Pinckney

Pinckney, South Carolina family whose members were notable in the founding period of the republic. Elizabeth Lucas (1722–93), a rich planter, was a patriot and champion of independence. Her son Charles Cotesworth (1746–1825) was a soldier in the Revolutionary War and a member of the Constitutional Convention. He is best known for his part in the XYZ Affair. His brother Thomas (1750–1828), soldier and statesman, arranged Pinckney's Treaty with Spain (1795). He was governor of South Carolina and was, like his brother, an unsuccessful Federalist Party candidate for the vice-presidency. Their cousin Charles (1757–1824) brought the “Pinckney Draft” to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. Most of its clauses were adopted. He was 3 times governor of South Carolina, U.S. minister to Spain (1801–5), and a member of Congress (1819–21).

See also: XYZ Affair.