Quick Facts
Biography
Alexander McKelway (October 6, 1866 - April 16, 1918) was an American Presbyterian minister, and journalist. He is best known as an activist for child labor reform At the state and national level. He argued the children should not be made to contribute to the parents' welfare, saying education could break the cycle of poverty In the South.
Childhood and Family
McKelway was born in Salisbury, Pennsylvania to John Ryan McKelway and Catherine Scott Comfort McKelway. He grew up in Albemarle County, Virginia and Charlotte County, Virginia, attended Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, and graduated from Hampden–Sydney College.
He married Lavinia Rutherford Smith and had five children including Alexander McKelway, the writer St. Clair McKelway and the journalist Benjamin Mosby McKelway.
Career
After a short time as a Presbyterian minister, McKelway became a writer and editor with the The Presbyterian Standard and then The Charlotte News. He soon became involved in child labor reform. He became Southern regional organizer for the National Child Labor Committee (NCLC) In 1909 McKelway moved the family to Washington D.C. to continue his work with the NCLC. His efforts resulted in the creation of the United States Children's Bureau. Many credit McKelway with the passage of the Keating-Owen Act.
McKelway and his family lived in the Georgetown neighborhood.