#Harriett Kinloch Middleton

[john-laurens]

The Wealth of the Kinloch Family

Because the Kinlochs are not as widely known as the Laurenses, Rutledges, and other southern elite families of the 18th century, the extent of their wealth may not be readily apparent. In this post, I'll provide context for the level of wealth possessed by the Kinlochs, focusing primarily on Francis Kinloch Sr. (1720-1767) and his two sons Francis Jr. (1755-1826) and Cleland. tl;dr: The Kinlochs were obscenely wealthy due to the use of slave labor, and Francis Jr. was bad at managing his finances.

To begin, it is helpful to understand a bit of the Kinloch family history. I have a post here that discusses the hereditary titles held by members of the extended Kinloch family. While Francis Sr. was not in possession of such a title, he was closely related to a family of high social status in their ancestral home of Scotland. Francis Sr. would marry Anne Isabella Cleland, the only daughter of another prominent South Carolinian family with Scottish ancestry. Their union - including the merging of their extensive properties - is described in Africans in the Old South: Mapping Exceptional Lives across the Atlantic World by Randy J. Sparks (p. 24):

John Cleland, a native of Scotland and a relative of William Cleveland, moved to South Carolina in 1735 with his wife, Mary Perry, who had inherited considerable property in the colony, including the site of Georgetown. Cleland quickly rose to prominence and became a member of the Royal Council in 1740 and served until his death in 1760. The couple's only daughter, Anne Isabella, married the only surviving son of James Kinloch, another prominent South Carolinian, a native of Scotland, and member of the Royal Council from 1720 to 1757. That union made the couple almost unimaginably rich; both Anne and Francis inherited vast properties, and they owned a number of the Lowcountry's finest rice plantations including the Rice Hope, Kensington, Rosemont, Willow Bank, Winyah, Weehaw, and Boone Hall plantations and property in Charleston.

Francis Sr. went on to become one of the foremost indigo planters in the colonies. In The Papers of Henry Laurens collection (TPHL), there are several references to Henry Laurens working with Francis Sr. on planting indigo and deferring to Francis's expertise:

"The Barrel of Indigo Seed is directed to Francis Kinloch, Esquire. (Footnote: Francis Kinloch died at Rice Hope plantation on the Santee on June 2, 1767. He was so successful as an indigo planter that the London Daily Advertiser, Aug. 18, 1767, noted his death by quoting from the Gazette, June 15, that he was 'one of the most considerable and successful Indico planters in this province.'" - Henry Laurens to Peter Horlbeck, April 18, 1765 (TPHL vol. 4) "I send you by Sam two Hoes contrived by Mr. John Cuthberth & therefore called Cuthberth's Hoes which I find are getting much into Vogue for Clay & hard new Land. Mr. Kinloch assures me that they are abundantly better than narrow Hoes and almost equal to a plough. Try these & if they answer the character given of them I shall get some more of the sort." - Henry Laurens to John Smith, February 27, 1766 (TPHL vol. 5) "I want Iron work for an Indigo Pump Machine which one Mr. Dicky is going to build for me at Mepkin, & am told by him that nobody can serve me so well as Mr. Kinloch's Smith near George Town who is used to such work." - Henry Laurens to Joseph Brown, May 10, 1766 (TPHL vol. 5) "I do think that Money may be made on that [St. Johns] River by Lumber & Shingles of Cypress & my expectations of Rice are very sanguine but the success of Mr. Kinloch, Mr. Gray, & your self will confirm or blast them." - Henry Laurens to William Bartram, September 17, 1766 (TPHL vol. 5) "I return Your Excellency many thanks for the offer of £2,000 Sterling in Bills of Exchange upon loan. If we were flush in the African Trade such a proposition would be extremely agreeable & I could dispose of the Money to advantage at present I have no occasion to borrow. But I shall look about & if I can find such hands as Mr. Kinloch would not have refused I shall recommend them to Your Excellency." - Henry Laurens to James Grant, January 28, 1768 (TPHL vol. 5)

A summary of Francis Sr.'s wealth at the time of his death is given in The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina by George C. Rogers, Jr. (5th printing, pp. 100-101):

At the time of his death in 1767 his personal estate was valued at £133,131.5.6 currency, which included 338 slaves and a mansion house in Charleston. His home in Charleston was filled with marble tables, glass lanthorns, and mahogany furniture. There were twenty-one table cloths, twelve pair pillow cases, five "pavillions" (mosquito nets), two flower china vases worth £40, prints worth £70, and in his stables a £600 chariot, a £150 phaeton, and £60 chair, besides plate on his sideboard valued at £1,148.14. ... He died at Rice Hope on June 2, 1767, "one of the most considerable and successful Indico planters in this province."

