Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1902-07-28
FAMOUS MILLIONAIRE PASSES
AWAY
WAS GREAT .MlNE OWNER
Famous Magnate Passes Away at Resi-
dence in London-Was Once Poor
Irish Boy and Kept Saloon
Father-in-laW of an italian Prince
and Great Social Leader.

prOStratiOn since Tuesday. The imme-
date cause of death was heart failure
The right lung was found to be "on-
gested, and the symptoms indicated
pneumonia.
The remains will be taken to New
York for interment in Greenwood Gem
etery, Brooklyn. The exact date for
the removal of the body and the ar
engagements for the funeral will not be
decided upon until the arrival in Lon
don of his son, Clearance Mackay, who
sailed from New York on Saturday
last.
John w. Mackay was born in Dub
lin, Ireland, Nov. %, 1881 His par
ents were very poor. When John was
10 years old they moved to New York,
where the father died after two years.
John was apprenticed to a shipbuilder,
and for two or three years the greate'
part of nis earnings went to the sup
port of his family. However, he man
aged to save some money, and in 1848
went to Louisville, KY, where he open
ed saloon. There he pFospered in
small way.
When gold was discovered in Cali
fornia Mackay was one of the first to
catch the fever. With him were James
c. Flood and William O'Brien. They
settled in San Francisco and went into
business, while Mackay went directly
into the gold fields. He lived the rough
life Of prospector, minus the de-
hatchery, and learned all there was to
be learned about mines.
After ten years of this life Mr.. Mac
kay went to Gold Hill, Nevada, where
he Immediately saw the value of the
Comstock lode. 1t took more money
than he had to get possession of the
property, and Mackay took his early
friends, Flood and O'Brien, together
with James G. Fair, afterwards Unit
ed States senator from Nevada, into
partnership.
The first important success which
they made was obtaining control of the
celebrated Hale & Norcross mines.
Mr.. Mackay was the practical man of
the firm. 4nough he soon became a
millionaire, he continued to work down
in the mines, directing the actual OPP
erations. In 1873 the great silver vein
of the Consolidated Virginia and Cali
fornia mines was opened, which yield
ed in a few years $3.50, 900 in silver
and gold. The greater portion of this
went to Mr. Mackay and Mr.. Fair.
In 1867 Mr.. Mackay married Mrs.
Bryant, the young widow of physi
clan, who kept boarding house. Mr..
Mackay was already millionaire. His
wife was a daughter of Maj. Hunger
ford of New Orleans. She had one
child, girl, by her first husband. This
daughter, in 1885, became princess or
Colonna Cairo With Mackay's mar
rige his real rise began. He was a
rich man already, but he began widen
ing his field of action.
In conjunction with Flood O'Brien
and Fair he established the Nevada
bank. Mackay and his partners became
immensely wealthy, so wealthy that his
name became a synonym for money.
Mrs. Mackay and the family went
abroad to live.
Although reared in poor circumstan-
ces, Mrs. Mackay showed her good
sense by securing a private tutor, by
whom she was drilled and educated for
five years. Mr.. Mackay developed
himself along new lines. He read, he
studied. And the Mackay family de-
veloped itself. 1t was a rise hardly
less remarkable than the rise to
wealth.
Mrs. Mackay became leader in so
ciety in Paris, London, and Rome.
The fame of her jewels and her enter
tainments became worldwide She is
reputed to be the Possessor of the
finest pearl necklace in the world,
valued at half million dollars.
The life of Mrs. Mackay's daughter
was unhappy. Her titled husband
was dissolute and scandals were fol-
lowed by suit for divorce, which was
long drawn out and attracted much
attention in Europe and America be-
fore it was finally granted.
There were two sons in the Mackay
family. One was killed by fall from
his horse, it was claimed, in Paris
about six years ago. The other, Clar-
ence, is % years old and is heir to a
fortune of $35, 100000. He was mar
| ried in 1898 to Miss Katherine Duer,
daughter of an aristocratic New York
family.
Mackay was devout Catholic and
always gave widely to it's charities.
Mr.. Mackay was stanch republican,
but before the civil war he was a dem
ocrat Several times he refused to be
senator from Nevada and eschewed
office. In religion he was a Catholic
and two Of his warmest friends were
the late Bishop Montague, who had
jurisdiction over northern CALIFORNIA;
mining regions and large part of Ne
vada, and Archbishop Riordan. Mr..
/ Mackay for long time virtually sup
ported the Catholic Orphan asylum
and its $50 children at Virginia, New.
/ In New York he maintained five or six
1 of thn free hndc in ~, v,oov~,