William McKinlay

William McKinlay was a prosperous tailor and state legislator in Charleston, South Carolina.[1] He was elected to serve in the state legislature during the 1868 term.

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

He had Scottish ancestry.[2]

He was elected a delegate to the 1868 South Carolina Constitutional Convention in Charleston.[3] 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.[4]

He and his brothers Archibald and George owned a tailoring business.[2] He and Archibald owned the McKinlay Building on Market Street and other properties.[5] He was married to Sarah Jane McKinlay.[6]

He was a member of the Brown Fellowship Society.[1] McKinlay 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 a director of Enterprise Railroad.[8]

He died intestate in 1872, his widow was Sarah Jane McKinlay.[6]

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 – via Google Books.
  2. Bellows, Barbara L. "Two Charlestonians at War: The Civil War Odysseys of a Lowcountry Aristocrat and a Black Abolitionist". Retrieved July 18, 2020.
  3. Representatives, USA House of (June 9, 1868). "House Documents". U.S. Government Printing Office – via Google Books.
  4. "African American Council Members City of Charleston, South Carolina" (PDF). www.charleston-sc.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-06.
  5. "Property File - 139 South Market Street (McKinlay Building)".
  6. "McKinlay family legal papers, 1885-1889". WorldCat. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  7. Koger, Larry (November 18, 2011). "Black Slaveowners: Free Black Slave Masters in South Carolina, 1790-1860". McFarland – via Google Books.
  8. "Enterprise Railroad".


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