Genealogy Report: Descendants of Ezekial Alexander
Descendants of Ezekial Alexander
4.DR. JOHN MCKNITT8 ALEXANDER (ABNER7, EZEKIAL6, JAMES ROBERT5, JOSEPH4, JAMES3, ROBERT2, JOHN1)184 was born May 05, 1805 in Sanders Fork,Wilson>Cannon,TN185,186,187, and died October 15, 1888 in Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX188.He married (1) JULIA FAYE ORRAND189,190,191,192 October 13, 1836 in ,Wilson,TN193, daughter of JOHN ORRAND and CHARLOTTE LINDER.She was born May 31, 1816 in TN194,195,196, and died November 22, 1839 in Statesville,Wilson,TN197.He married (2) HARDENIA SPENCER DRENNAN198,199,200 August 29, 1843 in Statesville,Wilson,TN201,202,203,204, daughter of THOMAS DRENNAN and ANN.She was born October 01, 1819 in Sugg's Creek,Wilson,TN205,206, and died April 02, 1902 in Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX207.
Notes for DR. JOHN MCKNITT ALEXANDER:
John McKnitt Alexander was born May 5, 1805 in a log cabin in the wilderness of what had recently been the Indian lands of western North Carolina.After the Revolutionary War, this area was opened up to settlement as bounty land for North Carolina veterans like his grandfathers Ezekial Alexander and Ezekiel Sharpe, and by the time of John's birth- the area was vast forests with abundant game, a few Indians and white settlers on the main rivers and creeks.His father had land in what was then Sumner County,Tennessee (later Wilson County, and later still Cannon County), on the south fork of Saunder's Fork of Smith Fork Creek.He was named after his grandfather's half-brother John McKnitt Alexander- a Revolutionary War veteran who, along with six other Alexanders, signed the Mecklenburg NC declaration of independence from Great Britain in 1775- a year before the rest of the country did.His father Abner Alexander was one of the first white settlers of this area of Tennessee, and John was his first child.John eventually had three brothers and two sisters from his father's first marriage, and two half-brothers from his father's second marriage.The family owned slaves, and grew corn, tobacco, cattle, sheep, and hogs on their 508 acre plantation.Bible records in the possession of the Daughters of the American Revolution show Abner Alexanders siblings' births, Abner's two marriages, and Abner's children's marriages (including John's first).
Although the rest of his siblings stayed in farming, John became a physician.He either apprenticed a local doctor or travelled away for schooling, since both were acceptable at the time.He waited to marry until age 31, when on October 13, 1836 he married a 20 year old widow neighbor-Julia Faye Orrand McAdow.Her previous marriage had lasted only about four months before her husband Newbern S. McAdow died of cholera (as did his mother Mary and brother Jehu McAdow).Julia had an infant daughter named Ann Eliza McAdow, who John legally adopted.They had a child together:
George Smith AlexanderbornAug 3, 1837
Julia died November 22, 1839, perhaps of pregnancy complications, and was buried at Old Campground Cemetery, about two miles southeast of Statesville, Wilson County, Tennessee.The 1840 Wilson County, Tennessee census shows John alone with his young son and adopted daughter.
By 1842 he was courting 22 year old Hardenia (or Hardena) Spencer Drennan, the youngest of twelve children, who lived with her widowed mother in the Sugg's Creek area of Wilson County, Tennessee.In May 1842 Hardenia was given 110 acres of land from her sister's husband as dowry from her father's estate, and they were married August 29, 1843 in Wilson County.The groom was 38 years old, the bride was 23.A few weeks later John purchased a city lot in the town of Statesville, Wilson County, Tennessee from James Armstrong, meantime living in the Statesville Hotel, until he could build a house to continue his medical practice.Statesville at the time was a busy community and had seven stores, a blacksmith and other businesses.In 1849 John was one of thirty-two stockholders that established the "Stone's River and Statesville Turnpike Company" to construct a sixteen-foot wide toll road from Stewart's Ferry in Davidson County, Tennessee to Statesville, Wilson County, Tennessee.By the 1850 Wilson County, Tennessee census, John and his wife Hardenia were living with John's son George by his first marriage, as well as four children of their own.The adopted daughter Ann Eliza McAdow was in the household of her maternal grandfather John Orrand in the 1850 census of Wilson County, Tennessee (at age 14), and guardianship of Ann was transferred to him in December 1851.
