[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 13, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E445-E446]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE 250TH BIRTHDAY OF COLLIN McKINNEY

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                           HON. PETE SESSIONS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 13, 2016

  Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the 250th 
birthday of Collin McKinney, a Texas patriot, statesman, and hero. Mr. 
McKinney was a drafter and signer of the Texas Constitution and is the 
namesake of Collin County and the city of McKinney. His courage of 
conviction and love of Texas fundamentally shaped our state's history 
and our nation. Mr. McKinney was born to Scottish immigrant parents on 
April 17, 1766, in New Jersey. Years later he moved to Kentucky before 
settling in our great state of Texas. Mr. McKinney was a man of faith 
and boldly preached the gospel message of love and redemption.
  Mr. McKinney and four other individuals were drafted by Judge Richard 
Ellis at the convention meeting at Old Washington-on-the-Brazos to 
write a declaration of separation from Mexico. Today, we know this 
document bearing Collin McKinney's signature as the Texas Declaration 
of Independence. He later went on to serve the Red River District in 
the First, Second, and Fourth Congresses of the Republic of Texas.
  Author Samuel Houston Dixon wrote in his book ``The Men Who Made 
Texas Free'' that ``Mr. McKinney was a man of most admirable character. 
He possessed a spirit of progressiveness which dominated his life. No 
one of that group of pioneers exercised a more wholesome influence over 
those with whom he came in contact than Mr. McKinney. He lived a life 
worthy of emulation and was held in high esteem.''
  In 1846 he settled near the Grayson-Collin county line which would 
become his final resting place and later bear his name. In 1936 the 
Texas Centennial Commission had his house moved to Finch Park in 
McKinney. Mr. McKinney lived under eight different governments in his 
life. He was born a subject of King George III, became a citizen of the 
Colonial Government of the 13 Colonies, then the United States, Mexico, 
the Provisional Government established by the Texans in 1835, the Texas

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Republic until annexation, the United States again, and then the 
Southern Confederacy.
  Mr. McKinney's life of public service and dedication to the cause of 
freedom should inspire each of us. I am proud to honor this statesman 
and encourage every Texan to study his life so that we may continue his 
legacy.

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