Robert J. McKay (1880 - abt. 1945)

Born 5 Apr 1880 in Ocean, Sonoma, California, United States

Ancestors

Died about 18 Nov 1945 at about age 65 in Sonoma, California, United States [uncertain]

Biography

Robert was born in Ocean, Sonoma, California. He seems to have done a fair bit of moving around over the years. He was married in 1909 and in 1909 & 1911 he was a Postmaster in Freestone, Sonoma as shown in the city directory. He was also farming at the same time as the 1910 census shows. He was living in the Freestone area of Bodega Township with his wife and first child and working on his own account and he owned his own house.

In 1913 he was living and voting in Santa Rosa but in 1914 he was listed as a farmer in the voters registers for Freestone but by 1920 he was working on a Fruit Farm in Alviso Rd. San Jose. There seem to be quite a few people of Portuguese extraction living there and perhaps that is where Rena came from.

That didn’t last too long and he rejoined his brothers farming in Tomales and continued farming there, being variously described as a dairyman, rancher and farmer in the registers of 1922, ‘24 and ‘26. He was no longer in the registers in 1928, perhaps moving to Analy at that stage. His wife Rena or Renia was also in the registers from 1922. They seem to have married around 1910 judging by the age of their first child Maria.

He was living in Analy, Sonoma, California in 1930 census having fathered 12 children, tho’ Maria has gone by this stage(She was living as a boarder in Tomales). He was a dairy farmer at this time and was living in Sebastopol tho’ his address seems to change to judge from the voters list addresses. He disappeared from the voters lists after 1934 tho’ members of the family continue to appear in them. I wonder why?

In 1940 he was in Santa Rosa again, still farming, and has been there since at least 1935. The address looks like Slusser Rd. Five of his childen, including Gilbert on the next census page, were still living at home.

Robert J died in Sonoma 18th November 1945, probably in Slater St, Santa Rosa where the family resided in 1944 according to voters registrations

Sources

• "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9GR-F49 : 12 January 2022), Robert J McKey in entry for Michael McKey, 1900.
• "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K96Z-C7D : 6 January 2021), Robert J McKay, Santa Rosa Judicial Township, Sonoma, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 49-51, sheet 8A, line 35, family 197, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 350.
• "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XCJQ-ZVL : accessed 25 February 2023), Robert J Mckay, Analy, Sonoma, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 9, sheet 5B, line 89, family 135, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 221; FHL microfilm 2,339,956.