James Alexander Sr. (1749 - 1835)

Born 18 Apr 1749 in Chester, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 6 Dec 1835 at age 86 in Loray, Iredell, North Carolina, United States

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Biography

Private James Alexander Sr. served with Pennsylvania Militia during the American Revolution.

James Alexander Sr. is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A001181.

James Alexander was born in on Apr 18,1749 in Chester County, Pennsylvania. He died on Dec 6, 1835 in Loray, Iredell County, North Carolina.^[1]

Daughters of the American Revolution information:

• ALEXANDER, JAMES
• Ancestor #: A001181
• Service: PENNSYLVANIA - NORTH CAROLINA
• Rank(s): PRIVATE
• Birth: 4-8-1749 CHESTER CO PENNSYLVANIA
• Death: 12-6-1835 IREDELL CO NORTH CAROLINA
• Pension Number: *S8014
• Service Source: *S8014; BLWT #8893, 29 JUN 1789
• Service Description: 1) CAPT SAMUEL EVANS, PA, CAPTS STEVENSON, JOHN ALEXANDER, COL HUGH BREVARD, NC
• RESIDENCE: Created: 2002-03-27 23:23:55.3, Updated: , By: Conversion 1) County: CHESTER CO - State: PENNSYLVANIA, Created: 2002-03-27 23:23:55.3, Updated: 2017-02-22 13:57:33.0, By: 1451046 2) County: ROWAN CO - State: NORTH CAROLINA
• SPOUSE: ELIZABETH SANBORN, Created: 2002-03-27 23:17:13.16, Updated: 2022-05-20 12:03:44.823, By: 1)
• Child son: REUBEN ALEXANDER, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] JEAN ALLEN WILSON
• Child daughter: EASTER SHARPE ALEXANDER, [Spouse #] Spouse: [1] THOMAS MORRISON

Brother: John Alexander

James Alexander is mentioned by Homer Keever as the "entry taker" for the first court of Iredell County in 1789. His son, James F. Alexander was clerk of the court in 1830.^[2]

An Elizabeth is mentioned in the Estate Files as relinquishing Executor duties. This was probably his wife, Elizabeth (Ross) Alexander

Spouse: Elizabeth (Ross) Alexander (1753-1836)

Children:

1. James F. Alexander, Jr.
2. Nancy Ross (Alexander) Morrison (1780-1869), married William Morrison (1786-1878)
3. Elizabeth Sharpe (Alexander) Morrison (1789-1848), married Thomas H. Morrison (1789-1871)

Military Service

He served as a private in the Virginia Militia during the Revolutionary War. Revolutionary War Rolls for Iredell County lists his age as 85 in 1834.^[3] He also was paid for services to the North Carolina Militia, Salisbury District Brigade after he moved to North Carolina.^[4]

State of North Carolina Iredell County^[5]

On this 6th day of September 1832 personally appeared before me James Campbell a justice of the peace in and for the County and state aforesaid James Alexander aged 83 years and who I certify is unable to attend at the Court of said County and who being first sworn according to Law doth make the following declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the act of Congress of the 7th of June 1832. That he entered the service of the United States under the following named officers and served as is herein stated.

That there was a call for the militia in Chester County Pennsylvania in the year 1776 and he joined the army under Capt. Samuel Evans, Lieut Col. Evans in Gen Heffler’s [Thomas Mifflin’s?] division, that he served three months and was in the Battle at Trenton Jan’y. 1777 [sic: 26 Dec 1776] and was discharged.

He removed to North Carolina in 1778 and volunteered his services under Capt. [James] Stevenson and marched to Deep river in pursuit of Fannon [sic: David Fanning] and the Tories. This was a tour of several weeks. He was also in a tour to broad River Hugh Brevard was the Colonel.

This tour was also for several weeks that he again under Colonel Brevard was in the service of the Country and was by him stationed as one of a guard at the Buffaloe Shoal ford on the Catawba and continued there several weeks. That at the time of the Battle of Ramsours Bridge [sic: Ramseur’s Mill, 20 Jun 1780] he was in service under Col. Brevard and was in that engagement his brother John Alexander acted as Captain on that occasion & under him the affiant fought.

That under the same Colonel he served another tour in the upper part of Iredell (then Rowan) and Burke Counties.

That he honestly & conscientiously believes that he was nine months or more engaged in the active service of the Country during the Revolution ary War.

That he was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1749. He has a record of his age in his Bible now in his possession. He was living in Pennsylvania when first he entered the service & has lived ever since the Revolution (except about one year in Lincoln) in what is now Iredell County. Cannot name any of the officers of the Regular Army. He received one discharge and it was burned in house. Refers to Joseph Sharpe & William Falls & James M . Morrison. He has no documentary evidence & knows of no person whose testimony he can procure to testify of his services except the subjoined

And I hereby relinquish every claim to a pension or annuity except the present, and do declare that my name is not on the pension Roll of the agency of any state. State of North Carolina} Iredell County }

On this 6th day of June 1833 personally came James Alexander before me the subscribing Justice of the peace in and for said County and being duly sworn doth on his oath make the following additional declaration in order to obtain the benefit of the provision made by the Act of Congress passed the 7th day of June 1832 That by reason of old age and consequent loss of memory he cannot swear precisely as to the length of his service but to the best of his recollection he served not less than the periods mentioned below and in the following grades.

