Samuel McKinney (1807–1879) was an Irish-born Presbyterian minister and educator in the
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
, particularly
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
,
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
, and
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
Holly Springs, Mississippi
Holly Springs is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the southern border of Tennessee. Near the Mississippi Delta, the area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations and was dep ...
, in 1850. He served as the founding president of
Austin College
Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Sherman, Texas.Huntsville, Texas, from 1850 to 1853, and again from 1862 to 1871.
Early life
Samuel McKinney was born on March 19, 1807, in
County Antrim
County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...
, Ireland. His father was Samuel McKinney and his mother, Margaret Findley. He emigrated to the United States with his parents in 1812, settling in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
in 1832, where he received a degree in Theology, and also studied theology at the
Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary
The Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) is a Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America, Reformed Presbyterian seminary in Point Breeze (Pittsburgh), Point Breeze, Pennsylvania. RPTS is a ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian ...
. Licensed in 1832, he preached at scattered congregations before his
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
Oakdale, Illinois
Oakdale is a village in Washington County, Illinois, United States. The population was 221 at the 2010 census.
Geography
According to the 2010 census, Oakdale has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 21 ...
. During this pastorate, which concluded with his resignation in 1840,Glasgow, William M. ''A History of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in America''.
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
: Hill and Harvey, 1888, 605. he also converted many Native Americans. He joined the
Presbyterian Church
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
in 1844.
Upon resigning his Oakdale pastorate, McKinney returned to Tennessee in 1840, first to preach in Shelby County and later to teach in Madison County. He taught at the Denmark Academy in
Denmark
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, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
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, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. Later, he served as the president of the West Jackson College (a precursor to Union University) in Jackson.
McKinney founded Chalmers Institute, a boys' school in
Holly Springs, Mississippi
Holly Springs is a city in, and the county seat of, Marshall County, Mississippi, United States, near the southern border of Tennessee. Near the Mississippi Delta, the area was developed by European Americans for cotton plantations and was dep ...
, in 1850. During that time, he met Daniel Baker, a Presbyterian minister who served on its Board of Trustees. When Baker founded Austin College in Huntsville, Texas, in 1850, he hired McKinney as its first president until 1853. Though both men were initially on good terms, McKinney resigned due to a personal disagreement with
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...
. In any case, McKinney returned to Mississippi. However, during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
in 1862 McKinney returned to serve as president a second time until 1871.
Personal life
McKinney married Nancy Woodside Todd on July 4, 1836. They had five children.
Death
McKinney died of
dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...