John and Hardenia's children born in Tennessee were:
Abner Alexanderborn Sep 14, 1844
Margaret Jane Alexanderborn May 13, 1846
Henry Harrison Alexanderborn Sep9, 1848
Mary Sharp Alexanderborn Apr 18, 1850
Joseph Drennan Alexanderborn Oct4, 1851
John McKnitt Alexander Jr.born Mar 14, 1853
In 1853, at age 48 with a family of seven children from two marriages, John moved to Bastrop County, Texas.Hardenia agreed to the move only if John promised to give up his medical practice there.John's brother Mark Alexander seems to have travelled to San Augustine County, Texas 15 years previously in March 1838 to marry neighbor Emma Davis Sharp- but he returned by the birth of his first child in December of the same year and lived by their father Abner Alexander in the 1840 andd 1850 federal censuses.Some of John's Wilson County, Tennessee neighbors moved to Bastrop County, Texas at the same time that John did.In 1853, Texas had been independent from Mexico for only 17 years, and part of the United States for 8 years.Although early colonists there were granted 4428 acres of land per family, by 1854 the homestead maximum was 160 acres, and homestead land was discontinued entirely in 1856.John filed a claim for 153 1/4 acres a little west of the town of Bastrop on a branch of Cedar Creek on October 14, 1856, and an official survey was done November 5, 1856.He largely gave up medical practice, except for the needs of his family, and switched to farming cotton and corn, and raising livestock, with the help of about eight slaves.On December 22, 1859, after proving three years of occupancy and improvements, he received title to his land.The 1860 Bastrop County, Texas census listed him as a farmer with wife Hardenia and eight of their eventual eleven children together.George Alexander (age 23) is not in his father's household in this census although he had made the move too (per a later Civil war pension request)- because he had gone back to Tennessee and gotten married with the Civil War looming.On May 11, 1861 George Alexander enlisted in the Confederate Army in Nashville, Tennessee and served the duration of the war in Company E of the 1st TN Cavalry and Company D of the 4th TN Cavalry.
John and Hardenia's children born in Texas were:
Thomas Cutcher Alexanderborn Feb 11, 1856
Lawson White Alexanderborn Nov2, 1857
Mark Lee Alexanderborn Sep 24, 1860
Laura Virginia Alexanderborn Aug8, 1862
Abbie Alexanderborn Jun 26, 1866
During the Civil War, John stayed in Bastrop County on the ranch with his family.John's son Abner (named after John's father)- died in a hospital at age 19 on December 19, 1863 in San Antonio, Texas.After the war ended, John's brother Mark Alexander, cousin John McCoy Alexander, and son George Smith Alexander (who had survived his Confederate army service) moved to Bastrop County, Texas.John's children all married between 1868 and 1884- two daughters married Civil War veterans, three married children of his cousin John McCoy Alexander, and three married children of his neighbor Norman Slaton.None of his children chose the medical profession- one son became a county judge, one son became a blacksmith, one daughter's husband ran a cotton gin, and the rest were farmers and ranchers.All of his children stayed close by him until the end of his life.The 1880 census showed him at age 75- a farmer- with wife Hardenia age 61, and the last two children to leave home- Mark and Abbie.Family tradition says that John would ride around to his children's homes in the morning on his horse, and if he found one of his daughters or daughters-in-law pregnant, he would say "Looks like you have your apron string under your chin again".
John died October 15, 1888 at age 83 at Cedar Creek, Bastrop County, Texas and was buried in Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery, in the first row, next to his grandson Clabe Alexander (Lawson's boy), who had died the year before at age four.His headstone was a curved upright limestone marker with clasping hands at the top- with his name, birthdate, and death date.Abner and Henry (who died in 1885) were the only ones of John's twelve children that died before he did, and four of the children were eventually buried nearby in the same section of the cemetery.Widow Hardenia is shown with daughter Mary Spooner's family in the 1900 Bastrop County federal census.She died April 2, 1902, also at age 83, at the home of her son Thomas and was buried next to her husband.Her headstone looks much more recent than her husband's, and is a flat granite marker with her name ("Hardena S. Alexander"), birthdate, and death date.John and Hardenia's graves are next to the graves of their in-laws neighbors Norman and Elizabeth Slaton.
