Colonel Charles Pinckney

Charles Pinckney (March 7, 1732 - September 22, 1782), also known as Colonel Charles Pinckney, was a prominent 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. Life 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." 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.