McKinley, John J. C.

McKinley was born in Russellville, KY, the son of William J. McKinley and Mildred Bibb McKinley. He attended Berea College but had to leave when his mother lost her savings in the Freemen's Bank. McKinley taught in Danville, KY, and Louisville, KY, schools for a while, then became correspondent to the American Citizen (Lexington, KY) and wrote under the name "Video." In 1857 he was correspondent for the Western Review (Cincinnati, OH), writing under the name "Mack." He wrote under the same name for the Chicago Conservator in 1879. In 1880 he was associate editor of the Bulletin (Louisville, KY) and in 1885 wrote for the World under the name "Heft." McKinley and his wife, Julia B. McKinley (b.1866 in KY), lived on Magazine Street when John McKinley was teaching in Louisville, KY in 1900, according to the U.S. Federal Census. They were living at 724 S. 18th Street in Louisville when John McKinley passed away in 1912, he is buried in Eastern Cemetery, according to his death certificate. For more see Biographical Sketches of Prominent Negro Men and Women of Kentucky, by W. D. Johnson.