Four days after Hardenia's death, the newspaper "Bastrop Advertiser" had these two articles:
"Justice J.D. Alexander, of Cedar Creek, was in the city Wednesday, and while here received a phone message conveying the sad intelligence of the death of his mother, which occured at the residence of her son, Tom Alexander, Thursday morning.Mrs. Alexander had been in feeble health for many months, and died at the age of 83 years and six months."
"Mrs. Alexander Dead-Died: At the home of her son, T.C. Alexander, of Cedar Creek, Wednesday morning, April 2nd, 1902, Mrs. Ardena Alexander, widow of Dr. J.M. Alexander, deceased.Mrs. Alexander was born in Tennessee October 1818, hence was 83 years and six months old at the time of her death.Her husband, Dr. J.M. Alexander preceeded her in death some 14 years ago.She was the mother of nine children who survive her- Judge J.D., Tom, John, Lee, L.W., and Mrs. W.S. Glass, Mrs. M.M. Slaten and Mrs. Mack Alexander.She had been a resident of Bastrop County for more than fifty years.A pure, Christian woman, she was universally beloved in life and sincerely mourned in death.To the grieved family the Advertiser extends the sympathy of all Bastrop county.Truly, has a good, noble woman gone to her reward."
A photo of John and Hardenia Alexander survives, and shows the couple sitting together in 1885.John looks straight at the camera, having long bushy white hair and beard, dressed in a rumpled three-piece suit.Hardenia sits to his right, a thin serious woman with grayish hair tightly pulled away from her face, somewhat shorter, with hands folded in her lap holding a handkerchief.She is dressed in a loose heavy handmade long-sleeved dress and a separate large white collar, buttoned at the throat.A feel for their character and life clearly shines through the intervening years.
More About DR. JOHN MCKNITT ALEXANDER:
1st entry land patent: August 22, 1871, Pre-emption land claim, homestead for 3 yrs208
Began homestead: October 14, 1856, 153 1/4 acres in Bastrop Co,TX208
Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX209
Guardian: October 09, 1839, Ann Eliza McAdow, minor heir Newbern McAdow210
Land survey: November 05, 1856, ,Bastrop,TX211
Moved: 1853, ,Wilson,TN to ,Bastrop,TX212,213
Occupation: 1850, Physician214
Pre-emption certificate: December 22, 1859, ,Bastrop,TX215
Purchased land: September 25, 1843, Statesville,Wilson,TN from James M. Armstrong216,217
Residence: Bef. 1843, Statesville Hotel,Statesville,Wilson,TN218
Slaves: 1850, 1 male, 2 female219
Sold land: Bet. 1848 - 1850, ,Wilson,TN to A.W. Cox?220
Stockholder: 1849, Stone's River & Statesville Turnpike Co.?221
Studied medicine: Abt. 1830, Washington College,Knoxville? Univ PN?222
More About JULIA FAYE ORRAND:
Burial: Old Campground Cemetary,Statesville,Wilson,TN223
Petetion court: February 23, 1839, Inheiritance Newbern McAdow-Wilson,TN224
Sold land: February 06, 1840, Tract at Smith's Fork,Wilson,TN to Joseph Bogle225
Tombstone: Consort(i.e. wife who dies before) J.M.Alexander226
More About JOHN ALEXANDER and JULIA ORRAND:
Marriage: October 13, 1836, ,Wilson,TN227
More About HARDENIA SPENCER DRENNAN:
Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX228
Inheiritance: May 21, 1842, 110 ac-25th Dist,Wilson,TN (dower)229
Inheritance: 1835, 1 negro girl Harriet,featherbed,furniture,$75230
Widowhood: 1900, Daughter Mary's family231
More About JOHN ALEXANDER and HARDENIA DRENNAN:
Justice of Peace: August 29, 1843, A.C. King232
Marriage: August 29, 1843, Statesville,Wilson,TN233,234,235,236
Child of JOHN ALEXANDER and JULIA ORRAND is:
