Dr. McKamy Smith (1939-2019) was the son of Thomas Edwin Smith and Dallas Marianna McKamy. The McKamy family was one of the earliest Anglo families to settle in Dallas County. Marianna’s father was Lionel Simpson McKamy. His father was John Lewis McKamy who was the son of William Cooper McKamy, Sr.
William C. McKamy, Sr. (McKamy’s great great grandfather) came to Texas around 1851 from Tennessee. On October 21, 1845, he had 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 they had settled in Dallas County, they had three more children: Mary E., William Cooper (Jr.) 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. When this area began to be developed, over 100 years later, it would be called The Golden Corridor.
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 Frankford Church, built in 1897. The town of Frankford would eventually be annexed by the City of Dallas in the 1970s.
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.
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 (Bonnie Parker’s funeral was held there), among other businesses in Dallas County. If the business or location was in or around Dallas County and also had McKamy in the name, it was likely related to this family in some way.
E R Nash Sr. and Family 