Indians
Living in Collin County, Texas
Indians living in Collin County were of the Caddo,
Cherokee, Delaware, Kickapoo, and Tonkawa tribes. The Delaware had a village
in the vicinity of Fitzhugh Mills northeast of Allen. The Tonkawa had a
village along Indian Creek northeast of McKinney. These tribes were peaceful
farming/hunting Indians.
A Kiowa chief by the name of Spotted Tail moved his
band to the flats between Frisco and Prosper in the mid 1840s. As long as his
band lived in the area, Collin County was not attacked by marauding Indians.
Spotted Tail helped bury the dead in a smallpox epidemic in 1873. He
contracted the disease and died from it. He asked for a white man’s burial
and was buried at the Buckner Cemetery in McKinney.
INDIAN MASSACRES
Around Christmas of 1842 Wesley Clemmons, and a man
named Whistler were clearing land around Honey Creek for farming. The Indians
attacked. The men ran to their house for their guns. They were killed before
they got there. One of the wives and the wife of Sam Young held the
Indians at bay from the house until nightfall when they escaped. The other
wife was at the creek at the time of the attack. She hid in the water using a
reed to breath until she thought she was safe. All of the women ran toward the
Throckmorton settlement for safety. Sam Young was in Bonham at the time of the
attack getting supplies.
In the fall of 1843 Jeremiah Muncey and his family
were massacred by Indians at their home in north Plano between Plano and
Jupiter Roads on the south bank of Rowlett Creek. The Indians had camped
upstream the night before. As they proceeded down Rowlett Creek, they came
upon two boys hunting. The Rice boy was killed and the Searcy boy escaped. The
Indians continued down the creek to the Muncey place. The Muncey home was a
lean-to that they were using while they constructed their home. Jeremiah
Muncey, his wife, a three-year-old child and neighbor McBain Jameson were all
killed. Two of Muncey’s boys were taken by the Indians and never seen again.
The site of the massacre is marked, as well as spot where the Munceys were
buried.
In 1862 Christian Stelzer was killed east of Celina.
Many people attributed it to Indians. It was later revealed that he was killed
in an argument over the Civil War.
The attacking Indians usually came in from the west
and were Comanche.
Muncey Massacre
Sister Grove Creek Site
History Index
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- Recommended citation:
- "INDIANS IN COLLIN COUNTY."
Collin County, Texas History and Genealogy Webpage by Genealogy Friends of
Plano Libraries, Inc., <http://www.geocities/genfriendsghl>
[Accessed Fri February 13 13:37:28 US/Central 2004 ].
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