Mordecai McKinney (Notable Americans)

McKINNEY, Mordecai, lawyer, was born near Carlisle, Pa., in 1796, son of Mordecai and Mary (Chambers) McKinney, and a grandson of Col. William Chambers. He was graduated from Dickinson college, Pa., in 1814, studied law with Judge Duncan of Carlisle, was admitted to the Dauphin county bar in May, 1817, and settled in practice in Harrisburg, Pa. He was district attorney of Union county. Pa., 1821-24; clerk to the county commissioners of Dauphin county, Pa., 1824-27, and was appointed associate judge of Dauphin county by Governor Shulze, Oct. 23, 1827. He subsequently turned his attention to the compilation and publication of law books. He was married to Rachel, daughter of William Graydon, of Harrisburg, Pa. He is the author of: The Pennsylvania Justice of the Peace (2 vols., 1839); A Digest of the Acts of Assembly of Pennsylvania from 1700 to 1840 (1841); The United States Constitutional Manual (1845); The American Magistrate and Civil Officer (1850, new ed., 2 vols., 1853); Pennsylvania Tax Laws (1850); A Digest of the Laws of Pennsylvania relative to Banks and Bankers (1854); and Our Government: A Manual for Popular Use (1856). He died at Harrisburg, Pa., Dec. 17, 1867.