MCKAY, NEIL (1829-1898)

MCKAY, NEIL, Presbyterian minister, St John's Church, Chatham, 1885-98; b. Earltown, Colchester Co., N.S., 12 Apr 1829, s/o John McKay and Dolina McKay; m. 1855, Isabella Knight, of Halifax; d. Chatham, 15 Jun 1898.

Neil McKay's parents were both offspring of immigrants from the parish of Rogart, Sutherland, Scotland. His father, a grist miller, was among the founders of Earltown, N.S. In addition to Neil McKay, the nine children of the family included two physicians and several other persons of accomplishment.

McKay was educated at Pictou Academy and taught school before enrolling in the Free Church College in Halifax to study for the ministry. Ordained in 1855, he had thirty years of experience in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, including major pastorates in Saint John and Summerside, before he was called to St John's Church, Chatham, in 1885.

McKay was zealous in the discharge of his duties as a minister, "and his services in the promotion of education and the cause of temperance" were also considered to be of much value. In 1889 he was moderator of the Synod of the Maritime Provinces. He was later president of the New Brunswick Sunday School Association. For many years he presided over the alumni association of the Presbyterian College, which granted him an honorary DD in 1896. That year, he took leave of absence due to illness and was never fully restored to health. He remained at Chatham, where his wife, Isabella Knight, died in 1897, and he in 1898, at age sixty-nine.

There were three sons and at least four daughters in the family, including Isabel McKay, the first wife of Francis R. W. Morrison, and Annie McKay, the wife of J. D. B. Fraser Mackenzie.