| i. | GEORGE SMITH9 ALEXANDER237,238,239, b. August 03, 1837, Statesville,Wilson,TN240,241,242,243; d. January 08, 1913, Austin,Travis,TX244; m. (1) NANCY; b. 1830, TN245; d. Bef. 1891, TX; m. (2) FANNIE COOPER246, 1891, ,Bastrop,TX247; b. August 1844, TN248; d. Bet. 1900 - 1913, (,Bastrop,TX). |
| More About GEORGE SMITH ALEXANDER: Burial: January 09, 1913, Texas State Cemetary,Austin,Travis,TX249 Cause of Death: Chronic interstitial nephritis250 Enlisted: May 11, 1861, Nashville,TN (but residence prob Wilson Co, TN)251 Moved: 1853, ,Wilson,TN to ,Bastrop,TX251 Mustered in: September 19, 1861, Second lieutenant,Co. E,1st(McNairy's) TN Cav251 Occupation: Merchant,farming251 Religion: Cumberland presbyterian251 Residence: Bet. 1910 - 1913, Confederate home,Austin,TX-General debility251 Surrendered: May 11, 1865, Macon,GA251 Transferred: October 25, 1862, Co.D,4th(8th) TN Cav,Confederate army252 |
| More About GEORGE ALEXANDER and FANNIE COOPER: Marriage: 1891, ,Bastrop,TX253 |
Children of JOHN ALEXANDER and HARDENIA DRENNAN are:
| ii. | ABNER9 ALEXANDER254,255,256, b. September 14, 1844, Statesville,Wilson,TN257,258; d. December 19, 1863, Hospital at San Antonio,Bexar,TX259,260. | ||
| iii. | MARGARET JANE ALEXANDER261,262,263, b. March 13, 1846, Statesville,Wilson,TN264,265,266,267; d. July 23, 1917, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX268,269,270; m. WILLIAM S. GLASS271, January 11, 1866, ,Bastrop,TX272,273; b. January 25, 1839, TN274,275; d. September 03, 1916, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX276,277. |
| More About WILLIAM S. GLASS: Mules stolen: January 03, 1874278 Occupation: 1900, Farmer279 Residence: January 03, 1874, 8mi west Bastrop280 Soldier: TX Pvt. Victoria Co. Cavalry,Confederate281,282 |
| More About WILLIAM GLASS and MARGARET ALEXANDER: Marriage: January 11, 1866, ,Bastrop,TX283,284 |
| iv. | HENRY HARRISON ALEXANDER285,286,287,288, b. April 09, 1848, Statesville,Wilson,TN289,290; d. September 22, 1885, ,Bastrop, TX291,292; m. HARRIET E. PARKERSON293,294,295, November 17, 1872, ,Bastrop,TX296; b. 1848, TX297; d. Aft. 1885298. |
| More About HENRY HARRISON ALEXANDER: Burial: Alexander-Eldridge Cemetery,Bastrop,TX299 Cause of Death: Cancer300 Democratic delegate: September 27, 1873, Precinct 3301 Occupation: 1910, County clerk,Bastrop Co.,elected302 |
| More About HENRY ALEXANDER and HARRIET PARKERSON: Marriage: November 17, 1872, ,Bastrop,TX303 |
| v. | MARY SHARP ALEXANDER304,305,306, b. April 18, 1850, Statesville,Wilson,TN307,308,309; d. March 30, 1939, Bastrop,Bastrop, TX310,311; m. (1) GEORGE W. MOORE312, September 15, 1867, ,Bastrop,TX312; m. (2) JAMES STEPHEN SPOONER313,314, October 01, 1873, ,Bastrop,TX315; b. February 02, 1845, LA316; d. May 26, 1920, ,Bastrop,TX316. |
| More About MARY SHARP ALEXANDER: Burial: Fairview Cemetary,Bastrop,Bastrop,TX316 Cause of Death: Acute cardiac failure,senility317 |
| More About GEORGE MOORE and MARY ALEXANDER: Marriage: September 15, 1867, ,Bastrop,TX318 |
| More About JAMES STEPHEN SPOONER: Burial: Fairview Cemetary,Bastrop,Bastrop,TX319 Discharged: November 02, 1864, CSA, 5thSgt., Co. B 5 Regt LA Inf320 Enlisted: May 10, 1861, New Orleans,LA320 Occupation: 1900, Farmer321 Residence: Abt. 1864, Athens,GA and New Orleans,LA322 Soldier: CSA, Sgt. Co. B 5 Regt LA Inf323 Wounded: May 12, 1864, Metatarsal bone right hand324 |
| More About JAMES SPOONER and MARY ALEXANDER: Marriage: October 01, 1873, ,Bastrop,TX324 |
| vi. | JOSEPH DRENNAN ALEXANDER325,326, b. October 04, 1851, Statesville,Wilson,TN327,328; d. January 04, 1934, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX329,330; m. (1) MARY E. SLATEN331,332, March 06, 1878, ,Bastrop,TX332; b. January 28, 1857, Walnut Creek,Bastrop,TX333; d. March 23, 1909, Temple,Bell,TX333,334; m. (2) MARY ALICE CANON335, July 24, 1913, ,Bastrop,TX335; d. October 18, 1956335. |
