Five Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence from Red River County
Historical marker location:On March 2, 1836, members of the Convention of 1836 signed the Texas Declaration of Independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos, declaring Texas independent from Mexico. Of the 59 signers, five were from Red River County, more than from any of the other old Spanish-Mexican districts or the new Republic of Texas counties. The five signers were Richard Ellis, Robert Hamilton, Albert Hamilton Latimer, Samuel Price Carson and Collin McKinney. Richard Ellis (1781-1846) was born in Virginia and moved to Pecan Point on the Red River by 1834, establishing a plantation. He was President of the Convention of 1836 and served two terms as Senator (1836-40) of the Republic of Texas. Robert Hamilton (1783-1843) immigrated from Scotland to North Carolina in 1807. He fought in the Battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812 and came to Texas in 1834, settling on Pecan Bayou near Lagrange (later Madras). In 1836, he became Chief Justice of Red River County. Albert Hamilton Latimer (c. 1800-1877) settled near Pecan Point in 1833 and served two terms (1840-42) as Representative for Red River County. A Unionist, Latimer was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention of 1866, and was appointed State Comptroller (1857) and Associate Justice of the Texas Supreme Court (1869). Samuel Price Carson (1798-1838) served as a state and U.S. Representative for North Carolina before coming to Texas. He was elected Secretary of State for the Texas ad interim government. Collin McKinney (1766-1861) was born in New Jersey. He served three terms (1836-38, 1839-40) as a Texas State Representative. Both Collin County and the City of McKinney are named for him. Today, these Red River County pioneers continue to be remembered as leading figures in Texas Independence. (2009).