Background
McKinley was born on April 24, 1857, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, to Samuel McKinley and Harriet Newell Simpson McKinley.
McKinley was born on April 24, 1857, in New Castle, Pennsylvania, to Samuel McKinley and Harriet Newell Simpson McKinley.
He was educated in a New Castle public school, and he attended the University of Pennsylvania (1876-1877) and the University of Michigan (1877-1879), where he was graduated with a bachelor of science degree.
He came to California in 1883. McKinley died of a paralytic stroke in his home, 508 West Adams Street, on May 11, 1918. A funeral service at Saint John"s Church drew hundreds of attendees.
Interment was at Inglewood Cemetery.
McKinley was elected city attorney in 1884, was reelected in 1886 and served until 1888. In 1889 he was appointed judge in the Superior Court and then was elected to the post, serving until January 1897.
As an attorney, he represented the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Pacific Electric Railroad. He was on the board of directors of the Commercial National Bank and the Market and Produce Bank.
McKinley went into politics and was chairman of the California delegation to the 1904 Republican National Convention, and he was chairman of the California Republican Convention of 1906.
In 1903 he was appointed a regent of the University of California.
He was also a member of the Sunset Club and the Union League clubs of Los Angeles and of San Francisco.
