David Charles Mackie (January 1, 1836 – August 9, 1910) was a founder and builder of

Scammon, Kansas Scammon is a city in Cherokee County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 376. History Scammon was laid out in 1884. It was named for the four Scammon brothers, who operated the first mine there. David ...

. He was the first President of the Scammon State Bank.

Early years

Mackie was born near

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie ( Gaelic: ''Cill Bhraonaigh'') is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisle ...

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. His parents, David and Janet (Barclay) Mackie, lived and died in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. Mackie's school days were limited, but he was especially capable in mathematics. At the age of 9, he became a

trapper Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

in a coal mine in Scotland.

Career

At the age of 25, Mackie was superintending engineer for the

Barkip Barkip, also known as The Den, is a hamlet in North Ayrshire, Scotland about southwest of Beith on the A737 road to Dalry. The earliest recorded name is 'Blairkip'.

Coal & Ironstone Works in Scotland. He resigned from this position and in 1869 moved to the United States with his wife, proceeding to

Hartland, Wisconsin Hartland is a village along the Bark River in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States, that is a suburb of Milwaukee. The population was 9,110 at the 2010 census. Geography Hartland is located at (43.100180, −88.344452). It is in the ...

, where his wife's uncle lived. The uncle was a farmer, and for a while Mackie engaged in farming, but that occupation didn't suit him. Through the influence of his brother, William, Mackie got a job as a machinist with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad for a short time. In 1871, Mackie accepted a position with the coal mining firm of Bennett & Turner, for whom he installed machinery in mines near Braidwood, Illinois. He then became mine foreman, and later superintendent. Here he remained until 1883, when he moved to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

to accept a position with the Keith & Perry Coal Company, with whom, and their successors, he remained many years, as superintendent of mines. In 1892, Mackie accepted the position of general superintendent of the mines of the Central Coal & Coke Company, which firm succeeded the Keith & Perry Coal Company, and which also absorbed the business of the Kansas & Texas Coal Company, embracing coal mines in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Kansas,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

. He held this position until 1906, when he retired from active business, his resignation accepted on the condition that he remain the consulting engineer of the company, to which he agreed. In 1883, Mackie established a home in Scammon, being a founder and builder of the town. He aided in organizing the Scammon State Bank in 1901, and he became the first president of the bank, holding the position until his death.

Personal life

In 1860, Mackie married Elizabeth Kerr, a daughter of Thomas and Jane (Pringle) Kerr, of Dalry, North Ayrshire, Scotland. They had several children: David, Thomas, Janet, George, Jane, and John. Mackie was a 32° Scottish Rite Mason. A member of the

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church, he was an organizer of the Presbyterian church at Scammon, of which he was a trustee. He died at Scammon.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackie, David 1836 births 1910 deaths People from Kilbirnie People from Cherokee County, Kansas American bankers Scottish miners American coal miners 19th-century American businesspeople Scottish emigrants to the United States