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By Rev. Nash Odom, Pas-
tor of the First Baptist Church,
Dublin, N. C. and President of
the Bladen County Historic So-
ciety.)
James Iver McKay of Bladen
County represented District 5
in the United States Congress
from 1831 to 1849. He served
as the Chairman of the Ways
and Means Committee from 1843
to 1849. He was given the nick-
name of "Watch Dog of the Trea-
sury." He was a Philantropist,
Statesman, Lawyer, Planter and
one of the most beloved men
who ever came from Bladen
County. He was highly respected
by the people of North Carolina
and across the United States.
In 1848, his name was presented
as a candidate for Vice-
President of the United States.
That year, however, he retired.
The story of his life is an in-
teresting story and the history
of Bladen County would be in-
complete without it.
Much of the information of this
article has come from biographi-
cal sketches written by Mrs. E. F.
McCullouch and Mr. W. D. Maults-
by with revisions made and ad-
ditions added.
[Line missing]
McKay, came to Bladen County
from Scotland. We are told
that they had four sons and one
daughter. One son, John McKay,
was born on January 5, 1768,
and died on February 1, 1821. His
wife, Mary Salter McKay, was
born on May 4, 1768, and died
on July 6, 1805. Both are buried
in a lonely, forsaken family cem-
etery near Turnbull Creek near
where the old Bethel Metho-
dist Church once was located.
Mary Salter McKay was the
daughter of William Salter II and
Sarah Lloyd Salter, and the
granddaughter of William Salter
I and Mary Locke Salter. The
old Salter Family Cemetery
is located near Salters Lake
and the wooden markers have
now decayed and almost disap-
peared. The Salter name has
been most prominant in Bladen
County history.
John and Mary Salter McKay
had two sons: Archibald Salter
McKay was born on November
11, 1794, and died on November
10, 1823, aged 29 years. He had
one child, Emeline McKay, who
married in 1833 William Nash
Whitted of Hillsboro, N. C. James
Iver McKay, was born on July
17, 1792, and died September 14,
1853. He married Eliza Ann Har-
vey on December 3, 1818. She was
the daughter of Travis Harvey.
Travis Harvey was the grand-
son of Colonel Thomas Robe-
son. James Iver and Eliza Ann
Harvey McKay had only one child,
James Travis McKay, who died
as an infant. They reared and
educated several of his nieces
and other kinsmen. Mrs. McKay
died in 1847.
Young James Iver McKay re-
ceived his early education at the
Raleigh Academy. He delivered
an address there on July 4, 1809.
James and his first cousin, Wil-
liam J. Cowan of Bladen Coun-
ty, entered the University of
North Carolina. It seems that
he did not graduate from that
institution though. No doubt he
entered law school before
the end of the four year period,
instead of studying in the regu-
lar academic school. He was
early admitted to the bar.
James Iver McKay was well
educated and possessed ability
as well as a strong character.
At the age of twenty-three, he
was elected to the State Senate.
He served for four terms. John
Owen of Bladen County succeeded
him.
Meanwhile, McKay had served
as United States District Attor-
ney and had won a fine reputa-
tion as a brilliant lawyer. In his
profession, he was skillful, and
very earnest in performing every
duty given to him. In 1831, Ed-
ward B. Dudley declined to be
a candidate for Congress. The
friends of McKay brought him
forward to represent the district.
[Line missing]
he served the people of the Cape
Fear area in Congress of the
United States. The years 1830
to 1860 are among the most
exciting years in American poli-
tics. Such great subjects as
tariff, nullification, states'
rights, and slavery were being
discussed at that time. During
that period, no other section
was more favorably represented
in Congress than Bladen Coun-
ty.
Year by year General McKay
gained the confidence of his par-
ty. He was noted for his loyalty
to the administration. In 1843,
he was made Chairman of the
Committee of Ways and Means.
He drew up a tariff bill, but
it failed to pass. It was wide-
ly circulated, however, and was
received as an excellent ex-
pression of Democratic thought.
Robert J. Walker was the Secre-
tary of the Treasury in 1846.
He favored a larger tariff re-
duction. The Tariff Act of 1846
was prepared in conference with
Secretary Walker and was intro-
duced by General James Iver Mc-
Kay, the Chairman of the Com-
mittee in the House. The House
passed on the bill but there was
doubt about the Senate vote.
Two years earlier, William
H. Haywood had been elected to
the Senate with instructions to
vote for tariff reform. He, how-
ever, considered this tariff bill
to be too far-reaching for him
to support. Even though he felt
that he could not vote for the
bill, he didn't want to embarrass
the administration by helping to
defeat it. He was on good terms
with President Polk and the Dem-
ocratic Party. If he didn't cast
his vote, there would be a tie
in the Senate. Vice-President
Dallas' vote would pass the bill.
Haywood decided not to vote.
