Genealogy by Martha

Cross - Love - Culpepper - Herron - Mordecai - Shelby - Cobb

Capt. Charles Alexander

Male Abt 1730 - Aft 1801  (~ 72 years)


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  • Name Charles Alexander 
    Prefix Capt. 
    Born Abt 1730  Princess Ann, Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Male 
    Possessions 1765  On Sugaw Creek in Providence, Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    he obtained a tract of land from George Augustus Selwyn in 1765. 
    Will 28 Jan 1801  Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died Aft 1801  Mecklenburg Co., NC Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Person ID I1285  MyTree
    Last Modified 18 Jun 2011 

    Father William Alexander,   b. Abt 1705, Cecil Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 22 Mar 1772, Mecklenburg Co, NC Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 67 years) 
    Mother Agnes Alexander,   b. Abt 1705, Wicomico Hd., Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Yes, date unknown 
    Married Bef 1728  Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Family ID F5022  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Jane (Jean) LNU (Alexander) 
    Children 
     1. Adam Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MC Find all individuals with events at this location
     2. Charles Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location
     3. George Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location
     4. Abdon Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location
     5. Margaret Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location
     6. Cassandra Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location
     7. Jane Alexander,   b. Somerset Co., MD Find all individuals with events at this location
    Last Modified 17 Jul 2017 
    Family ID F5539  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  • Notes 
    • Charles Alexander (b. between 1730 - 1735? d. circa 1802)
      Charles Alexander was one of the original signers of the Meckenburg Declaration of Independence.
      History has not recorded a well rounded life of Captain Charles Alexander perhaps due to the shadow cast by his more noted brother, Adam, but it is recorded he was just as staunch a citizen of his adopted county as he was a patriot. It is believed he was born between 1730-35 in Somerset County, Maryland. It is not known when Charles migrated to Mecklenburg County, but we do know that his son, Charles, was born in Mecklenburg in 1775.
      Evidently Charles led an industrious, uneventful life, as no records are found that connect him with church or political activities, and yet he was evidently a man of integrity and substance, for he was frequently appointed by the Court as bondsman and appraiser of land. Captain Charles Alexander was a staunch patriot and fought in several battles in North and South Carolina during the Revolutionary War. Being a Captain of one of the militia companies, Charles Alexander was a delegate to the Mecklenburg Convention on May 19, 1775.

      Captain Charles Alexander was a son of William and Agnes Alexander, grandson of Elias and Sophia Alexander, and great-grandson of Joseph Alexander, of Cecil County, Maryland. He was a brother of Colonel Adam Alexander and, like him, was probably born in Somerset County, Maryland. It has been said that he removed to Tennessee after the Revolutionary War, but there are many evidences that he continued to reside in Mecklenburg County and died there, though the exact date of his death and place of his burial are unknown.
      He came to Mecklenburg County at an early date and we find that he obtained a tract of land from George Augustus Selwyn in 1765. This land was on Sugaw Creek, in the Providence section of the county and not far from the Union County line. To his original grant he later added several other tracts of land until he owned an extensive acreage and was a man of affluence.
      Charles Alexander was a Signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and thereafter was active as a soldier throughout the war.
      He served in the "Snow Campaign" under Colonels Polk and Alexander (Adam), and was a member of Captain Charles Polk's Company of Light Horse in the Cherokee Indian Campaign. As a Captain he was in the "Raft Swamp" expedition with Colonel Charles Polk's Dragoons. He served until 1781 and was a militiaman until 1785.
      He had a son Charles, who was also a soldier in the Revolutionary War -- father and son at times serving in the same company. To this son Charles, he deeded land on the west side of Sugaw Creek on December 4, 1800. It is this writer's opinion that it was this Charles who removed to Giles County, Tennessee, in 1814, who stated that he was born on the 4th day of January, 1755, and who died in 1834, though of this there seems to be no documentary proof.

      There has been a difference of opinion as to which of the Wills of Charles Alexander is that of "Charles, the Signer." However, it seems logical to suppose that the Will of Charles Alexander, filed in Mecklenburg County (Book A, page 43), dated January 28, 1801, and witnessed by Augustus and Paris Alexander (sons of Ezra and cousins of Charles) is that of Charles, the Signer of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. In this will he names his wife, Jean, and children: 1. Adam; 2. Charles; 3. George; 4. Abdon; 5. Peggy (Margaret); 6. Cassandra, m. 1/1/1803, James Houston; 7. Jane.

      Thus we see that the six Alexanders who signed the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence were probably all descended from the immigrant, Joseph Alexander, of Cecil County, Maryland: Hezekiah and John McKnitt being sons of James (Joseph); Colonel Abraham and Ezra, sons of Sophia (Joseph); and Colonel Adam and Captain Charles, sons of William (Sophia, Joseph). Many descendants of these six patriots are prominent citizens of Mecklenburg County at this time and many others have made their contributions to the religious, political, and economic life of the nation which their forefathers helped to establish.