Butterfield was listed in McKay Sr's. household on the 1860 Census.]

In January, 1860, there was constructed a pasture fence, beginning on Hillsborough Bay just near the present site of the Spanish sanitarium, extending across the peninsula about two miles north of Port Tampa, to old Tampa bay, for the purpose of concentrating cattle.

The demand for cattle had increased to such an extent that my father in the spring of this year went north to purchase a steamer suitable for the trade and after searching the eastern ports, not finding a suitable vessel, went to Chicago and there purchased the steamer Salvor. She was not of sufficient size for the trade, so he took her to New York, cut her in two, putting 70 feet in the middle of her.

Before leaving Tampa he purchased from Captain L. G. Lesley, his entire stock of the S. V. brand of cattle, as well as 2,000 head of beef cattle from other parties. These cattle were all delivered to this pasture by June 5. The steamer should have arrived here by June 1, but owing to the slow manner of completing the work on her, she did not reach Tampa until the middle of July.  In the meantime the pasture went dry, not a drop of water for cattle and many died before the rains began. There were only about some 3,500 head that were in a condition to stand shipping, and those that were left alive, we altered the marks and brands and drove to Manatee county. The pen where I received all this number of cattle, some 8,000 head, was situated some 200 yards from where I am now living. At that time there was but one house within one mile of the pens. What wonderful improvements have I witnessed since that time.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

James McKay & Jean St. Shipyard
 

McKay, an experienced sailor and seaman, is well known to Tampa history as a wealthy and successful businessman who owned the local salt works. He is credited with organizing the “Cowboy Cavalry” to supply beef to the fighting Confederate Army.

Around the time of the start of the Civil War, the Jean Street shipyard on the Hillsborough River was owned and funded in part by James McKay, and another local Tampa businessman, David Hope. McKay also owned and operated a shipping line that ran from Tampa to Havana.

McKay, however, is probably best known for, and perhaps immortalized for, being a daring and brazen blockade runner. In spite of the Union’s efforts to cut Tampa off from the rest of the world, he and his fleet of blockade runners helped to keep Ft. Brooke and the citizens of Tampa supplied with goods and able to continue outside trade.

During the Civil War the Union controlled the waters of Tampa Bay from its Naval base at Egmont Key. It also controlled most of the Gulf of Mexico from its Naval and Army bases in Key West, making it no easy task to get past a blockade. Both McKay and Hope owned and operated blockade runners during the Civil War. Jean Street Shipyard serviced these vessels, and as such became indirectly involved in the battle.

The Hillsborough River Raid and the battle of Ballast Point, at Jean Street Shipyard

Image from Jean St. Shipyard website

The Jean Street Shipyard (est. 1843) is a shipyard located on the Hillsborough River in Tampa. It is located approximately 5 miles from the mouth of the Hillsborough River, about 1 mile above the Hillsborough Avenue bridge in what is now the neighborhood of Seminole Heights. It is a full service shipyard with wet slips and a Travelift for hauling vessels from the water.
 

The shipyard was first established in 1843, as far upriver as was navigable on good solid ground. This allowed the shipyard to be surrounded by good quality shipbuilding material, as well as protect it from storms and weather. A massive wharf was built for the loading of local cargo, but the primary function of the shipyard was servicing and repairing riverboats, skiffs, barges, and local sloops. The site was equipped with a machine shop, wood shop, a marine hardware store, and railways for hauling vessels from the water. James McKay, a schooner captain, was one of the first owners of the shipyard and used the facilities to maintain his cargo and trading vessels, including steamships, schooners, sloops, skiffs, and barges. McKay was heavily invested in Tampa, owning a general store and a sawmill. He also owned two schooners that he used in the cargo trade with Cuba, Central America, and South America. McKay was elected mayor of Tampa in 1859.

