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Abraham Alexander, Sr.

Male 1717 - 1786  (68 years)


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  • Name Abraham Alexander 
    Suffix Sr. 
    Born 9 Dec 1717  New Munster, Cecil Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Died 23 Apr 1786  Mecklenburg Co, NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Buried Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1219  MyTree
    Last Modified 21 Jun 2011 

    Father Elias Elijah Alexander, Sr.,   b. 26 Feb 1679, Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 1749, Slate Hill, Cecil Co., MD. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age > 71 years) 
    Mother Sophia Alexander,   b. 26 Feb 1680, Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Aft 13 Dec 1726, Slate Hill, Cecil Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age > 46 years) 
    Married Abt 1700  Slate Hill, Cecil Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F5024  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Dorcus Amelia Wilson,   b. 14 May 1734, Cecil Co, MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 28 May 1800, Mecklenburg Co., N.C. Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 66 years) 
    Married 1749  Cecil Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Notes 

    • U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
      Name: Isaac Alexander
      Gender: Male
      Birth Place: MD
      Birth Year: 1749
      Spouse Name: Sarah Thornton
      Spouse Birth Place: NY
      Spouse Birth Year: 1807 (?)
      Marriage Year: 1807
      Marriage State: CA
      Number Pages: 1


      U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
      about Isaac Alexander
      Name: Isaac Alexander
      Gender: Male
      Birth Place: MD
      Birth Year: 1749
      Spouse Name: Margaret B. Smith
      Spouse Birth Year: 1788 (inaccurate) ?
      Marriage Year: 1788
      Number Pages: 1

      1790 United States Federal Census
      about Isaac Alexander
      Name: Isaac Alexander
      County: Mecklenburg
      State: North Carolina
      Number of All Other Free Persons: 1
      Number of Household Members: 1

      U.S. and International Marriage Records, 1560-1900
      Name: Isaac Alexander
      Gender: Male
      Birth Place: MD
      Birth Year: 1749
      Spouse Name: Margaret B. Brisbane
      Spouse Birth Place: NC
      Spouse Birth Year: 1757
      Marriage Year: 1770
      Number Pages: 1
    Children 
     1. Dr. Isaac Alexander,   b. 10 Feb 1750, Cecil Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 13 Jan 1812, Camden, Kershaw Co., SC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 61 years)
    +2. Elizabeth Alexander,   b. 19 Feb 1754, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 29 Nov 1796, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 42 years)
     3. Abraham Alexander, Jr.,   b. 6 Mar 1762, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 11 Mar 1829, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 67 years)
     4. Marcus Alexander,   b. 6 Jun 1766, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 23 Oct 1795, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 29 years)
     5. Nathaniel Alexander,   b. 3 Jul 1767, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 5 Feb 1808, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 40 years)
     6. Joab Alexander,   b. 9 Feb 1769, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 21 Mar 1828, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 59 years)
     7. Ezra Alexander,   b. 3 Dec 1772, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 12 Jan 1791, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 18 years)
     8. Cyrus Alexander,   b. 9 Jan 1779, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 24 May 1799, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 20 years)
    Last Modified 17 Jul 2017 
    Family ID F4367  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 

    • From: Lives and Times of the 27 Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence May 20, 1775, by, Victor C. King Charlotte, NC, 1956)
      Abraham Alexander 9 Dec 1717 - 23 Apr 1786):
      Abraham Alexander was one of the original signers of the Meckenburg Declaration of Independence.
      The Alexander family is one of the most prolific of any in Mecklenburg County. Abraham descends from Scotch-Irish immigrants who came from Ulster to America. He was born in Maryland, the child of Elias and Sophia Alexander. Working as a cooper, he married and moved to a more frontier area known as Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
      Many moving to the area did not realize that Lord Augustus Selwyn already owned most of the land. Many sheriffs were asked to come and obtain deeds and money from these settlers, but bodily threat and harm was promised. Alexander felt that the land should be surveyed and deeded, but the settlers turned on him also. Although he later purchased lots of land in Mecklenburg, his home site was at the present site of the Charlotte Country Club. His real estate ventures helped him acquire a nice fortune, plus he was related to many prominent and wealthy citizens. His age kept him from actively participating in the Revolutionary War, but he did serve on the county’s Committee of Safety.
      One of the rules that many local colonial settlers hated was that a minister of the established church must perform all marriages. Whenever Abraham Alexander reached the Assembly, he sponsored a bill permitting marriages performed by Presbyterian ministers. Governor Tryon signed the bill but it was never approved. Alexander also disapproved of the fact that locally raised grain was being shipped to England and wanted some controls in place. Alexander could also be considered one of the earliest environmentalists in the area. Aware of the importance of fish from the Catawba River as food, he sponsored a bill to protect this important resource.
      Abraham served as a trustee of Queen’s College and Liberty Hall. He was also a trustee for the establishment of Charlotte as the county seat. He died on 4/23/1786 and is buried at Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, where he served as elder and one of the founders of the church.

