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 | This articlerelies largely or entirely on asingle source. Relevant discussion may be found on thetalk page. Please helpimprove this article byintroducing citations to additional sources. Find sources: "Collin McKinney" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(February 2022) |
Collin McKinney (April 17, 1766 – September 9, 1861) was an Americansurveyor,merchant,politician, andlay preacher. He is best known as a figure in theTexas Revolution, as one of the five individuals who drafted theTexas Declaration of Independence and the oldest person to sign it.
McKinney was born inHunterdon County, New Jersey, the second of 10 children born to Daniel and Mercy (Blatchley) McKinney. The family moved toVirginia in the 1770s, and while Daniel fought in theAmerican Revolutionary War, Collin McKinney supported the family; thus, he had no formal schooling. After the war, the family moved to an outpost inLincoln County, Kentucky.
McKinney married twice in his lifetime, first to Annie (Amy) Moore on February 10, 1794, with whom he had four children (James, Ashley, Polly, and Emeline) before she died in 1804, and then again in 1805 to Elizabeth Leek, with whom he had seven more children (William C, twins Amy and Margaret, Anna C, Samuel L, Eliza S, and Younger S).
From 1818 to 1821, McKinney managed the Tennessee estates ofSenatorGeorge W. Campbell, who was serving as minister toRussia at the time. He also opened a trading post before giving it up and returning to Kentucky. Later, McKinney and many of his relatives moved toHempstead County, Arkansas, where he was elected as ajustice of the peace.
In 1826, McKinney became a friend ofBenjamin Milam, who was recruiting settlers for theRed River Colony inNortheast Texas of Empressario and British GeneralArthur G. Wavell. The land grant was an area claimed by both the United States settlers as part ofMiller County, Arkansas, as well as byMexico.
In 1836, McKinney was one of five delegates from the Red River Colony to theConvention of 1836, which called for Texas to declare its independence from Mexico. He was one of five appointed to draft the Texas Declaration of Independence, and at age 69, he was the oldest to sign it. He later became a member of the committee that drafted theConstitution of the Republic of Texas and also served as a delegate fromRed River District and County, Texas, to the First, Second, and Fourth Congresses of theRepublic of Texas.
In 1846, at age 80, he moved one last time, due to one of the worst known floods on the Red River, to the northern portion of the rich blackland prairie of Collin County, Texas, to be near several of his children. However, the exact boundary line betweenCollin andGrayson Counties would not be surveyed and identified for several years. He lived just a few miles southeast ofLiberty, Texas, which was soon renamedMantua by Younger Scott McKinney, the founder.
Collin McKinney died at his home in Collin County on September 9, 1861, and was buried in the nearby Van Alstyne Cemetery in the McKinney family plot. Ahistorical marker erected by theTexas Historical Commission honors this Texan who lived over 95 years under the flags of four nations (United States, Mexico, Texas, and Confederacy).
Around 1873, 12 years after Collin McKinney's death, the few inhabitants of Mantua moved several miles northeast toVan Alstyne, Texas, on the newHouston and Texas Central Railway fromSherman toMcKinney and on toGalveston.
Both Collin County and McKinney, Texas, its county seat, were named in his honor by theTexas Legislature.[1]
McKinney is credited with suggesting to the Texas Legislature that, as new counties were later created in North and West Texas, the boundaries should be about 30 miles square. This would allow a rider to travel to thecounty seat, conduct necessary business, and return home, all in one day.
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