Pecan Point Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I wouldn't change a word. Now, you want to talk about a place that punched above its weight? Pull up a chair, because Pecan Point — right here in this vicinity — sent five of the most prominent delegates to the Constitutional Convention of Texas.

Five. From one spot. That convention met in March of 1836, and the people in that room were about to put their names on something that would echo down through the centuries.

First man up: Richard Ellis. Attorney. Judge.

The kind of figure a room naturally turns toward. When the delegates gathered, they chose Ellis president of that very meeting. And when the convention was done, he wasn't done either — Ellis went on to serve four terms in the Senate of the Republic.

Four terms. The man had range. Then there was Collin McKinney, a magistrate, who didn't just show up and sign — he helped draft the declaration itself.

After that, he served three terms in the house. A. H.

Latimer, an attorney, served two terms of his own. Now Samuel Price Carson — another attorney — he took a different road entirely. Carson became Texas' Secretary of State.

And he and a man named Robert Hamilton, a financier, were appointed agents to the United States. Texas was a brand new republic reaching out to its neighbor, and these two Pecan Point men were the ones doing the reaching. Five delegates.

One place. And every single one of them left a mark that outlasted the ink on the page they signed.

What the marker says

Five of the most prominent delegates to the Constitutional Convention of Texas, held March, 1836, hailed from Pecan Point, in this vicinity. Richard Ellis (an attorney and judge) was chosen president of the meeting and later served four terms in the Senate of the Republic. Collin McKinney (a magistrate) helped draft the declaration and served three terms in the house. A. H. Latimer (an attorney) served two terms. Samuel Price Carson (attorney) became Texas' Secretary of State and with Robert Hamilton (financier) was an agent to the United States. (1969)