John T. Lesley was a prominent cattleman and like many of the prominent men in Southern communities at the onset of the Civil War formed a military company at his own expense. Lesley’s Tampa troops who were later described as coming from “the best families of the town and vicinity,” trained and paraded through Tampa streets while waiting two months to be sworn in.

Unfortunately, some of the Lesley’s youngsters were more used to parties than digging the earth works ordered by Col. William I. Turner, commander of Fort Brooke and a veteran of the Second Seminole War. This lack of discipline led to problems.

In one instance in April 1861, Lesley and his men refused to obey the direct orders of Turner, a colonel in the state militia. They had seized and refused to return a fishing smack belonging to the controversial James McKay whose business dealings, including selling Florida beef and supplies to Unionists in Key West since 1858, placed his loyalty to the Confederacy in question. The high jinks by Lesley’s men angered fellow merchant, John Darling and others who wanted the men placed under Turner’s authority. 
 

Tampa’s citizens informed Governor Madison Perry of the conflict at Fort Brooke and Turner’s strict conformity to orders in a letter dated June 27, 1861.  McKay wrote and asked the governor to clarify for Lesley and his men that they were subject to his friend, Turner’s authority.

When McKay headed to Tallahassee to speak to the governor in person, Magbee began a campaign in the Peninsular to have McKay arrested for petty treason.

Magbee responded to McKay in a letter to the Florida Peninsular, July 19, 1861. After comparing McKay to Benedict Arnold, Magbee wrote:

"Former differences I burn upon the altar of my country and will to the last moment stand side by side with any one in the cause of the South. She is now entered into a Just and Holy war, in which every man, woman and child is and should feel interested and we have not the right to cater to the views and interests of friend or foe, whose conduct cannot meet the smiles and plaudits of our country, the land of the "stars and bars," the home of the patriot where the only temple of true fealty has been preserved. I am a Southern man by birth, was reared and educated in Georgia, was born a slave owner and have owned slaves all my life and am also an undoubted secessionist."

Gov. Perry agreed with McKay, but Lesley's unit was mustered out before McKay’s boat was returned. Col. Turner was replaced in late July by Florida Militia General, Joseph M. Taylor.

The Robles Family During the Civil War in Tampa, by Karen Lucibello

Upon his arrival back in Tampa, McKay was arrested and charged with petty treason against the State of Florida.

Ossian B. Hart
10th Governor of Florida, and first governor of Florida who was born in the state.  Wikipedia

James McKay blockade-running and capture
 

On October 13, 1861, McKay, who had gone to Key West after his trial in Tampa, was traveling with his son and crew from Havana aboard his steamer Salvor when he was captured by the USS Keystone State. A search of the Salvor reportedly found 600 pistols and rifles, 500,000 percussion caps, coffee, cigars and clothing.   They were brought into Key West where McKay, his son Donald, and his crew became prisoners of war and his steamer was confiscated.

McKay felt that his ship, the Salvor, which was sailing under the British flag as the MS Perry, was wrongfully seized by the Union, claiming he had sold it to a British subject in Havana.

The Salvor and its cargo, along with McKay's young son Donald, the crew, and McKay's slaves, were towed to Philadelphia, while McKay, and two passengers were detained at Fort Taylor in Key West.  From Philadelphia, Donald McKay and the crew were sent to prison at Fort Lafayette off the coast of the Bronx in New York, where they were eventually released on different dates for various reasons.

It was only after five months, at a considerable cost and through the personal intervention of President Lincoln, that James McKay was allowed to take an oath of allegiance and was paroled.

See details of these events in the next section.

On April 21, 1862, McKay was back in Key West and returned to Tampa in mid-May. He obtained a new side-wheel steamer, the Scottish Chief.

Part of the condition of McKay’s pardon was a promise not to return to the service of the Confederate cause, a promise the now bitter McKay abandoned immediately upon his return to Tampa.

