January 20, 2022 / Joanne Yeck

Buckingham Notables: Lucy McKinney

In 1904, the Appomattox and Buckingham Times reported the death of Lucy McKinney, “a very worthy” colored woman who fell from a cherry tree, breaking her neck. The correspondent from Andersonville in Buckingham County offered these details: “She lived but a short time. She did not speak after the fall. She was buried today (June 27, 1904). The children in the North sent a telegram not to bury her until they came. She lived at the Merryman place, immediately on the road from this place to the courthouse.”

In 1900, Lucy McKinney (age 56) celebrated forty years of marriage. The mother of twelve children, seven still survived. Two sons, John and Pollard, lived with her and her husband, James (age 64). In 1880, the family was enumerated as “mulatto.”

Currently, James McKinney’s possible connection to the family of Governor Phillip McKinney is unknown.

If a Slate River Ramblings reader knows more about Lucy McKinney and her family, please comment.