David McKay (1844–1917) was a member of the Utah State Senate. He was the father of

David O. McKay David Oman McKay (September 8, 1873 – January 18, 1970) was an American religious leader and educator who served as the ninth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1951 until his death in 1970. Ordain ...

and Thomas E. McKay. McKay was born in

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Gre ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. His family joined

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

(LDS Church) in 1850. The family sailed for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

in 1856, intending to go to

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

. However, due to financial difficulties, they stayed in New York working to earn money for rail passage for two years and then worked an additional year in Iowa to earn enough money to head to Utah. At first they settled in Ogden, Utah, but McKay later took up farming in

Huntsville, Utah Huntsville is a town in Weber County, Utah, United States. The population was 608 at the 2010 census. It is located in Ogden Valley. It is part of the Ogden– Clearfield, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Ogden Valley ...

. He married Jennette Evans, an immigrant from Wales. They were married in the

Endowment House The Endowment House was an early building used by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to administer temple ordinances in Salt Lake City, Utah Territory. From the construction of the Council House in 1852, Salt Lake City's ...

on April 9, 1867, with the marriage performed by

Wilford Woodruff Wilford Woodruff Sr. (March 1, 1807September 2, 1898) was an American religious leader who served as the fourth president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 1889 until his death. He ended the public practice of ...

. From 1881 to 1883, McKay served a mission for the LDS Church in the British Isles. McKay later served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Huntsville

Ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

. McKay served three terms in the Utah State Senate. He was also a member of the Utah Militia. He was a member of the Weber Stake Academy (the predecessor of Weber State University) Board of Education from its founding in 1888 until 1908. He was a moving force behind several canal companies as well as the Huntsville Cooperative Mercantile Exchange and the Ogden Valley Creamery Company.biographies of the members of the boards of trustees of Utah State University
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References

Sources

*Mary Jane Woodger. ''David O. McKay: Beloved Prophet''. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, 2004. p. 8-9.
1903 Utah State Senate journal''Improvement Era''
Vol. 8, Issue 4, p. 317. {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, David 1844 births British emigrants to the United States American Latter Day Saints Mormon missionaries in the United Kingdom Utah state senators 1917 deaths Politicians from Ogden, Utah People from Huntsville, Utah Military personnel from Utah