A PATRIARCH HEADED PIONEER
COLLIN FAMILY
John D. Brown
and Wife Settled at Old Buckner 81 Years Ago.
Courier
January 2, 1926
Robert E. Brown,
who will be 74 years old on the 22nd of the coming February, and who now
resides in Lubbock county, is a native of Collin county. As before stated in
these columns, he was born near Plano, Feb. 22, 1852, but left the county in
1869.
He father, Sam
P. Brown, soon after the son was born, moved to the Cottage Hill community,
twelve miles northwest of McKinney, where he purchased a farm which is now
known as the Goodrich? place and in a few years he sold that farm and
purchased another one from his brother, William Brown, nearby. He was
induced to part with his first farm on account of the fancy price that he
was offered for it $10 per acre. He sold it to Uncle Wash Eller Cottage Hill
pioneer, long since deceased. The second farm that he purchased in the
Cottage Hill community is now owned by Lum Woods. After his father sold out
at Cottage Hill in 1869, he purchased and moved on to another farm located
two miles north of Pilot Point, just across in Cooke county. Sam P. Brown
and wife are both buried in the old cemetery at Pilot Point where his
parents and the grandparents of Robert E. Brown are also buried. Robt. E.
Brown's grandparents were John D. Brown and wife who first settled at Old
Buckner, three miles northwest of McKinney, in the year 1845. Old Buckner
was the first county seat of Collin county. But it passed out of existence
in 1848 in which year the county site was moved by a county-wide election to
McKinney and this town was first located and chartered. Robert E. Brown
states that his grandfather John D. Brown, was a member of the first grand
jury that was ever enpaneled in Collin county.
John D. Brown
attained to the ripe old age of more than 90 years before his death and
burial finally occurred at Pilot Point. This rugged influential old Collin
county pioneer patriarch came here one year before our county was organized
in 1846 by act of the first legislature of Texas.
John D. Brown
and wife reared a large family of children. Their descendants are scattered
over Texas and Oklahoma but wherever they are found, they continue to be
honored, useful citizens in their respective localities and callings even
down to the fourth, fifth and sixth generations of them. The example and
precept of the rugged honest pious old Methodist pioneer couple, who settled
here 71 years ago, are still characteristic traits in the lives of their
numerous posterity of each succeeding generation after them.
Among their
descendants still living in our county are Hon. George P. Brown of McKinney,
a grandson; Mrs. R. W. Miller of Cottage Hill and Mrs. Kelley of
Westminster, all great-granddaughters.