| More About JOSEPH DRENNAN ALEXANDER: Boarder: 1880, Rachel Hemphill-60 y.o. black servant336 Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX337 Occupation: 1900, Blacksmith338 Officer: January 24, 1902, Cedar Creek Woodmen339 |
| More About MARY E. SLATEN: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX340 Cause of Death: Operation for cancer341 |
| More About JOSEPH ALEXANDER and MARY SLATEN: Marriage: March 06, 1878, ,Bastrop,TX342 |
| More About JOSEPH ALEXANDER and MARY CANON: Marriage: July 24, 1913, ,Bastrop,TX343 |
| vii. | JOHN MCKNITT ALEXANDER JR.344,345, b. March 14, 1853, Statesville,Wilson,TN346,347; d. August 29, 1901, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX348,349,350; m. DORCAS JOSEPHINE ALEXANDER351,352,353, June 08, 1876, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX354,355; b. May 01, 1856, Moscow,Polk,TX356,357; d. January 13, 1946, Dallas,Dallas,TX358,359,360. |
| More About JOHN MCKNITT ALEXANDER JR.: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX360 Democratic delegate: 1906, Cedar Creek Precinct,Bastrop Co.361 Occupation: 1900, Farmer362 |
| More About DORCAS JOSEPHINE ALEXANDER: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX363 |
| More About JOHN JR. and DORCAS ALEXANDER: Marriage: June 08, 1876, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX364,365 |
| viii. | THOMAS CUTCHER ALEXANDER366,367, b. February 11, 1856, Cedar Creek,Bastrop, TX368; d. November 07, 1913, Bastrop,Bastrop,TX368,369,370; m. EMILY DRUCILLA ALEXANDER371,372, December 03, 1879, ,Bastrop,TX372; b. February 03, 1862, ,Bastrop,TX373; d. August 20, 1942, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX374. |
| More About THOMAS CUTCHER ALEXANDER: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX375 Officer: January 24, 1902, Cedar Creek Woodmen376 Visit to Bastrop: September 01, 1913, "Looking better" personal section local paper376 |
| More About EMILY DRUCILLA ALEXANDER: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX377 |
| More About THOMAS ALEXANDER and EMILY ALEXANDER: Marriage: December 03, 1879, ,Bastrop,TX378 |
| ix. | LAWSON WHITE ALEXANDER379,380,381, b. November 02, 1857, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX382; d. October 12, 1933, Rocksprings,Edwards,TX383; m. HETTIE LEE SLATEN383,384, December 31, 1879, Walnut Creek, Bastrop, TX385,386,387; b. April 23, 1863, Walnut Creek,Bastrop,TX388; d. March 13, 1948, Rocksprings,Edwards,TX388. |
| Notes for LAWSON WHITE ALEXANDER: Lawson White Alexander ("Loss") was born November 2, 1857 on his father's 153 acre ranch in the Cedar Creek area of Bastrop County, Texas.His father had been a physician in Tennessee, but was primarily a rancher in Texas.The ranch was fronted by the main road between the county seat of Bastrop and San Antonio, and they got their water from Cedar Creek, a tributary of the Colorado River, which was one of their property boundaries.He had one half-brother from his father's first marriage, as well as six brothers and four sisters-with four siblings younger than him.His family had 8 black slaves (two manumitted), who lived in a separate building at the ranch. When he was 4 years old, the Civil War began, and his father remained on the Bastrop County ranch.His oldest brother Abner (age 19) died in December 1863 in nearby San Antonio.There were no battles fought in Bastrop County during the war, but most of the eligible men in his neighborhood fought in various Confederate Texas units.After the Civil War ended, without slaves, he helped his father around the farm, who was sixty years old by then. At age 22, he married