Charles Pinckney | |
---|---|
Member of the South Carolina General Assembly | |
In office 1754–1772 | |
Constituency | Christ Church Parish (1754-1760) St. Philip's Parish (1760-1761) St. Michael's Parish (1761-1768) St. Philip's Parish (1768-1772) [1] |
Personal details | |
Born | Charles Town,Province of South Carolina,British America | March 7,1732
Died | September 22,1782 50) Mount Pleasant,South Carolina,U.S. | (aged
Charles Pinckney (March 7,1732 - September 22,1782),also known as Colonel Charles Pinckney,was a South Carolina lawyer and planter based in Charleston,South Carolina. Commissioned as a colonel for the Charles Towne Militia in the colonial era,he was widely known as "Colonel Pinckney". He had a rice and indigo plantation known as Snee Farm along the Wando River,about nine miles from Charleston,and a townhouse on Queen Street in the city.
Captured by the British in 1780 in the fall of Charleston,Pinckney was among more than 160 men who signed loyalty oaths to protect their properties,which the British would otherwise have confiscated and possibly destroyed. After the war,to penalize his Loyalist oath,the state legislature assessed a fine against Pinckney based on the value of his property.
His son and namesake Charles Pinckney inherited the plantation and slaves and became a prominent politician after the American Revolution. After participating in the constitutional convention,he was elected to three non-consecutive terms as governor of the state,and as a US Senator and US Representative.
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Pinckney was born to William Pinckney and Ruth Brewton in 1732 in Charleston. He was educated and grew up in a planter family. His grandfather, Thomas Pinckney immigrated at the age of 17 to Yorktown in 1698 from Shropshire and worked as a baker's assistant. His father served as Master of Chancery. William had joined his older brother, Charles Pinckney, in setting up "the first fire insurance company in America, the Friendly Society." [2]
It was profitable, but an extensive fire in 1740 in Charleston resulted in high damages, and William suffered financially. He sent his son to be cared and educated by his wealthier brother Charles. The younger Charles Pinckney studied law, passing the bar in 1752. [2]
Pinckney became a leading attorney in the city of Charleston. He bought his first plantation, now known as Snee Farm, in 1754, as a mark of his early success. The 715-acre plantation was used to produce the commodity crops of rice and indigo. [3]
He also became a public figure, serving as colonel and commanding officer of the Charles Towne Militia, after which he became widely known as "Colonel Pinckney". He was elected as a member of the General Assembly, the lower house of provincial government in South Carolina. In 1775, he was elected as president of the South Carolina Provincial Congress. [3]
During the American Revolutionary War, Colonel Pinckney was among many persons captured by the British during the fall of Charleston in 1780. South Carolina Governor John Rutledge had left the city, intending to carry on a state government in exile in North Carolina. Colonel Pinckney was among more than 160 men in Charleston who took a loyalty oath to the British in order to keep their properties; the British hoped these influential men would help them lead the city. [3]
Pinckney's action as a Loyalist was extremely unpopular among the revolutionary forces. After the war, in February 1782, the South Carolina legislature voted a 12% amercement, or fine, against Colonel Pinckney's property to punish him for his switch of allegiance.
On his death in 1782, Pinckney left the Snee Farm plantation and its slaves to Charles, his oldest surviving son. There were 40 slaves recorded in the probate record. [4] Colonel Charles Pinckney was buried at St. Philip's Church in Charleston.
Pinckney had married his first cousin, Frances Brewton (b. June 11, 1733). She was a daughter of his uncle Robert Brewton, a goldsmith who was associated with banking and financial circles in the city, and Mary Loughton, a widow.
Frances's siblings included an older brother Miles Brewton (1731-1775) (named after his paternal grandfather) and younger sister Rebecca Brewton (1737-1815) (named after her paternal aunt). Before the Revolutionary War, Miles had become wealthy, based largely on his success as a slave trader and merchant in Charleston. Their sister Rebecca married Jacob Motte, also a planter, who had a townhouse in Charleston. After Miles and all his family were lost at sea in August 1775 on their way to Philadelphia, where he was to serve as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, Frances and her sister Rebecca jointly inherited Miles's mansion in Charleston, which is now known as Miles Brewton House.
The Pinckneys had several children, Charles (his namesake), Thomas (named after Pinckney's paternal grandfather), Miles Brewton (named after Frances's brother), Mary, and Rebecca Pinckney. [2]
In 1782, the younger Charles Pinckney inherited Snee Farm, the rice and indigo plantation, and its numerous enslaved African Americans at his father's death. A monument originally intended for his father's grave was moved to Snee Farm because his age was carved incorrectly. The younger Pinckney became a leading politician after the Revolutionary War. He served in numerous offices, including being elected as governor of South Carolina to three non-consecutive terms.
Charles Pinckney Jr. was an American Founding Father, planter, and politician who was a signer of the United States Constitution. He was elected and served as the 37th governor of South Carolina, later serving two more non-consecutive terms. He also served as a U.S. Senator and a member of the House of Representatives. He was a first cousin once removed of fellow signer Charles Cotesworth Pinckney.
William Moultrie was an American slaveowning planter and politician who became a general in the American Revolutionary War. As colonel leading a state militia, in 1776 he prevented the British from taking Charleston, and Fort Moultrie was named in his honor.
