William Cameron McKay
William Cameron McKay (1824–1893) was a scout in the Snake War and Modoc War, a Captain in the U.S. Army, a member of the Warm Springs Scouts, and a physician and surgeon.
William Cameron McKay was born at Fort George on May 18, 1824, what is now Astoria, Clatsop County, Oregon. He was the son of a famous trapper and guide Thomas McKay and his wife, Timmee T'lkul Tchinouk, daughter of Tshinouk (Chinook) chief Concomly. He was a grandson of Alexander MacKay and the step-grandson of Dr. John McLoughlin.[1][2]
Educated by his step-grandfather, he was sent with his brothers to be educated in the Eastern United States in 1838. At the age of 19 he was licenced to practice medicine.[1]
He commanded a group of Warm Springs Indians that served as scouts for the U.S. Army in the Snake War a campaign against the Northern Paiute in 1866-1868.[2]
He was appointed on several occasions to serve as doctor at both the Warm Springs and Umatilla reservations.[2]
He died on January 2, 1893, aged 74 in Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon. He was buried in the Olney Cemetery in that city.[3]
References
- Dr. William Cameron McKay,(1824-1893)
- McKay, W. C. (William Cameron), 1824-1893 from snaccooperative.org accessed August 16, 2018.
- Dr William Cameron McKay from findagrave.com accessed August 16, 2018.