John McKinley

John McKinley (May 1, 1780 – July 19, 1852) was a United States Senator from the state of Alabama and an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Early life McKinley was born in Culpeper County, Virginia, on May 1, 1780, to Andrew McKinley and Mary (Logan) McKinley (sister of Benjamin Logan). His family moved to Kentucky in 1783. There, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1800, practicing in Frankfort and in Louisville. In 1818, he moved to Alabama. He established legal practice in Huntsville, and also actively engaged in land speculation. Political career McKinley was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives in August 1820. the next year he moved his family from Huntsville to Florence, and so was ineligible for re-election. When failing health forced John Williams Walker to resign from the United States Senate in 1822, Mckinley was the favored candidate in the special election to fill the vacancy, but lost to William Kelly by a one-vote margin.