      From: Daughters of the American Revolution Magazine, Vol. 86, pp. 313-314:
      Abraham Alexander, son of Elias and Sophia Alexander, and grandson of Joseph Alexander, was born in Cecil County, Maryland, 9 Dec., 1718, and died in Mecklenburg County, N. C., 23 April, 1786. He married, Dorcas ---, who was born 14 March, 1734, and died 28 May, 1800. There is an unconfirmed tradition that Dorcas may have been a Wilson.
      It is probable that Abraham and Dorcas Alexander migrated to North Carolina with a group of relatives about the middle of the eighteenth century. He owned several large tracts of land, and established his home three miles northeast of Charlotte on Alexander's Mill Creek -- the present site of the Charlotte Country Club.
      He was a prominent and prosperous citizen of the County -- active in affairs of church and state. He was a Trustee of the Town of Charlotte and of Queen's Museum, which flourished for several years before it was granted a charter in 1777 under the name of Liberty Hall.
      Abraham Alexander was a Lieutenant-Colonel of Militia, a member of the Colonial Assembly in 1771, Chairman of the County Court, Chairman of the Committee of Safety in 1775, Chairman of the Convention of May 19 and 20, 1775, and a Signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, May 20, 1775. He was buried in the cemetery at Sugaw Creek Presbyterian Church, of which he was one of the founders and ruling elders. His will, dated 12 April, 1786, and filed in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, shows that he had the following children:
      1. Dr. Isaac, b. Feb. 1750; d. 1/13/1812, in Camden, S. C.; m. (1) --- ---; m. (2) 12/14/1788, Mrs. Margaret B. Smith; m. (3) 7/15/1807, Sarah Thornton; d. 12/9/1863.
      2. Elizabeth, b. 2/19/1755; m. William Sample Alexander; d. 10/20/1826, aged 70 years.
      3. Abraham, b. 3/6/1762; d. 3/11/1829; (1) m. 3/6/1787, Margaret Harris, b. 9/23/1763; d. 1/12/1806; (2) m. 3/5/1808, Jane McCorkle, b. 6/15/1773, d. 2/4/1834.
      4. Nathaniel, b. 7/3/1767; d. 2/5/1808; m. 5/24/1794, Jane Harris, b. 4/10/1770, d. 7/3/1842.
      5. Joab, b. 2/9/1769; d. 3/21/1828; m. Joannah Wallace, b. 1769, d. 4/3/1823.
      6. Ezra, b. 12/3/1772(?).
      7. Marcus, b. 6/6/1766; d. 10/23/1795.
      8. Cyrus, b. 1/9/1779; d. 5/24/1799; m. 3/20/1797, Rebecca Arthur.

      There seems to be no reason to doubt the fact that Abraham and Ezra Alexander, also Signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence, were sons of Elias and Sophia Alexander. This well established tradition is supported by family relationships, as suggested in the Maryland records. They were brothers also of Arthur Alexander, whose will was filed in Mecklenburg County in 1763.

