Trails of Our Past
McKinney Family
Dusty Williams 

Long before the loud, distinct whistle of the train rolling down the iron tracks, there was the midnight call of the crickets, echoing across the countryside for miles and miles. Before streets were made by those early wagon tracks and long before plots of land were drawn out by early surveyors, there were fields of wilderness and a thick wall of trees within the cross timbers. But as our numbers increased and eastern towns became more populated, there was a need, a desire, within us to move west…to freedom, to space and to new beginnings…to Texas. And so, our story begins.

To the east of the cross timbers, the site of what would become Van Alsyne sat amidst meandering creeks with fresh water and groves of trees that would eventually be named for various events throughout the area. Perhaps the first of these early settlers to venture into this paradise of wilderness were the McKinney family, having migrated to the area in 1846, just after Texas had been established as a new state. Prior to their migration, this family had been residents of the Republic of Texas, having resided in the northeast portion in what was Bowie County.

The most well-known of this early family was Collin McKinney. He was born on April 17, 1766 in New Jersey. Prior to his homestead establishment in northern Collin County and southern Grayson County, he had been very active in the Republic of Texas. He was a member of the Texas legislature four sessions out of the five held by the Republic of Texas and at age 70 was the oldest to sign the Declaration for Texas’ Independence. He was married twice, first to Amy Moore who bore him three daughters and one son, however only two are currently known, Ashley and Polley. Amy passed away in 1804 in Kentucky where the family lived at which time Mr. McKinney married again, this time to Elizabeth L. Coleman, a daughter of Samuel Coleman. Three sons and four daughters were born to him by this marriage which were as follows: William C., Amie, Margaret, Annie, Eliza, Younger Scott and another son who probably passed away at a young age. Many of these early family members had received land grants for their services to the Republic. These grants were located in what is now Grayson and Collin County. So in 1846, the migration of the McKinney family commenced, Collin settling near the border in Collin County, which was named in his honor. Two years later, the county seat of Buckner was moved to a new location and was renamed McKinney, also in his honor. Aside from Collin McKinney and his descendants, some of his brother’s offspring, Daniel Younger McKinney, also made the journey where many of them also received land from the state of Texas. Collin McKinney passed away on September 9, 1861 followed by his wife the following year on August 02^nd. The couple were laid to rest in the McKinney Family Cemetery which is now the Van Alstyne Cemetery.

Of the McKinney descendants that established themselves in Grayson and Collin Counties were:

Ashley McKinney arrived with the McKinney family when they migrated to the area, he receiving a land grant for his role during the Texas Revolution. However, shortly after their arrival to the area in 1846, he passed away on July 02, 1847. He was laid to rest in the newly formed McKinney Family Cemetery, the first known burial believed to be that of his cousin, Hiram C. McKinney’s wife, Emily in 1846.

Also to the area was Polley McKinney, McKinney being both her maiden name as well as her married name. Her husband, James, was a son of Daniel Y. McKinney a brother to her father, Collin. James passed away in 1836, however as he had also fought during the Texas Revolution he too received a land grant in the area. His grant included much of the area that was to become Van Alstyne, as well as the tract of land where the Van Alstyne Cemetery is now located. Polley passed away on January 27, 1864 and was laid to rest in the McKinney Family Cemetery as well. Her home was located just west of the cemetery, thus making it the first known home in the future site of Van Alstyne. Her grandson, William L. McKinney inherited the McKinney land after both of his parents, as well as Polley passed away. On February 21, 1872, William L. McKinney, still a minor and now an orphan, sold a little over 35 acres to the Houston and Texas Central Railway for a $20 gold coin, per acre. This land became the town of Van Alstyne, which was established the next year in May of 1873.

