McKinney, Williams and Company

McKinney, Williams and Company was an early mercantile establishment in Texas formed through the partnership of Thomas F. McKinney and Samuel May Williams. It started in Quintana in 1834 and moved to Galveston in 1838. They used their extensive contacts in the US to become one of the largest cotton exchange companies in early Texas. They also provided banking, development, and shipping services. They ran two steamboats on the Brazos River, the Laura and Yellow Stone. In 1841, the firm was authorized to print and distribute paper money. The mercantile side of the business was sold to Samuel’s brother in 1842, and the partnership dissolved completely after McKinney moved to Travis County in 1853.