John Myers McKinney
Lucas, Collin County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1781-1847) Born in Surry county, North Carolina, J.M. McKinney was the son of James and Mary (Ballard) McKinney. In 1809 he married Peggy Margot Lee. They lived in Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas before coming to Texas in 1846. After settling his family on this land in Collin county, McKinney left to enlist in the Mexican War. He died a year later while in the service of Captain William Fitzhugh's Company of Bell's mounted volunteers. Recorded - 1983
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in North Carolina in 1781, John Myers McKinney spent his life moving ever westward — through Tennessee, Missouri, and Arkansas — before finally bringing his family to Texas in 1846. Barely settled on his Collin County land, he left almost at once to enlist in the Mexican War, joining a company of mounted volunteers, and died in the service in 1847, only a year after arriving. His short Texas chapter ended in a soldier's death on the nation's newest frontier.
Why it matters
His life traces the restless generational push of American families across the frontier, ending in the war that fixed the United States' southwestern border.
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Related people
- · John Myers McKinney
- · Captain William Fitzhugh
Related events
- · Mexican-American War
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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