Upon his return he armed the Scottish Chief with a 6- pounder cannon, and went to work eliminating a fleet of small boats which were fishing with "illegal fishing contracts" along the lower west coast of Florida and were actually also spying. This fleet of small boats was supplying Federally-controlled Key West not only with Florida fish, but also with information about Confederate ships and their positions to the Union army based at Key West.  The Scottish Chief captured 24 small boats and their crews, thus making Florida waters safer, but earning a vendetta against him from the Union.

This vendetta would eventually cost him dearly. Later, according to Union records, it was the destruction of McKay's two vessels, and nothing more, that was the actual focus of a attack against Tampa in October 1862, dubbed the Hillsborough River Raid. The Hillsborough River Raid turned into the Battle of Ballast Point.

After the capture of these “illegal fishing boats” for the Confederacy, McKay continued  blockade running with his sailing sloop, the Kate Dale, and his prize vessel, the Scottish Chief. He made six more successful runs past Union vessels with Scottish Chief.

At first he carried beef to Havana but as beef became more vital to the Confederacy and the Florida legislature outlawed the export of cattle, he shifted to cotton. For the relief of the remaining Tampans he also brought in medicines, rum, foodstuffs and other supplies.

The relief offered to Tampa by McKay and the other local blockade runners so rankled Union blockaders that on several occasions Union ships entered Tampa Bay to reek mischief and remind Tampa citizens that they were being blockaded. 

By October 1863, McKay was ready to make another run with bales of cotton through the blockade with the Scottish Chief and his new vessel Kate Dale, a small sailing sloop. Neither ship drew more than 4 feet of water.

Congressional Edition, Volume 3788
Hillsborough River Raid.
The Hillsborough River Raid and Battle of Ballast Point

Read about "The Final Battle for Ft. Brooke" here at TampaPix

After the war, the two vessels that carried these troops to Tampa, named Honduras and Huzzas, both were purchased by my father and renamed the Governor Marvin, and Southern Star.  Many times have I read the log books of these vessels giving an account of this expedition. Captain Van Sice commanded the Honduras at the time of this expedition. I got acquainted with him in Havana after the war, he then being master of the City of Vera Cruz of the Alexander Steamship Line plying between New York and Havana. He discussed with me the capture of Tampa.  A few years later Captain Van Sice, with the City of Vera Cruz, was lost in a hurricane off St. Augustine.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

The Steamship Governor Marvin, of which I was master, was owned by my father. She was originally built to carry cattle from Honduras to Cuba just at the beginning of the war, but was taken by the United States Government and was named Honduras;  At that time she was chartered by the United States Government and was used as a transport flying along the Florida coast from New Orleans to Key West and the Tortugas. When my father purchased her he changed her name to Governor Marvin.  My father purchased her in New York after the War in 1865, and I lost her in the hurricane of 1872, but got her into the harbor of Key West before she sank. She was named after the Provisional Governor of Florida who was and had been a true friend of my father long before the Civil War.  --James McKay, Jr

After the close of the war we all returned to our homes, which we found in most instances in a dilapidated condition. Tampa was a hard-looking place. Houses were in bad order. Streets and lots were grown up mostly with weeds and the outlook certainly was not very encouraging. To make matters worse two companies of negro soldiers were sent to garrison the place. White officers commanded them. It was not long before the troops became overbearing and in some instances threatened arrests of our citizens.

I was one that was to be brought before a military court, for the destruction of papers and documents. Getting uneasy over the many reports coming in, I with my brother Donald, mounted our horses and laid out in the woods for six weeks. The excited condition of the country and activity of the officers at this place being reported to Washington by a revenue officer, a special agent was sent here to investigate with authority to act and he soon had matters straightened out.

