Col. John Hamilton McNairy
Coffeeville, Upshur County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born 1804 Guilford County, N. C. Lived in Tennessee; came to Shelby County, Texas, 1837; to Upshur County, 1847. Here he was first Representative elected from county, 1848. Married twice. Was father of eleven children. Died at Old Coffeeville, Jan. 7, 1853.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in North Carolina in 1804 and seasoned in Tennessee, Col. John Hamilton McNairy came to the young Republic of Texas in 1837, settling first in Shelby County and reaching Upshur County in 1847. A year later his neighbors elected him the county's first representative. Father of eleven children, he died at Old Coffeeville in 1853, one of the founding figures of a frontier community.
Why it matters
McNairy's life traces the well-worn migration path from the Upper South into frontier Texas, and the local leaders who organized its new counties into being.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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