Based on this currency converter from The National Archives of the United Kingdom, £133,131.5.6 in the 1760s would be worth approximately £13,640,936.64 in 2017. I am not sure if this accurately reflects the inflation/exchange rates for pounds in the American colonies, but it gives a general idea of the wealth possessed by the Kinloch family. It should be noted that the Kinlochs' ability to attain such an obscene level of wealth was due to their use of slave labor across their many plantations. While Francis Sr. is credited as being perhaps the most successful indigo planter in the colonies, the true credit should be attributed to the enslaved people who actively planted, tended, and harvested this crop.

For the remainder of this post, much of the information will be taken from documents I accessed from the "Kinloch family history and genealogy research files" in the South Carolina Historical Society archives. Any quoted sections attributed to Anne Kinloch or a Kinloch descendant are from this collection. Letters between Francis Jr. and Johannes von Müller are transcribed from the microfilm held by the American Philosophical Society. I will note additional sources when used.

The will of Francis Sr. stipulated that the Kensington and Weehaw plantations would go to his sons Francis Jr. and Cleland. His daughter Mary Esther would "receive 1,000 English guineas if she would sign away her share in the plantations … She would also receive an annuity of £150 S.C. currency plus the rent from two tenements in Charleston" (footnote #2 for the letter from Henry Laurens to John Hopton dated February 23, 1771, TPHL vol. 7). The estate of Francis Sr. would not be fully divided among the sons until 1784 when Francis Jr. and Cleland were both of age and were both back in South Carolina after receiving their educations in Europe. Francis Jr. received Kensington while Cleland received Weehaw.

While abroad in Europe, Francis Jr. and his family would make several references to their finances. In a March 10, 1776 letter to her son Francis Jr., Anne Cleland Kinloch noted that her son Cleland "was so obliging as to send you [Francis Jr.] a £1000 pounds Ster, from Philadelphia, & a thousand in indigo from hence, you must be frugall my dear, as I dont know when you'll get any more, unless it can be sent by way of France or Holland to you, which is at present both uncertain, & unsafe." In a letter to Johannes von Müller dated August 3, 1777, Francis Jr. wrote that he was "Born to a fortune as ample as was necessary to render me independent, for upon moderate Computation My Brother & I would have been worth a thousand a year each, I find myself reduced to thank a Merchant for allowing me what I can just live upon for one year." In a later letter to Müller (February 21, 1778), Francis Jr. wrote, "My merchant who like Mr Boone sticks to me in these times of universal distress, has promised me two hundred Pounds more, but adds, nor do I wonder at it, that it will be out of his power to supply me with any more, so that I must make my two hundred pounds last as long as possible, & return to Carolina at the end of it should Nothing happen in the Mean time." While the ongoing American Revolutionary War impacted the security of their income and their ability to safely send money across the Atlantic Ocean, the Kinloch family was certainly not wanting for money, as evidenced by the fact that Francis Jr. was able to receive £1,000 and additional saleable indigo from his family and several hundred pounds from his merchant. Based on the currency converter linked above, £1,000 in the 1770s would be worth approximately £87,255.30 in 2017.

Like his father before him, Francis Jr. (and the rest of his family) relied on slave labor to make their fortune. Müller noted in a 1775 letter to his sister that "One of these Kinlochs [Francis Jr.] now commands 1200 negroes." This number is in contrast to the 338 slaves noted to be owned by Francis Sr. at the time of his death (see above). It is possible that Müller had an incorrect number for the number of slaves owned by Francis Jr. and his family, or it is possible that the 338 number referred to the number of slaves present at only one plantation. Francis Jr. also discussed with Müller, both while they lived together in Geneva and in their written correspondence, his plans for managing his slaves and plantations: "You used to laugh at me in our Walks at Genthod, when I amused myself with sketching [out] plans for the [regulation] of my Negroes in Carolina, but alas, my Muller, my ambition has now no other resource, for as to the Law, I execrate, & detest it, & as to the more pleasant walks of ambition, my ill fortune, or if you please, my pride & indolence have cut me off from them, happy alone in not having been deluded for any considerable time._" (November 13, 1777).

