John William Mackay

John William Mackay
John William Mackay
Born	Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age; Dublin, Ireland
Died	July 20, 1902 (aged 70)
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, mining magnate
Known for	Bonanza Kings, Comstock Lode silver mines, Commercial Cable Company, Postal Telegraph Company

John William Mackay (November 28, 1831 – July 20, 1902) was an Irish-American entrepreneur who ascended from humble beginnings to considerable affluence. Originally from Dublin and raised in the impoverished neighborhoods of New York City, Mackay participated in the California gold rush starting in 1851 but achieved substantial success only after relocating to Nevada in 1859, where he uncovered significant silver deposits. He emerged as one of the famed four Bonanza Kings, a San Francisco-based consortium that profited immensely from the Comstock Lode silver mines, becoming among the wealthiest individuals in the United States during his time. Additionally, Mackay spearheaded a telegraph company responsible for laying transatlantic cables and invested in the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway Company.

Early years

Born into a working-class family in Dublin, John William Mackay’s early life was marked by poverty, living in a simple dwelling with an earthen floor. His family emigrated to the Five Points district of lower Manhattan in 1840, where his father passed away shortly thereafter. As a youth, Mackay sold newspapers such as the New York Herald and later apprenticed at the William H. Webb Shipyard to help support his mother and sister.

Gold and silver mining

In 1851, Mackay journeyed by ship around the Horn to California, spending eight years laboring in placer gold fields within Sierra County but with limited financial gain. By 1859, he had moved to Virginia City, Nevada, near the recently discovered Comstock Lode, where he earned $4 daily while acquiring small mining claims of his own. Through income from both labor and mining yields, he gradually purchased additional claims or "feet." By 1865, he invested his savings into the Kentuck mine and uncovered a significant ore vein, rapidly accumulating a fortune of approximately US$1.6 million—enabling him to retire.

Mackay proceeded to broaden his mining investments, often risking substantial capital. He formed a partnership with fellow Irishmen James Graham Fair, James C. Flood, and William S. O'Brien, collectively dubbed the Bonanza Kings. This group traded mining shares and operated silver mines with notable success at the Hale & Norcross mine. In 1871, they merged smaller claims into the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company and subsequently acquired the neighboring California mine.

In 1873, Consolidated Virginia uncovered North America’s largest ore deposit known as the "Big Bonanza," estimated to be worth US$181 billion in current terms; Mackay’s portion was roughly $50 billion. This discovery occurred beyond previously exploited areas. The partners’ firm earned the nickname "Bonanza firm," using their wealth to establish the Bank of Nevada in San Francisco, creating competition for the Bank of California.

Marriage and family

Marie Louise Antionette Hungerford ("Louise") was born in 1844 in New York and relocated to the goldfields of Downieville, CA in 1854. In 1863, she wed Dr. Edmond Gardiner Bryant in Virginia City. Bryant’s poor investments in stocks and mining ventures resulted in financial struggles. They had two daughters including Eva. Following neglect of medical care for their youngest daughter and an accident involving Eva in 1865, Bryant succumbed to tetanus in 1866.

Widowed at age 22 and caring for a disabled daughter, Louise married John Mackay in 1867. They had two sons: John W. Mackay Jr. (born 1870) and Clarence H. Mackay (born 1874). In 1870, Mackay formally adopted Eva and arranged for her treatment in France. The family returned to San Francisco by 1873; however, Louise developed a lasting fondness for Paris.

Utilizing his wealth, Mackay acquired a Parisian mansion for Louise, who became a distinguished socialite there for twenty years, entertaining nobility and hosting grand events near the Arc de Triomphe. In 1879, Louise’s sister Ada married Count Joseph Telfener, potentially becoming the first woman born in California to hold a European title.

As Mackay’s telegraph ventures grew, the family moved to London in 1884 to support both education and cable operations. In 1885, Eva married Neapolitan prince Ferdinando Colonna of Stigliano; her portrait was painted by Italian artist Vittorio Matteo Corcos. Louise returned to America in 1920 and passed away at age 85 in 1928.

