270 : The Atlantic 



The last and greatest of the clipper ship designers and builders 

 was the extraordinary genius Donald McKay. McKay was one of 

 the sons in a large Nova Scotia family. He went to school for a 

 while, but like many another able and cultured man, the best educa- 

 tion he received was that which he provided for himself. It was sup- 

 posed that he would become interested in the management of the 

 family farms, but he and his brother Lauchlan were more interested 

 in the ships that came and went in the harbors and when they were 

 still boys they built themselves their first little ship. Then Donald 

 came to New York and apprenticed himself to Isaac Webb, whose 

 yard on the East River built some of the best packets. McKay was 

 a little over sixteen years old when he and his father signed the 

 papers of apprenticeship. Under the terms of the agreement McKay 

 was to work for Webb for a period of four and a half years and to 

 be on call at any time, day or night. He was to receive $2.50 per 

 week as well as $40 per year for his general expenses. McKay agreed 

 to work faithfully and to be on call at all times, day or night. He 

 gave assurance that he would not "contract matrimony, nor haunt 

 Ale Houses, Taverns, Dance Halls or Play Houses." He was also to 

 avoid card playing and other forms of gambling and so forth. Webb 

 agreed to teach him "the mystery and trade of a ship's carpenter." 



McKay proved himself industrious and intelligent and seems to 

 have won the affection as well as the approval of Isaac Webb. Their 

 relationship and contract was terminated by mutual agreement when 

 McKay had an opportunity to assume a good position with the yard 

 of Brown & Bell in 1832, and about this time he contracted matri- 

 mony appropriately enough with a Miss Albenia Boole, the daughter 

 of a prosperous shipbuilding family, with ideas and knowledge of 

 her own regarding ship construction. 



In these years McKay was immersed in shipbuilding. All of the 

 shipyards that built the packets stood side by side — a long stretch of 

 the East River opposite the Navy Yard, and occupying about a 

 mile of the waterfront. Here the young man acquired not only his 

 intense interest in and knowledge of ship design but also the latest 

 and most systematic methods of yard operation. He also laid here 

 the foundations of his reputation as a man of unusual talents, and 

 he formed friendships with Griffiths and others that were to last him 

 a lifetime. 



McKay wisely felt that he would have better opportunities for 

 advancement in another community. He moved first to Newburyport 

 and then to East Boston and shortly associated himself in the organiza- 



