William McKinlay

William McKinlay was a prosperous tailor and state legislator in Charleston, South Carolina.[1]

For the Scottish football manager, see Billy McKinlay.
Not to be confused with William McKinley.

Early life

McKinlay was a free man of color from Charleston.[2] He also had Scottish ancestry.[3]

Career

He and his brothers Archibald and George owned a tailoring business.[3] He and Archibald owned the McKinlay Building on Market Street and other properties.[4] He was also a director of Enterprise Railroad.[5]

He was elected a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention in Charleston.[2] He was appointed to the Charleston City Council in 1868 then elected to the council in November of the same year. He was also elected to the council in 1873.[6]

He was elected to serve in the state legislature during the 1868 term.

Personal life

McKinlay was a member of the Brown Fellowship Society.[1] He purchased slaves to allow them to live freely even as the law recognized them as his property. At one point the city posted the sale a girl that was his property to satisfy taxes owed. A response was soon after posted that she was free and would not be sold.[7]

He was married to Sarah Jane McKinlay.[8] He died intestate in 1872.[8]

References
  1. Johnson, Michael; Roark, James L. (February 1, 2001). No Chariot Let Down: Charleston's Free People on the Eve of the Civil War. UNC Press Books. ISBN 9780807849439 – via Google Books.
  2. Representatives, USA House of (June 9, 1868). "House Documents". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
  3. Bellows, Barbara L. (21 February 2018). Two Charlestonians at War: The Civil War Odysseys of a Lowcountry Aristocrat and a Black Abolitionist. ISBN 9780807169117. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  4. "Property File - 139 South Market Street (McKinlay Building)".
  5. "Enterprise Railroad".
  6. "African American Council Members City of Charleston, South Carolina" (PDF). www.charleston-sc.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  7. Koger, Larry (November 18, 2011). Black Slaveowners: Free Black Slave Masters in South Carolina, 1790-1860. McFarland. ISBN 9780786469314 – via Google Books.
  8. McKinlay family legal papers, 1885-1889. WorldCat. OCLC 847981093. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
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