Charles McLinn

Charles McLinn, a joiner and carpenter by trade, worked full time as the head carpenter at Yale University, starting in the early postbellum period in New Haven. McLinn began his career at Yale University in 1870 and was employed by the university for 37 years.

McLinn excelled in carpentry, which he performed across the Yale campus for many years. Eventually, he operated out of a workshop that the university opened on High Street. In addition to carpentry, McLinn was responsible for shipping trunks and packages for the students.

Charles McLinn’s expertise in carpentry was homed in his boyhood days as an apprentice to William Hancock in North Carolina. Hancock was a free Black contractor widely respected for his architectural abilities in the state. Several years before the Civil War, a group of free Black people left the New Bern, North Carolina area and moved to New Haven. William Hancock and Charles McLinn were among that group. Many of these Black migrants came with trades and skills to find employment in the growing industrial environment of the city. McLinn initially worked for Atwater Treat, a prominent builder in New Haven who was responsible for many distinguished edifices in New Haven, including a few buildings on Yale campus. Temple Street Church benefited from the migration of Black southerners to New Haven, gaining several skilled families of members, including the Hancocks, McLinns, and Skinners.

Charles Mclinn served as a trustee and leading member of both Temple Street Congregational and Dixwell Church. His knowledge of business matters was renown in the community. He tended to work with the care of the building, real estate, and finances of the church. He was integral in the move that many members of the Temple Street Church made to move the black community form the Congregational Church on Dixwell Avenue. In addition to serving as a Trustee at Temple Street/Dixwell Church, he served as a trustee of the Bias and Margaret Stanley Fund, moderator at the annual meeting of the Western Association of Congregational Churches, treasurer of the Church Anniversary Committee, and church clerk under Rev. Albert P. Miller at Dixwell Church. He also served in various roles in the estate planning of many church members, including witnessing the signing of the will of Mineus Lyman, founding member of the African Ecclesiastical Society and one of New Haven’s wealthiest Black citizens.

McLinn’s dealings at Yale, within the Congregational denomination, and New Haven’s expanding Black community made him a notable and popular character. He was elected to public office serving as New Haven’s first Black member of the City Council. The McLinn family home was located at 12 Edgewood Avenue.

Charles McLinn died in 1906, leaving a legacy as a dedicated family man, an influential church leader, and elected official in New Haven, as well as a skilled supervisor of custodians at Yale University. Fellow church member, Attorney George Crawford, proudly served to settle his estate. McLinn’s funeral took place on the afternoon of Dec. 4, 1906, in the sanctuary of Dixwell Congregational at 100 Dixwell Ave. Citizens across the city mourned his death including former Yale President Dr. Timothy Dwight and his family, who enjoyed a close relationship with McLinn.