I received notice from my father to report to the commanding officer in the garrison before stopping anywhere, which I did and was given a paper stating that I was not to be molested only on order from Washington. Shortly after this event the negro soldiers were removed and white troops of the regular army went to garrison the place. It was not long before they were on good terms with the citizens - and assisted in pushing the town ahead, trying to make us forget that we were enemies at one time.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

My father succeeded in getting to Havana by a fishing smack and from his friends in Cuba got sufficient funds to take him to New York, landing there with only a few dollars in his pocket. Meeting the old merchants he dealt with previous to the war, they assisted him in buying the Steamer Honduras, which he named the Governor Marvin, costing $72,000.

He also bought a stock of goods valued at $24,000. He left New York in October, 1865, with this vessel loaded and 165 passengers. He met a hurricane off St. Augustine and came very near losing vessel and all hands, but by the graciousness of the Heavenly Father he pulled through it with some slight losses only.

Two or three days after the hurricane, in passing down along the Florida reef, he saw some 21 vessels of all kinds ashore, as quick as he could, he discharged freight and passengers that were for Key West, patched the steamer up, and left for a bark loaded with sugar and a steamer that was ashore and worked on them for two weeks, for which he received enough to pay for one-half of the Marvin.

When reaching Tampa about the last of November, he entered into the shipping of cattle to Cuba but as the cattle were beginning to get poor and the grass being bad in Cuba, they did not sell for sufficient to pay for cost, duties, and freight and about the last of December he discontinued shipping them. In the meantime stores opened on Washington street and although there was not much money in circulation, still there was considerable business, mostly in trade. I K. Roberts and Company operated a weekly line of steamers along the coast from New Orleans to Havana, bringing freight and passengers. That was of great assistance to this section of south Florida

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

In 1866, during the summer, the trade with Cuba had increased to such an extent that my father purchased the Steamship Southern Star to assist the Governor Martin to freight cattle, but the demand did not last longer than that year, as the insurrection in Cuba broke out and buyers were afraid to put cattle on pastures. He chartered the Marvin to a party of Spaniards to load mules at Tampico, but when we arrived there found an insurrection had sprung up in Tamaulipas and we were detained for a month, when we loaded 357 mules for Havana. Arriving at our destination we found the city in a state of excitement for fear of an attack from the Cuban army. The night of the day of our arrival, while myself and officers of the ship were upstairs in the Louvre playing billiards, as a battalion of Spanish soldiers were passing, someone fired a pistol. The soldiers opened fire on the lower or ground floor and shot the place all to pieces. We made our escape over the tops of buildings and were let down through a trap door on the top of the building on the opposite side of the block. It was not long before we found ourselves on board the Marvin and very glad to be there.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

A renegade judge of the court was placed in office in this section and with the notorious Jim Green and his deserters to assist him, they joined the republican party, the fight became quite interesting. The loyal Confederates soon were engaged in a struggle that was not much inferior to the war between the states. At one time it appeared as another losing proposition but with the aid of the Ku Klux Klan, all over the south began to see daylight.

In 1876 this state as well as others, emerged from the fight by placing George E Drew in the governor’s chair, [but] Florida’s vote was given to Hayes. It was not long after this when the renegades and deserters were fired from office and sound democrats installed. From that time this section began to improve, and every person felt safe and happy. Previous to this there were many night rides by the citizens, to accomplish what they did.

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

I have been compelled to mention my father many times, which I could not prevent, from the fact that in the early days of Tampa there was not a single interest connected with the town but what he was either the originator, or connected with it in some manner. He was identified with every improvement in the town.

As this article is rather lengthy I will close, wishing you and all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year..

by James McKay, Jr. in "Reminiscences - History of Tampa in the Olden Days"  Dec. 18, 1923

H. B. Plant's steamer Olivette was a 250-foot ship built under the supervision of Capt. James McKay, Jr. in Philadelphia and launched February 16, 1887. Captain McKay brought the vessel in April 29, 1887 [to Tampa] and thereafter served as her master.

James McKay Jr. on his horse during the 2nd Gasparilla invasion, 1905.
Photo from the Lesley Collection, Tampa Bay History Center.