neighbor Hettie (called "Lee" after her middle name) Slaton- age 16- on December 31, 1879.The marriage occured at the bride's parent's home, and the couple set up residence close by.His brother Joe had married his wife's sister Mary the previous year, and his sister Laura married his wife's brother Marion four months later.He and his wife were farmers and raised livestock, and in the next 15 years they had six children- the first four delivered by Loss' father before his death at age 83.The children were: Ladye Ogden ("Big Auntie")bornNov1, 1880 Clabe (a son)bornFeb 10, 1883 Elizabeth Ann ("Auntie")bornSep 21, 1886 Gladys Lorraine ("Desa")bornDec 11 1887 Wylie ElmobornJul24, 1891 Mary Slaten ("Manie")bornJan 21, 1894 They lost Clabe at four years of age, and he was buried at Cedar Creek Cemetary- where Loss' and Lee's parents, siblings, and extended family would also be buried.A photo of Loss from this time frame shows him with his brother Joseph Alexander and brother-in-law Marion Slaton (Alexander/Slaton double brothers-in-law).A photo of Loss' parents and first child Ladye Alexander at ~age 2 have survived as well. After being on his stock farm for 15 years, Loss' pulmonary health deteriorated, and his doctor recommended a change to a higher climate.In the summer of 1894 some friends were driving a herd of cattle 200 miles east to Edwards county, TX (probably to Hettie Lee Alexander's cousin Amos "Bud" Yost's ranch), and Loss was invited to go with them to help out and view the country.After a few weeks, his health was so improved that in the fall he returned to Walnut Creek in Bastrop County, sold his farm, and moved his family to Bud Yost's ranch 3 miles above Vance, Edwards County, TX on Bullhead Road.Here he worked as a ranch hand, then working for John and Millard Parkerson on the river below Vance.Lee made extra money as a seamstress for the community, sewing wedding dresses, etc.The family stayed here a year or two, and the children attented school in Barksdale.Here their last child was born: Lois ("Nanoo")bornNov 27, 1896 A neighbor at this time was "Grandma Cromeans", an old country lay doctor, who ministered to sick people all over the county.Loss went to get her in the middle of the night to act as midwife, which she did- smoking her pipe until the baby was born. Loss' nephew Abner Alexander (his brother Henry's son) came to Edwards County from Bastrop County, and was also a ranch hand for the Parkersons at Vance.Loss' neice Drennan Alexander (his brother Joe's daughter) came to Edwards County to teach school at Vance.Loss' oldest daughter Ladye finished up school with one term at Barksdale, took summer classes to get her teaching certificate, and began teaching school too-beginning in 1897 with two years at Dry Creek (between Vance and Barksdale), and then two years at Barksdale.Ladye was the teacher for her 5 younger siblings, and a photo from the 1900 class in Barksdale shows this. By the 1900 census, Loss was listed as a stock raiser, Lee as a dressmaker, Ladye was a schoolteacher, and the rest of the children were students. In 1901, 21-year-old Ladye married 24-year-old John Robert Sweeten (a son of the founder of the nearby town of Rocksprings), and she stopped teaching.In 1903 the Loss Alexander family moved to the Rocksprings area, and in 1905 the second-oldest daughter- 19-year-old Elizabeth- married 49-year-old neighbor Wylie Anderson (who had 9 children and seems to have divorced his first wife).Wylie Anderson raised Angora goats, and at one time owned 36 sections of land in Edwards County.Next to marry was the third daughter- 20-year-old Gladys, who married 20-year-old Max George Bogusch (a jeweler) around 