      From: Sketches Of Western North Carolina, Historical And Biographical, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
      Abraham Alexander, the Chairman of the Mecklenburg Convention of the 19th and 20th of May, 1775, was born in 1718, and was an active and influential magistrate of the county before and after the Revolution, being generally the honored chairman of the Inferior Court. He was a member of the popular branch of the Assembly in 1774-'75, with Thomas Polk as an associate; also one of the fifteen trustees of Queen's Museum, which institution, in 1777, was transformed into Liberty Hall Academy.
      After the involuntary retreat of Josiah Martin, the royal Governor, in June, 1775, from the State, its government was vested in: 1. A Provincial Council for the whole province., 2. A District Committee of Safety for each county, of not less than twenty-one persons, to be elected annually by the people of each county. The members of the Provincial Council for the Salisbury district were Samuel Spencer and Waightstill Avery. The members of the District Committee of Safety were John Brevard, Griffith Rutherford, Hezekiah Alexander, James Auld, Benjamin Patton, John Crawford, William Hill, John Hamilton, Robert Ewart, Charles Galloway, William Dent, Maxwell Chambers.
      The county committee, elected annually by the people in each county, executed such orders as they received from the Provincial Council, and made such rules and regulations as the internal condition of each county demanded. They met once in three months at the Court-house of their respective counties, to consult on public measures, to correspond with other committees, to disseminate important information, and thus performed the duties and requirements of courts. The county committees exercised these important functions until justices of the peace were appointed by the Legislature and duly commissioned by the Governor.
      It was this committee which met in Charlotte on the 31st of May, 1775, and passed a series of rules and regulations for the internal government of the county--a necessary sequel, as previously stated, of the more important meeting of the 20th of May preceding. This statement is strongly corroborated by a communication published last summer in the "Charlotte Observer," by D.A. Caldwell, Esq., one of Mecklenburg's most aged, intelligent and worthy citizens. The portion of the communication most pertinent to our subject reads thus:
      "I was born and raised in the house of my maternal grandfather, Major John Davidson, who was one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration. I have often heard him speak of the 20th of May, 1775, as the day on which it was signed, and the 31st of the same month as the time of an adjourned meeting. The 20th of May was a household word in the family. Moreover, I was present (and am now the only surviving witness of the transaction) when he gave a certificate of the above dates to Dr. Joseph McKnitt Alexander, whose father, John McKnitt Alexander, was also a signer, and the principal secretary of the meeting. This certificate was called forth by the celebrated attempt of Thomas Jefferson to throw discredit on the whole affair. A certificate to the same effect was given on that occasion by Samuel Wilson, a brother-in-law of Major Davidson, and a man of undoubted integrity. Mr. Wilson, although not a signer, was present at the signing on the 20th of May. I often heard my grandfather allude to the date in later years, when he lived with his daughter, Mrs. William Lee Davidson, whose husband was the son of General Davidson, who fell at Cowan's Ford."
      Under the administration of Abraham Alexander as Chairman of the Committee of Safety, the laws passed by that body of vigilant observers of the common good were strictly enforced; and each citizen, when he left the county, was required to carry with him a certificate of his 'political standing', officially signed by the chairman.
      Abraham Alexander was a most worthy, exemplary and influential member of society; was, for many years, a Ruling Elder of the Presbyterian Church, and lies buried in the graveyard of Sugar Creek Church. On his gravestone is this brief record:
      Abraham Alexander, Died on the 22nd of April, 1786, Aged 68 years."
      'Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his'.
      (Source: Sketches Of Western North Carolina, Historical And Biographical, Mecklenburg County, North Carolina)

      Family Data Collection - Births
      Name: Abraham Alexander (Sr.)
      Father: Elias Elijah Alexander
      Mother: Sophiah Alexander
      Birth Date: 9 Dec 1717
      City: Cecil
      State: MD
      Country: USA

      Family Data Collection - Individual Records
      Name: Elias Alexander
      Parents: Abraham Col Alexander, Dorcas Amelia Wilson
      Birth Place: Co, Cecil, MD
      Birth Date: 1759
      Death Place: Mecklenburg, N, CO, C
      Death Date: 21 Sep 1812

      Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots
      Name: Abraham Alexander
      Cemetery: Sugar Creek Pres Ch Cem #2
      Location: Mecklenburg Co NC 49
      Reference: Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots, Vol.1, p. Serial: 11393; Volume: 3