The Kinlochs were flush with blood money, and Francis Jr. lived lavishly and with little financial discretion. A Kinloch descendant who gathered biographical information on Francis Jr. noted that "He being the eldest Son was brought up to expensive habits and ran through all his property." Throughout his letters to Müller, Francis Jr. made several references to his spending habits, which often focused on sex workers and other pleasures:

"Though not œconomical, I am far from extravagant, & yet my money does not hold out._" - Francis Kinloch Jr. to Johannes von Müller, July 10, 1777 "I hate London from my soul in summer time, & then ones chastity is in danger at every step._ I am acquainted with a sweet, pretty girl, with black eyes, & a sensible look; but it Cost Me as much to pass one night with her, as it would to purchase all the Maidenheads that remain Within 30 miles of Berne_" - Francis Kinloch Jr. to Johannes von Müller, September 5, 1777 "You ask, I see it by your countenance, what I have done with 830* Pounds, spent since I have been in England, Why faith! I should be puzzled to give You a good account of it, All I can say is that my expectations, & my ignorance made Me less œconomical at first, that I have been obliged to have Clothes made, that Magninac [Francis’s valet] & Wit [Francis’s dog] have run away with near fifty Pounds between them, that Coming fresh from Italy it was some time before I could reconcile Myself to the Changes in my manner of life, & to crown all, that this town abounds With the Prettyest women in the World, Who are to be had for money; nor am I, You Know, insensible. Whilst I lived With You, & my Mind Was perpetually taken up, I was satisfied With the fortuitous enjoyment of a Savoyard girl, or a not-ugly beggar Woman_ But far different has been the case here_" - Francis Kinloch Jr. to Johannes von Müller, February 2, 1778 *This number could potentially be 330, but either way, this is a very large sum of money. £330 in the 1770s would be worth approximately £28,794.25 in 2017, and £830 in the 1770s would be worth approximately £76,784.66 in 2017. "There is no living Cheap in this Place of temptations" - Francis Kinloch Jr. to Johannes von Müller, February 21, 1778 "Who Knows, but What, if I had enjoyed my estate from my coming of age, I might have contracted a habitude of debauchery & expense, which would have made me more Miserable than it is in the Power of fortune to do." - Francis Kinloch Jr. to Johannes von Müller, February 21, 1778

It is interesting that Francis Jr. believed his lifestyle to be "not extravagant" and that he had avoided living a life "of debauchery & expense" despite the hundreds to thousands of pounds he was spending each year.

Finances and the security of his estate played a large part in Francis Jr. deciding to return to America and take up arms against England. In a letter to Müller dated November 13, 1777, Francis Jr. acknowledged that accepting a position in the English civil service would likely have resulted in his estate being confiscated: "Suppose L[ord] N[orth] had had it in his power to gratify my ambition with some residency abroad; the most it could have been worth to Me would have been 8 or 9 hundred a Year, now see What the Consequences would have been_ The Americans have too many spies in England for this matter to have remained a Secret in Carolina, where it would have been Known in two or three months, & I have not the least doubt but what my estate would have immediately confiscated, an irreparable loss, as My Negroes who form the most valuable part would soon be scattered over the whole province." Francis Jr.'s lack of participation in the war could also have been taken as a loyalist stance and thus could have resulted in his property being confiscated. Francis's Jr.'s property was also subject to additional taxation if he did not return to America, as "a South Carolina act passed March 28, 1778 ... included a provision to double tax all absentees who had reached the age of twenty-one" (footnote #5 for the letter from Henry Laurens to John Laurens dated September 17, 1778, TPHL vol. 14). Francis Jr. had turned 21 in 1776 and would have been subject to this tax. However, Francis Jr. sailed for America in April 1778, so it is unclear if he knew about the implementation of this act. He would arrive in America in September 1778 and would serve as an aide to various officers in the American military.

Francis Jr.'s fears of property confiscation and/or taxation were not unfounded. Cleland remained abroad during the war and did not return until 1783. Cleland's property was amerced, as described in The History of Georgetown County, South Carolina by George C. Rogers, Jr. (5th printing, pp. 160-161):

"The Kinlochs did suffer for their failure to embrace the patriot cause with sufficient fervor. But even they only suffered in that Cleland Kinloch was amerced 12 percent of his estate; he did not lose his plantations. Francis and Cleland Kinloch had been in school in England and Switzerland* when the Revolution broke out. Their estates were administered for them by Thomas Boone, former Royal Governor of South Carolina. Francis returned home in the summer of 1778, was elected to the Continental Congress, and took up arms on the patriot side; Cleland did not. After Cleland's estate had been amerced, Francis petitioned the Senate of South Carolina in his brother's behalf, explaining that his brother had been sent by the executor of his father's will to England at an early age for his education." *While Francis was educated in England and Switzerland, Cleland was educated in England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany.