1909.Around this time John and Ladye Sweeten had their corn crop ruined by rain, chickens drowned, and cow and pig washed away by the river.They left for California with their 4-year-old daughter, where John found work there and in Oregon as a railroad construction section foreman. In the 1910 census of Edwards County, Texas, Lawson Alexander is listed again as a stock raiser with wife Lee and the 3 youngest children still at home- Wylie, Mary and Lois.He has four Mexican laborer boarders, and his brother Joseph Alexander's boy- Norman Slaton Alexander, age 22- is staying with them too, and sometime later Norman's brother Joseph Rogers Alexander joined them as well.In 1912 or so Loss moved his family to Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon where Ladye's husband John Sweeen had found good work.The trip was by automobile over poor roads, with innumerible flat tires, and photos survive of the trip where the family posed by old growth forest in the Cascade Mountains.The family lived in a NW Portland residential neighborhood at 735 Quimby (now NW 22nd and Quimby- a warehouse/industrial area), one block from the Davis public School where the youngest children attended.Oregon Casket Company was one block away.Loss was listed as a laborer in the 1912 Portland directory, and son Wylie (age 21) was listed as a fireman, although Wylie, Norman and Roger Alexander worked for a Portland construction company too. When World War I halted railroad construction, unions were striking in Portland, and good work became increasingly hard to find.The rainy Portland weather also didn't agree with them, and so about 1914 Lawson moved his family (including the Sweetens) back to Texas- San Antonio in Bexar County.Wylie got a job there delivering ice to customers on a horse-drawn wagon, and when he visited friends back in Edwards County he ran into his sister Elizabeth's step-daughter Effie Anderson (one of Wylie Anderson's daughters from his first marriage), who he remembered from his childood when he used to herd their goats.They married in Edwards County in September 1915 when Wylie was 24 and Effie was 28.Loss' youngest daughter Lois married Floyd Durward Pledger in 1916 in San Antonio when she was 19 and he was 26.Last to leave home was Mary who married German-American pipe-fitter Fritz Stolte in San Antonio in 1917 when she was 23 and he was 25. The 1920 federal census of Edwards County, Texas shows 61-year-old Loss and 57-year-old Lee staying at the ranch of their married daughter and husband Elizabeth and Wylie Anderson.Elizabeth's second husband-to-be, Walter Welch, is in the household too as a hired man, and they would wed five years later when Elizabeth divorced her first husband.At the time of her second marriage Elizabeth was 39, and Walter was 25.Wylie and Effie Alexander lived next door. Loss and Lee moved into the town of Rocksprings where Loss got employment as a city marshall.He carried a Colt revolver at his side which he obtained from a prisoner, and rode his roan horse each morning through Rocksprings to make sure no stray stock was loose in the city limits.Lee ran a dress-making business from her home, and was widely known for her sugar cookies that Loss passed out to friends in the town square.They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary December 31, 1929 at their daughter Elizabeth Welch's ranch with son Wylie, daughter Mary, and daughter Lois present with their families and friends.Their daughter Ladye's family arrived the next day from Ruidosa, New Mexico and stayed in Edwards County from then on.The 1930 federal census of Rocksprings shows 72-year-old city marshall Lawson W. Alexander with 66-year-old seamstress