Collin McKinney, a pioneer leader of North Texas and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, was born in New Jersey to Scottish immigrant parents. His family moved to Kentucky in 1780, and in 1824 he migrated across the Red River and settled near present Texarkana. In January 1836, he was elected a delegate to the general convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he served on a committee of five that drafted the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico. He signed the document on March 2 and also served on the committee that prepared the constitution for the Republic of Texas. He later served in the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Congresses of the Republic. In private life, he helped establish the first Disciples of Christ Church in Texas. In 1846 he settled near the Grayson-Collin County line, which became his permanent residence. He married Amy Moore in 1792, and they had four children. He and his second wife, Betsy Leake (Coleman), by whom he had six children, are both buried in this cemetery. Collin County and its seat, McKinney, were named in his honor, and in 1936 the Texas Centennial Commission had his house moved to Finch Park in McKinney.