Thomas Lynch Jr. was a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence as a representative of South Carolina and a Founding Father of the United States. His father Thomas Lynch was a member of the Continental Congress and had signed the 1774 Continental Association. When he had to step down because of illness, Thomas Lynch Jr. was selected to fill his post.
Thomas Pinckney was an American statesman, diplomat, and military officer who fought in both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, achieving the rank of major general. He served as Governor of South Carolina and as the U.S. minister to Great Britain.
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney was an American statesman, military officer and Founding Father who served as United States Minister to France from 1796 to 1797. A delegate to the Constitutional Convention where he signed the Constitution of the United States, Pinckney was twice nominated by the Federalist Party as its presidential candidate in 1804 and 1808, losing both elections.
Elizabeth "Eliza" Pinckney was an American farmer.
Rawlins Lowndes was an American lawyer, planter and politician who became involved in the patriot cause after his election to South Carolina's legislature, although he opposed independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Lowndes served as president/governor of South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War, and after the war opposed his state's ratification of the Constitution of the United States because it would restrict the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Lowndes also served as a state legislator and mayor of Charleston before his death. Two of his sons, Thomas and William Lowndes, would serve in the U.S. Congress.
William Jones Lowndes was an American lawyer, planter, and politician from South Carolina. He represented the state in the U.S. Congress from 1811 to May 8, 1822, when he resigned for health reasons.
Fort Motte was developed first as Mt. Joseph Plantation; it was commandeered in 1780 by the British and fortified as a temporary military outpost in what is now South Carolina during the American Revolutionary War. It was significant for its military use as a depot for their convoys between Camden and Charleston, which they occupied. Located along the Congaree River, it is roughly 90–95 miles from Charleston by 21st-century roadways. The British had fortified the big house and surrounds, and it became known as Fort Motte, after Rebecca Brewton Motte, who had been occupying it with her family. During the Patriot Siege of Fort Motte, the plantation mansion was set on fire. The British surrendered at this site.
South Carolina was outraged over British tax policies in the 1760s that violated what they saw as their constitutional right to "no taxation without representation". Merchants joined the boycott against buying British products. When the London government harshly punished Massachusetts for the Boston Tea Party, South Carolina's leaders joined eleven other colonies in forming the Continental Congress. When the British attacked Lexington and Concord in the spring of 1775 and were beaten back by the Massachusetts Patriots, South Carolina Patriots rallied to support the American Revolution. Loyalists and Patriots of the colony were split by nearly 50/50.
The Charles Pinckney National Historic Site is a unit of the United States National Park Service, preserving a portion of Charles Pinckney's Snee Farm plantation and country retreat. The site is located at 1254 Long Point Road, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. Pinckney (1757-1824) was a member of a prominent political family in South Carolina. He fought in the American Revolutionary War, was held for a period as prisoner in the North, and returned to the state in 1783. Pinckney, a Founding Father of the United States, served as a delegate to the constitutional convention where he contributed to drafting the United States Constitution.
John Ewing Colhoun was a United States Senator and lawyer from South Carolina.
The Miles Brewton House is a National Historic Landmark residential complex located in Charleston, South Carolina. It is one of the finest examples of a double house in Charleston, designed on principles articulated by Andrea Palladio. Located on two acres, its extensive collection of dependencies makes it one of the most complete Georgian townhouse complexes in America. The house was built ca. 1765-1769 for Miles Brewton, a wealthy slave trader and planter.
The Robert Brewton House is a historic house at 71 Church Street in Charleston, South Carolina. With a construction date at or before 1730, it is the oldest dated example of a "single" house. A single house is one room wide, with the narrow end towards the street, the better to catch cool breezes. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
Peter Horry was an American planter who served as an officer in the southern theater of the American Revolutionary War. He served under the command of Francis Marion, waging a guerilla war against the British and Loyalist forces. Peter Horry was elected to public office, served in the state militia, and oversaw several plantations. He is the namesake of Horry County, South Carolina.
Rebecca Brewton Motte (1737–1815) was a plantation owner in South Carolina and townhouse owner in its chief city of Charleston. She was known as a patriot in the American Revolution, supplying continental forces with food and supplies for five years. By the end of the war, she had become one of the wealthiest individuals in the state, having inherited property from both her older brother Miles Brewton, who was lost at sea in 1775, and her husband Jacob Motte, who died in 1780.
William Ancrum was a wealthy American merchant, slave trader and indigo planter from Charleston, South Carolina who served in the Third General Assembly during the Revolutionary War (1779—1780). His interest in the economic potential of the Carolina backcountry led to his involvement in the formation of the present-day town of Camden, South Carolina. Of particular value to historians are the William Ancrum Papers, 1757–1789, which are made up of Ancrum's letters and personal account books, currently held by the South Carolina Library at the University of South Carolina. This collection provides insight into the economic impact of the American Revolution on Charleston planters and merchants, from the prices of slaves to restrictions on imports and exports.
Martha Laurens Ramsay was an American woman from Charleston, South Carolina. A daughter of Henry Laurens, she was married to Dr. David Ramsay. Her diary and private letters, which were published by her husband after her death under the title Memoirs of the Life of Martha Laurens Ramsay, provide a historically valuable account of a Southern woman's life during the American Revolutionary War and the early years of the nation.
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John Hopkins was Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina from December 1806 until 1808.