William C. McKamy, Sr. came to Texas around 1851 from Tennessee. On October 21, 1845, he had previously married the former Rachel Loyd Wester and they brought with them their three children: William Albert, John Lewis and a daughter Keziah (a family name) McKamy. Once settled here, they had three more children: Mary E., William Cooper and Charles C. McKamy.
Where they settled was in the area generally north of what is now LBJ Freeway, from around US 75 to the Dallas North Tollway/Parkway and covered as many as 1,800 acres. Their family life was interrupted by the Civil War. Like many able bodied males, McKamy joined the Confederate Army. He enlisted in the 6th Texas Cavalry Regiment. The 6th Texas drew from Kaufman, Dallas, Collin, Van Zandt, McLennan, Bell and Henderson Counties. Its leadership included another Texan, Lawrence Sullivan Ross.
The regiment was in service from around September of 1861 to May of 1865 when it surrendered to Union forces and its members were paroled and dispersed to their homes. The McKamys had continuously farmed their land and raised their families. The town of Frankford grew up as more settlers moved in. The McKamys were founding members of the Frankford Methodist Church. This beautiful structure still stands and is now called the Old Franford Church, built in 1897.
A small cemetery was carved out of the farm land just south of the church. William C. McKamy, Sr. died in 1902 and is buried there along with a number of other family members. There, he joined his wife Rachel McKamy who had predeceased him in 1895.
William Cooper McKamy, Jr. was born in 1861. He received his college education in Georgetown, Texas at Southwestern University where he graduated in 1885. Two years later he was admitted to the Texas Bar. McKamy, Jr. practiced law and was soon elected to the Texas House of Representatives where he served from 1897 to 1901 and again from 1913 to 1915. From 1903 to 1907 he served in the Texas Senate. He returned to the practice of law and continued in the family businesses. His last foray into politics was when he unsuccessfully ran for county judge in 1932. He and his wife, the former Ruby Bullock of Garland had two children: a son named William C. McKamy who died in infancy and a daughter named Mary Ruby McKamy. William Cooper McKamy, Jr. died in 1934 after a short illness. He is also buried in the old Frankford Cemetery. His wife Ruby survived him about 28 years and was buried in the old Frankford Cemetery.
These are just two individuals and their families. Franklin Perry McKamy, another brother of William Cooper McKamy, Sr. also settled nearby in the 1850s. Both brothers had large families. Some of the brothers’ descendants include the people who ran McKamy Dairy and McKamy-Campbell Funeral Home, among other businesses in Dallas County. If the business or location had McKamy in the name, it was likely related to this family in some way.
By Mike Magers
