Person:Collin McKinney (2)

About Collin McKinney

In 1773, he moved with his family from New Jersey to Virginia. By 1788, he was living in Lincoln County, Kentucky.

In 1818-21, he managed the vast estates of Sen. George W. Campbell of Tennessee while the latter was Minister to Russia. In 1826, he became friends with Ben Milam and took an interest in Wavell's colony in north Texas. He received a grant and located it sometime before 1831. By 1825, he was in Hempstead County, Arkansas, where he served as a Justice of the Peace in 1827. (However, according the Texas Historical Marker at his gravesite, he settled about 1824 in the part of the Red River district that became Bowie County.)^S1

In Jan 1836, he was elected as a delegate to the General Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos and served on the committee that drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence. (As the oldest member of the convention, 5e was given the pen after the signing on March 2.) He later served on the committee that drafted the first constitution.^S1

He is credited with recommending to the legislature of the Republic that newly-created counties should be no more than thirty miles square, which would allow a resident even on the county line to travel by horseback to the county seat (usually centrally located), conduct his business, and return home in a single day.

About 1840, he moved with other family members to that part of Fannin County that later became Collin County -- which was named for him, as was the county seat of McKinney.^S1

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Collin County, Texas, 1850 census:^[4]

McKinney, Collin 84 yrs Farmer (real estate = $1,251) b. New Jersey

      Elizabeth 65 yrs b. Virginia

Collin County, Texas, 1860 census:^[5]

McKinney, Collin 94 yrs Farmer (real estate = $16,500; personal estate = $20,000) b. New Jersey

      Betsy D. 74 yrs b. Virginia

Thryee, M. 56 yrs Carpenter [no property listing] b. Virginia

      Susan 40 yrs b. Kentucky

1. ↑ Handbook of Texas Online
   "McKinney, Collin".
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Grave marker, Van Alstyne Cemetery, Van Alstyne, Grayson, Texas, United States.
3.   Clark, Pat B. The History of Clarksville and Old Red River County. (Dallas: Mathis, Van Nort & Co., 1937)
   pp. 82-83.

   On 20 July 1835, he signed a petition to the county court of Miller County, calling for establishment of an election precinct in the neighborhood of Spanish Bluffs.

4. ↑ ^4.0 4.1 Collin, Texas, United States. 1850 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p. 5A, dwelling/family 53/53.
5. ↑ ^5.0 5.1 Collin, Texas, United States. 1860 U.S. Census Population Schedule
   p. 43, dwelling/family 929/979.
6.   Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collin_McKinney