William Cameron McKay

William Cameron McKay
AllegianceUnited States
Service / branchU.S. Army
Battles / wars

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, 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. He trained at Fairfield Medical College in Fairfield, New York.[3] At the age of 19 he was licensed to practice medicine.[1] He received an honorary medical diploma from Willamette University College of Medicine in 1873.[4]

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 in 1893,[2] aged 74, in Pendleton, Oregon.

  1. ^ a b Dr. William Cameron McKay,(1824-1893)
  2. ^ a b c d McKay, W. C. (William Cameron), 1824-1893 from snaccooperative.org accessed August 16, 2018.
  3. ^ Larsell, O. (June 1936). "Fairfield Medical School and Some Early Oregon Physicians". Oregon Historical Quarterly. 37 (2): 102–110.
  4. ^ Zenk, Henry. "William Cameron McKay (1824-1893)". Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved 9 September 2024.