Despite this setback, Cleland appears to have been a better businessman than his brother. According to a descendant, Cleland pursued an education in the Low Countries of Europe with a desire for "mercantile life & learning business and languages." In a letter to Francis Jr. dated March 10, 1776, Anne Cleland Kinloch wrote that Cleland "intends to be a merchant. Your Sister is highly pleased with the notion and says he shall bring up all her sons, Cleland you know was ever the most saving of the two & seems not to have lost the industrious spirit he ever had." A descendant described Cleland's success in cultivating his plantation:

Cleland was an able and efficient man, of fine judgment & charming disposition and manners, and his life in Scotland & the Low Countries had made him business like and œconomical besides. Having received Wehaw plantation, and his portion of his fathers estate and negroes, he proceeded to improve and enlarge the plantation (long cultivated and partly watered under the system of large reservoirs) over the river swamp, and islands, and extend the cultivation under the new tidal system. And he erected there, on Mr. Lucas' plans, one of the first improved rice mills in Carolina, and operated by tidal water power, like the tide mills of Bourdeaux & Holland. His education & residence in the Low Countries facilitated this and he became an extensive and successful planter and made Wehaw on[e] of the finest & best managed plantations in the Country. Note: "Some of these machines (Rice Mills) have been lately improved by Mr. Lucas, his Son, & Mr Cleland Kinloch, of Georgetown, to such an extent that from the beating out of the grain to the packing it in barrels for market the whole & every part is particularly the same impelling power" (Ramsey Hist: S. Carolina 11. p. 257? 207). He also extended the employment of animal power, using many oxen, and draugh[t] animals and in 1784 and afterwards added to Wehaw large tracts of pine forest lands, which increased the place to about 5000 acres. Also when opportunity allowed he improved the grounds by planting trees and establishing gardens under the supervision of the new Scotch gardiner sent from Gilmerton.

In contrast, Francis Jr. struggled with his finances and the management of his property throughout his life. Francis Jr.'s granddaughter Sarah Lewis Simons Lesesne wrote that "Grandpapa from Carelessness about Receipts and expenditures[,] Security debts and dishonest agents, found himself when over 70 compelled to give up his old Family home adorned with beautiful trees of his own planting and resign himself to comparative poverty." "Kinloch of South Carolina" by H. D. Bull (The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine, vol. 46, no. 2, p. 67) describes that, after Francis Jr. and his family returned from a multi-year trip to Europe in the early 1800s, "he found himself much reduced in fortune and was obliged to part with all of his property except Kensington. There he made his home until 1824 when the place was sold to Henry August Middleton for the sum of $40,000 which finally enabled him to discharge his debts." Henry August Middleton was married to Harriett Kinloch, the daughter of Cleland and therefore Francis Jr.'s niece. After this, Francis Jr. seems to have lived with his daughter Anne Cleland Kinloch Simons and her family in Charleston. Anne's daughter Sarah recalled her grandfather "with no taste for luxury in any form, with the simplest tastes and habits, a small bed in the corner of the Library his peculiar choice, a bowl of gruel often his breakfast." This description provides a stark contrast to the extravagance of Francis Jr.'s youth. Francis Jr. died in 1826, and his funeral was held at his daughter Anne's house.

[john-laurens]

I've come across several accounts of Francis Kinloch being described as tall:

"tall & slender with delicate features, black hair & eyes, and a most agreeable expression of countenance" - an account from Kinloch's granddaughter Sarah Lewis Lesesne in the collection "Biographical and genealogical research on Francis J. Kinloch" from the South Carolina Historical Society Archives

"The tall olive-coloured savage [Kinloch] and the young delicate Swiss historian [Johannes von Müller] send their friendly greetings." - Johannes von Müller to his family, in a letter dated June 6, 1775

"it was here, that after a very scrutinizing examination of our persons, they gave us passports in which we saw ourselves very particularly described; me, they represented as tall and thin, with some grey hairs, a pointed nose, and a forked chin" - Francis Kinloch in a letter to his daughter Eliza Nelson, as collected in Letters from Geneva and France

Given that the average male height in the 18th century was somewhere around five and a half feet tall, it's safe to assume Kinloch was taller than that. Given how often people remarked that he was tall, I figured that he must have been noticeably taller than five and a half feet - perhaps closer to six feet tall.

My assumptions have been confirmed. In the "Kinloch family history and genealogy research files" from the South Carolina Historical Society Archives, there is an account from Harriett Middleton (née Kinloch). She was the daughter of Cleland Kinloch and the niece of Francis Kinloch. This account is not directly written by her but was likely collected by someone in the family. Harriet reportedly described her uncle Francis as "tall, six feet, & handsome, dark with the complexion of his French descent."

Bonus fact: In the same account, Cleland Kinloch is described as having "blue eyes & lighter hair."