Communications companies

In 1884, alongside James Gordon Bennett, Jr., Mackay established the Commercial Cable Company to challenge the dominance of Jay Gould and the Western Union Telegraph Company. Prior to this, Gould maintained exclusive control over all submarine cable communications between the United States and Europe. Mackay succeeded in laying two transatlantic cables, which brought down the cost of transatlantic messages to twenty-five cents per word. Two years later, in 1886, he launched the Postal Telegraph Company as a domestic wire telegraph enterprise to reduce dependence on Western Union for message transmission. This move triggered a nearly two-year rate war, after which Gould reportedly acknowledged Mackay’s strong financial position and abandoned attempts to remove him from the market.

Having secured a foothold across the Atlantic with both Commercial Cable and Postal Telegraph, Mackay set his sights on establishing the first cable across the Pacific. He created the Commercial Pacific Cable Company in collaboration with the Great Northern Telegraph Company and the Eastern Telegraph Company. Although Mackay passed away in 1902 before its completion, his son Clarence H. Mackay oversaw the project’s conclusion between 1904 and 1906. The resulting cable linked San Francisco to Manila, passing through Hawaii and Guam, with an additional branch extending to Shanghai.

Under Clarence H. Mackay’s leadership, the Mackay System expanded further by acquiring companies such as the Federal Telegraph Company in 1927, including its radio stations and research laboratories. The following year, Sosthenes Behn’s International Telephone and Telegraph acquired the entire system and established the Postal Telegraph & Cable Corporation to manage it. Despite facing financial difficulties during the Great Depression, Mackay continued to be Western Union’s primary competitor until 1943. That year, legislative changes to the Communications Act of 1934 permitted mergers among telegraph companies, enabling Western Union to absorb Postal Telegraph. The Federal Communications Commission approved this merger in September, with completion occurring in October 1943. ITT retained possession of Mackay’s international communication assets.

Other ventures

The New York, Texas and Mexican Railway was incorporated in 1880 by Joseph Telfener and Daniel E. Hungerford with plans to construct a rail line from Richmond to Brownsville, capitalizing on Texas land grants. By late 1882, 91 miles of track had been laid between Rosenberg and Victoria. Nicknamed the "Macaroni Line" due to employing approximately 1,200 Italian laborers during construction, the railroad encountered difficulties when Texas revoked its land grants in 1882. In 1885, Telfener sold the railroad to his brother-in-law Mackay, who subsequently sold it to the Southern Pacific Railroad. The line continued operating under its original name until 1905.

In addition to his communications and banking interests, Mackay invested in mining operations across Colorado, Idaho, and Alaska, as well as timberland and ranch properties in California. He held shares in the Spreckels Sugar Company and Sprague Elevator and Electrical Works and served on the boards of both the Canadian Pacific Railway and Southern Pacific Railroad.

Philanthropy

Mackay was recognized for equitable treatment of his workforce and considerable charitable contributions, with a strong emphasis on supporting Roman Catholic organizations. He provided funding for the Catholic orphan asylum located in Virginia City, Nevada. In 1908, his widow along with his son Clarence H. Mackay gifted the Mackay School of Mines building to the University of Nevada, Reno as a tribute. A sculpture by Gutzon Borglum is situated at the university’s Mackay Mines facility.

Death

On July 20, 1902, Mackay passed away from heart failure in London. He was laid to rest at Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, where his mausoleum is regarded as one of the most remarkable monuments within the cemetery. Although originally constructed for his son John Jr., who died in 1895, Mackay himself was interred there seven years later alongside him.

Honours

The legacy of Mackay is commemorated by the town of Mackay, Idaho, named after his nearby copper mining operations, as well as the adjacent Mackay Peak. He appears as a character in Louis L'Amour’s novel Comstock Lode. In 1921, the Commercial Cable Company honored him by naming a new cable-laying vessel John W. Mackay.

External links

The Mackay Mansion in Virginia City at Western Mining History
www.atlantic-cable.com
www.cial.org.uk
mackayhistory.com (archived)
A Guide to the Consolidated Virginia Mining Company records. Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Reno.