He decided to resign instead.
At the last minute, while the
vote was being taken in the
Senate Chamber, he announced
his resignation and withdrew
from the body.
Since the tariff bill was the
lowest one that had been passed
in many years, it was considered
the best ever passed by Con-
gress. For fifteen years no
effort was made to change it.
What had once been the great
tariff issue had been solved by
the McKay Act of 1846.
In 1848, General McKay's
name was presented as a candi-
date for Vice-President of the
United States. That year, how-
ever, he retired. He was suc-
ceeded in the Congress by his
friend William S. Ashe.
It was while General McKay
was in Congress that he helped
secure appropriations for the
construction of the Arsenal at
Fayetteville and for building Fort
Caswell at the mouth of the
Cape Fear River.
James Iver McKay was thought
very well of by President Polk.
[Possible line missing????]
The Honorable Archibald Arring-
ton told an anecdote which was
very characteristic of the Gen-
eral. As the story goes, a party
of friends called on the Presi-
dent. After the introductions had
been made, General McKay wan-
dered around the room. Sudden-
ly he called over his shoulder,
"Oh, Mr. Polk, there is a vacan-
cy in the Navy and I want it."
"Ah," said the President, "Is
there? I hadn't heard of it, but
I suppose you may have it."
"But, Mr. President, I don't
want any supposing; I want it
now." He got it.
Mr. Arrington said that the
General was called the "Watch
Dog" of the United States Trea-
sury and also "Old Money Bags"
because he was so careful about
how the country's money was
spent.
He was offered $27,000
for his plantation, "Bellefont," (sic)
but he declined the offer. Item
7 of his will reads as follows:
"I give, bequeath, and devise
after the termination of my wife's
widowhood my above named
Bellefont Plantation to William
J. Cowan and my executors here-
inafter named and their heirs
in trust for the County of Bla-
den on the express condition
that the said plantation shall
be used as an experimental farm
and that the poor of the county
and the indigent orphans who
are directed by law to be bound
out shall be kept, maintained, and
employed on said plantation un-
der such rules and regulations
as the county court of said coun-
ty may prescribe."
In like manner he provided
for his slaves. Item 10 of his
will reads: "It is my will and
desire that the slaves herein-
before excepted be hired out
by my executors for two or
three years in order to raise
funds for their transportation
to the Colony of Liberia, and
as soon as that object can be
affected, my executors are here-
by strictly enjoined to take the
necessary means for the trans-
portation of said slaves to Li-
beria under the direction and
patronage of the Colonization So-
ciety." When the Negroes left
Elizabethtown for Wilmington
where they were to board the
ship, they cried and were very
unhappy because they had to leave
their old home and go to a
strange land. Some years later,
however, one of the Negro women
came back from Africa. It
seemed that she had done very
well over there. She reported
that the McKay Negroes had
prospered in their new home,
and that her grandfather had
become an outstanding man in
the Colony of Liberia. Her pur-
pose for returning to Elizabeth-
town was to persuade other Ne-
groes to go back with her.
General McKay died sudden-
ly in Goldsboro, N. C., Thurs-
day, September 14, 1853, at a
quarter before eight o'clock in
the evening. He was returning
from Tarboro, N. C. where he
had been a witness in a trial.
After the train arrived at Golds-
boro, he suddenly became ill.
His traveling companions, Co-
lonel John McDowell and Benja-
min Fitz Randolph, rushed to
him and took him to Mrs. Bor-
den's Hotel where he died. It
was said that he had billious or
cramp colic, now known as ap-
pendicitis.
At Wilmington his body was
met by the militia. There was
a great public demonstration as
his body was carried through the
city. Bells were tolled. A group
of the first citizens of Wilming-
ton accompanied his body to the
home plantation in Bladen Coun-
ty where he was buried. The
steamboat which carried the
dead General from Wilmington
to the plantation was decked in
black.
General McKay was a fine
conversationalist and was a
great favorite among his associ-
ates. Colonel Wheeler who knew
him well and who was well ac-
quainted with many prominent
men of the United States had
this to say about General Mc-
Kay: "As a statesmen (sic) he was
of unquestioned ability, of stern
integrity, capable of great labor
and patient investigation. He was
in public as well as in private
life a radical economist and be-
longed to that school of which
Mr. Macon was the father."
His burial place is marked
by a North Carolina Historical
Marker on Highway 87.
No greater tribute could be
made than that made by Eliza-
beth Ellis Robeson in her diary
bearing the date, "September
15, 1853. I heard this morning
that Genl. J. I. McKay died at
Goldsboro after a few hours ill-
ness. He was a wealthy, intelli-
gent man. He will be missed
greatly by his friends and rela-
tives and his country men (sic) gen-
erally but their loss will His
infinite gain. Peace to his ash-
es for his superiors for intellect
is not left in the country."
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