wife H. Lee Alexander.Their neighbors were a medical doctor, a deputy sheriff, lawyers, a postmaster, and warehouse managers. Family tradition states that by the end of his life, Loss was down to only two teeth.Photos from this time show a cheerful, toothless, bowlegged man surrounded by family and dogs- butchering a hog, riding his horse, and playing with children.Loss died Columbus Day October 12, 1933 at age 75 after a long illness, just a little after the birth of his first great grandchild.His obituary said that no man in the community had more friends than "Uncle Loss", that he was a lover of children and flowers (he planted roses at the courthouse), and that "little tots and grown-ups alike basked in the smiles of this old gentleman".He was buried in Rocksprings Cemetary. Ladye Sweeten took care of her mother after that, and photos of "Ma Zander" show her with children and grandchildren.Lee's 1942 War Ration Book gives her height as 5 feet 6 inches, weight at 135 pounds, with grey eyes and grey hair at age 79.Lee died at her home in Rocksprings at age 84 from a lingering illness on March 13, 1948.She was buried next to her husband at Rocksprings Cemetery, where her children Ladye Sweeten, Elizabeth Welch, and Wylie Alexander would join her later. |
| More About LAWSON WHITE ALEXANDER: Boarder: 1910, Nephew Norman Alexander, son sister Mary389 Burial: Rocksprings Cemetary,Rocksprings,Edwards,TX390 Location: 1912, 735 Quimby Portland,OR391 Medical problem: TB392 Moved: 1903, Barksdale to Rocksprings,Edwards,TX393 Occupation: 1900, Stock raiser394 Residence: 1910, Rocksprings,Edwards,Tx395 |
| More About HETTIE LEE SLATEN: Burial: Rocksprings Cemetary,Rocksprings,Edwards,TX396 Occupation: 1900, Dressmaker397 |
| More About LAWSON ALEXANDER and HETTIE SLATEN: Marriage: December 31, 1879, Walnut Creek, Bastrop, TX398,399,400 |
| x. | MARK LEE ALEXANDER401, b. September 24, 1860, Cedar Creek,Bastrop, TX401; d. March 19, 1940, Bastrop,Bastrop,TX401,402; m. AMANDA LEACH403, July 15, 1884, ,Bastrop,TX404,405,406; b. July 1863, TN407,408; d. 1950, Bastrop,Bastrop,TX409. |
| More About MARK LEE ALEXANDER: Burial: Fairview Cemetary,Bastrop,Bastrop, TX410,411 Occupation: 1900, Farmer412 |
| More About AMANDA LEACH: Burial: Fairview Cemetary,Bastrop,Bastrop, TX413 |
| More About MARK ALEXANDER and AMANDA LEACH: Marriage: July 15, 1884, ,Bastrop,TX414,415,416 |
| xi. | LAURA VIRGINIA ALEXANDER417, b. August 08, 1862, Cedar Creek,Bastrop, TX417; d. August 05, 1930, ,Brown,TX417,418; m. MARION M. SLATEN419,420,420,421,422, April 13, 1880, ,Bastrop,TX422,423; b. July 1854, Walnut Creek,Bastrop, TX424,425,426,427; d. October 02, 1925, ,Runnels,TX428. |
| More About LAURA VIRGINIA ALEXANDER: First Child: Marion Slaton not the father429 |
| More About MARION M. SLATEN: Boarder: 1910, Nephew-Frank Alexander430 Occupation: 1910, Proprietor cotton gin430 Purchased land: January 16, 1888, 150 1/2 ac-,Bastrop,TX (Vol 11 p 517)431 Residence: 1900, ,Caldwell,TX432 |
| More About MARION SLATEN and LAURA ALEXANDER: Marriage: April 13, 1880, ,Bastrop,TX433,434 |
| xii. | ABBIE ALEXANDER435, b. June 26, 1866, Cedar Creek,Bastrop,TX435; d. September 30, 1919, Wattersan, Bastrop,TX435; m. JOHN MCCOY ALEXANDER435, September 20, 1882, ,Bastrop,TX436; b. March 20, 1859, Coldspring,Polk,TX437; d. January 23, 1940, Cedar Creek, Bastrop,TX438. |
| More About ABBIE ALEXANDER: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX439 |
| More About JOHN MCCOY ALEXANDER: Burial: Cedar Creek Lower Cemetery,Bastrop,TX439 Occupation: December 01, 1888, Proprietor cotton gin439 |
| More About JOHN ALEXANDER and ABBIE ALEXANDER: Marriage: September 20, 1882, ,Bastrop,TX440 |