DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll pass it right along to you. Back in 1834, a man named Alexander McKinza packed up everything he had in Alabama — his native state — and made the long pull west to Nacogdoches, Texas. Now, that alone takes a certain kind of nerve.
But Nacogdoches was just the beginning of the story. When the Texas War for Independence came calling, McKinza didn't stand to the side. He joined the Sabine volunteers under Captain Benjamin F.
Bryant, and on April 21, 1836 — that date ought to ring a bell — he was right there at the battle of San Jacinto. Think about that for a moment. The man had only been in Texas two years, and he was already fighting for it.
That's a commitment you can't manufacture. He came through it, and life moved on the way life does after a war. On March 14, 1839, Alexander McKinza married Clarissa Brewer.
He set himself up with a store near Douglass, ran it right up until 1857, and along the way the people of Nacogdoches County trusted him enough to name him Justice of the Peace — a post he held from 1853 to 1857. Then, somewhere around 1860, he settled himself in McLennan County, and that's where the marker stands today to tell you he was here. From Alabama to Nacogdoches to San Jacinto to McLennan County — not a bad trail for one man to leave behind.
What the marker says
In 1834 Alexander McKinza moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, from his native Alabama. During the Texas War for Independence, he joined the Sabine volunteers under Capt. Benjamin F. Bryant and fought at the battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. McKinza married Clarissa Brewer on March 14, 1839. He had a store near Douglass until 1857 and served as Justice of the Peace for Nacogdoches County from 1853 to 1857. He settled in McLennan County about 1860. (1976)