William Coleman McKinney, another son of Collin, was born January 09, 1806 and was married to Margaret Dooley. This family also came to the area and established themselves. One of their daughters, Emily was married Josiah Kelly. At the time of her death in 1925, she was the oldest member of the Daughters of the Confederacy and was a charter member of the Collin McKinney chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Elizabeth Serene McKinney, the youngest daughter of Collin McKinney and Elizabeth Coleman was born July 20, 1813. She was married to Jefferson Milam, a nephew to Ben Milam, of Texas fame. In 1824 she came to what was then Bowie County, Texas with her father, Collin McKinney and was married to Jefferson Milam about 1830, by whom she had ten children. Eliza passed away on July 06, 1904. Although her husband is buried at their old homestead in east Texas, his name was also engraved on her tombstone in the Van Alstyne Cemetery. She settled southeast of Van Alstyne on a homestead that was built by the slaves of John Cannon under his direction. The homestead is still in existence today.

The last child of Collin McKinney and who also made the trip to Texoma was Younger Scott McKinney, he having been born on December 14, 1819. At the time of his death in 1907, the Dallas Morning News reported the following: “In his younger days he was a surveyor and did much of the surveying for this section of the State, and even up to his death he evinced a great interest in these old surveys. There are few men that played a more important part in the building up of a country than has this pioneer in the building up of this section of the State. For many miles his name has been for a generation a household word. He has been a licensed preacher in the Methodist Church, South, for nearly sixty years, filling several posts as a supply, but never as a member of the conference. His friends of long ago never tired of telling of his power as a preacher of the gospel, and the uniformly godly life which he lived has been a source of pleasure to his friends and acquaintances and a comfort to his family. Many of the leading ministers of that church throughout North Texas are familiar with the services he has rendered the church and State in the line of work. He became a Mason in Bonham fifty-seven years ago and was the last charter member of Mantua Lodge No. 209 of Van Alstyne.” Y. S. McKinney founded the town of Mantua which would eventually relocate to Van Alstyne with the coming of the railroad. His homestead still stands southeast of Van Alstyne off of Jim Cannon road.

The last of the McKinney migrants to Grayson and Collin County that I will mention at the present time is that of William and Bexey Creager. William was born September 9, 1808 in Kentucky and was married to Bexey McKinney, a daughter of Daniel Younger McKinney. William acquired 2605.04 acres that spanned portions of both Grayson and Collin Counties. It has been said that the double log cabin of William and Bexey was on the county line. The Creager family settled here in 1845 and their land was surveyed by Tom Bean. The Creagers raised horses and sold them at Jefferson as well as Shreveport. In 1847 a Methodist church was organized known as the Old Liberty Class and the congregation met in the Creager home. William Creager passed away in 1865, followed by Bexey in 1882. Both were laid to rest in the Van Alstyne Cemetery.

The Creager land had the following boundaries: The north line followed Ballard road after it passed the cemetery and starting at its west boundary just west of the creek. The north line continued east until Ballard road makes a jog to the north at which point the land boundary heads in a due north direction, crossing once again a creek. The north boundary again heads east, crossing the same creek again, and running directly on top of Willy Vester road while it is in its east-west direction just south of the creek. When Willy Vester road turns back south, the north property line of the Creager family continues due east until it hits said creek again. The property line follows the creek south, thus marking the beginning of the east property line. As the creek meanders in a southeasterly direction, the east property line remains straight and heads south, lining up perfectly with Chapman road which stems from FM 3133 on its south side. The property continues south into Collin County. The West property line includes portions of the Forrest W. Moore Park on the west side of highway 5. When Newport road meets highway 5, the property line continues east making for a short north boundary in this area. The west property line then continues and moves north just south of FM 3133. The west line continues north, crossing Oil Mill road until reaching the point of the beginning of the north boundary line.

Alas it has been 170 years since the migration of Collin McKinney and his family to this area. This April also marks the 250^th anniversary of the birth of this devout Texan. There are so many tales from the McKinney family and early settlers to this region that I could put into writing, but a conclusion must be made. In the obituary of Eliza McKinney Milam in 1904, R. C. Horn writes a conclusion in, The Democrat, of McKinney, that I could never hope to surpass. He states: “Thus one by one, those who fought the battles of Texas, which resulted in our present prosperity, are leaving us to prosecute the work that they began and carried forward so nobly. May we ever honor their memory and emulate their good deeds is the prayer of the writer.”