Veteran Bio
The Kemp Sketch
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McKINZA, ALEXANDER -- Listed on page 18 of the San Jacinto rolls printed in 1836 as A. M'KENZIE , a member of Captain Benjamin F. Bryant's Company of Sabine Volunteers. His name was McKinza but was usually misspelled. The compiler has been unable to learn when he came to Texas. In Headright Certificate No. 3296/3397 issued to him February 16, 1854 for one league and one labor of land by the Commissioner of Claims the date of his emigration is not shown.
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On October 3, 1850 Donation Certificate No. 182 for 640 acres of land was issued in the name of ALEXANDER McKENZIE, due him for having participated in the battle of San Jacinto. It is presumed that Mr. McKinza, like most of Captain Bryant's men, served for but one month in the army. He was, therefore, not entitled to receive bounty land.
Mr. McKinza was married to Clarissa Brewer at Nacogdoches March 14, 1839. Miss Brewer was a daughter of Henry and Susannah Brewer and a sister of Henry M. Brewer, a veteran of the battle of San Jacinto.
Mr. McKINZA was a Justice of the Peace in Nacogdoches County from 1853 to 1857. He was also a co-partner in the mercantile firm of "McKinza and Leavy" in the town of Liberty located not far from the present town of Douglass in the western part of the present Nacogdoches County. This establishment seems to have failed during the depression of 1857, and the partnership was dissolved, accompanied by several suits against them on notes and wholesale accounts. Mr. McKinza wrote a beautiful, flourishing hand and was evidently a good bookkeeper
At about the commencement of the War between the States Mr. McKinza moved to McLennan County and the Probate Records of that county show that Mr. McKinza died in 1874, survived by his widow and the following children, all living in McLennan County: Reuben A., Mrs. Permeta Davis, wife of F.M. Davis; Partina, Pickney, and R.W. McKinza.
A Veterans Donation Certificate No. 1263 for 1280 acres of land was issued to Mrs. Clarissa McKenzie November 24, 1886. She gave power of attorney September 16, 1866 to J.H. Stewart to secure and dispose of the certificate. She could not sign her name but made her mark. Her home was in McLennan County.
It is probable that the children of Mr. McKinza changed their last name to McKENZIE.
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Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.
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Battle Statistics
- Died in Battle: No
- Rank: Private
- Company: Capt. Benjamin F. Bryant
Personal Statistics
- Alternate Names: McKenzie, McKinzie
- Date of Death: 1874
- Donation Certificate: 182
- Profession: Merchant
- Wife: Clarissa Brewer
- Children: Reuben A. McKinza; Permeta McKinza Davis; Partina McKinza; Pickney McKinza; R. W. McKinza
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