That his first tour in the year 1776 & 1777 he was a private in the foot and served as stated in his declaration 3 months

That his 2nd service was in the year 1779 under Capt. Stevens on he was a private in the horse and served as stated in his declaration 1 3 weeks

That his 3rd tour to the Cherokee ford on Broad River was also in 1779 in the horse 2 00 months.

That his 4th tour when he guarded the Catawba he was in the foot. This tour was after the battle at Ramsours in the beginning of the year 1781 when Cornwallis with the British army was in pursuit of [Gen Daniel] Morgan he was a private.

That his 5th tour performed before the one last mentioned was at the time of the battle at Ramsours mill, he was a private on foot 2 months.

That his last tour was in the latter part of the year 1781. He was in the horse a private and for such service I claim a pension the tours here mentioned as 4 & 5 ought to be transposed but are here preserved in the same order as in the original declaration.

On FamilySearch.org 6 sources of information for: Name • • James Alexander • • Sex • • Male Birth • • 18 April 1749 Paxtang, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States Christening Death • • 6 December 1835 Iredell, North Carolina, United States Burial • • 1835 Statesville, Iredell County, North Carolina, USA

Other Information:

Alternate Name • Birth Name James Alexander Last Changed: February 27, 2018

Alternate Name • Birth Name James Alexander ;[Captain] Last Changed: February 27, 2018

Military Service • 04 Mar 1832 North Carolina, United States Last Changed: April 29, 2019

Y DNA, Origins, and Deeper Ancestry

As of July 2020, there has been at least one descendant of James Alexander who has taken the FTDNA Y-DNA test, resulting in terminal haplogroup FT229475. By testing to this haplogroup, this indicates this line is downstream from BY3368. This particular haplogroup has a number of advance-tested individuals (Big Y tests), which makes the connection to SW Scotland, as early as the 12th century. For additional information, please see the BY3368 and Subclades Y DNA Project.

Sources

• https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A001181
• https://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/?action=full&p_id=A001182
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/LRQ6-KF4

1. ↑ #C1790, #C1800, #C1810, #C1820, #Estate, #DAR, #FG
2. ↑ #Keever p 96, 98
3. ↑ #Roll
4. ↑ #DAR, #Pension
5. ↑ #Pension

• Find A Grave: Memorial #55580508 retrieved Jan 5, 1018
• "United States Census, 1790," database with images, FamilySearch (Link: accessed 13 October 2017), James Alexander, Iredell, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 390, NARA microfilm publication M637, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 7; FHL microfilm 568,147.
• "United States Census, 1800," database with images, FamilySearch (Link: accessed 13 October 2017), James Alexander, Salisbury, Iredell, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 643, NARA microfilm publication M32, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 29; FHL microfilm 337,905.
• "United States Census, 1810," database with images, FamilySearch (Link: accessed 13 October 2017), James Alexander, Iredell, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 160, NARA microfilm publication M252 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 40; FHL microfilm 337,913.
• "United States Census, 1820," database with images, FamilySearch (Link: accessed 13 October 2017), James Alexander, Iredell, North Carolina, United States; citing p. 238, NARA microfilm publication M33, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 80; FHL microfilm 162,796.
• "North Carolina Estate Files, 1663-1979," database with images, FamilySearch (Link: 21 November 2016), James Alexander, 1836; citing Iredell, North Carolina, United States, State Archives, Raleigh; FHL microfilm.
• Lost Souls Project, by Diane Siniard, Pension rolls containing the names of the North Carolina soldiers that fought in the Revolutionary War,Iredell County, compiled from Pension Applications and DAR resources
• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed Dec 1, 2017), "Record of James Alexander", Ancestor # A001181., lived in Mecklenburg County, died in Iredell County
• Iredell Piedmont County, by Homer M. Keever, with illustrations by Louise Gilbert and maps by Mildred Jenkins Miller, published for the Iredell County Bicentennial Commission by Brady Printing Company from type set by the Statesville Record and Landmark, copyright, November 1976, by Homer M. Keever. See Iredell, Piedmont County for more details.
• Revolutionary War Pension Application for S8014, James Alexander
• See also Space:Iredell County Revolutionary Soldiers for a comprehensive list of Iredell Revolutionary War Veterans.

• Find-a-grave #55580508

Acknowledgements

• WikiTree profile Alexander-1127 created through the import of HAYER.GED on May 29, 2011 by Larry Hayer.