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- Will of Mary Alexander, widow of Hezekiah Alexander,
dated 30 Sep 1803, Mecklenburg Co., NC.
Will book A, Page Publication
Text: Will names her sons Silas, Hezekiah, Joel, and Oswald; also, dau. Kesia, Esther, Polly (Mary, wife of Silas), and Patsey (wife of Hezekiah Jr.)
Her executors were Jaob Alexanddr and James Wilson.
Sources: The Complete Peerage - from Lee Parker, and
Wood Douglas' Peerage,Vol. I)
Men of Mark in Mecklenburg: from Reminiscences of the Past Sixty Years,
by Dr. John Brevard Alexander
Published in Charlotte, NC in 1908, this is pages 280-282 of an account by a descendant of Hezekiah Alexander's brother, John McKnitt Alexander. It may be the source of the story often repeated about Mary Alexander Polk's death, and the husband's offer to marry her sister, Keziah, and also of the story of Lord Cornwallis's men pouring out honey on the steps of the rock house. These stories were oral history which, fortunately for us, Dr. Alexander recorded in writing. They are a valuable record of early Mecklenburg history. I have taken the liberty of placing a few notes in parentheses, not to detract from Dr. Alexander's account, but to express my appreciation of the honor that he paid to my ancestor.
"About this time--in 1754, to be exact, the Alexanders moved here from Pennsylvania, or some came from Maryland, from Cecil county. Abraham Alexander, who was a kinsman of John McKnitt and his brother, Hezekiah Alexander, came about the same time. They had also one sister, Elizabeth, who came with them. She married James Sample, whether before leaving Maryland, or after arriving here, I never learned; but I am sure they left a worthy posterity, who are amongst the best citizens of our common country.
Hezekiah Alexander, more than probably brought his wife with him, but I have never learned her maiden name. [Hezekiah married Mary Sample in Pennsylvania.] They lived four miles east of where the city of Charlotte was founded; having built their home some eight years before the county or town was laid off. He was looked upon as one of the foremost men of the country; he was a justice of the peace of more than ordinary acumen. He was a leader in the Christian religion before any church was organized in this section of country. After Sugar Creek church was organized, he was elected a ruling elder, and was a shining light to lead the people away from the pitfalls of infidelity that were so common in that day, and continued so rampant to the end of the century.
cellar door of Hezekiah Alexander's rock house
It is a great pity that the people of that day were so careless about preserving individual history .We are wholly at a loss to know who was the wife of this truly great man. About five years ago I asked Mr. S. P. Alexander, a grandson of Hezekiah Alexander, who his grandmother was. He looked at me with a feeling of pity and contempt, and said, "I don't know, I never wanted to know; what do you want to know for?" I do not suppose he had ever given it a thought who his grandmother was, whether a native or foreign born, so that he got here in a Christian way. Their house four miles east of Charlotte, built of stones, is still standing, and in good repair. [Now part of the Charlotte Museum of History, the Hezekiah Alexander Homesite is open to the public.]
date chiseled into the foundation of Hezekiah Alexander's rock house
It was built in 1764. [1774] If the date had not been chiseled in the stone, it would not be known when erected. The house has a cellar under it, that was formerly used to store away the good things of the farm. We are told that when Lord Cornwallis was in Charlotte, September, 1780, some of his men visited the farm, pillaging, carried off what honey they wanted, and broke the balance of the jars on a large flat rock. War always makes savages of some men.
Hezekiah Alexander had several sons and two daughters. One of them married Devil Charley Polk. They were noted for their great beauty. Mrs. Cook, who had traveled much, and was appointed by the town authorities to entertain President Washington in 1791, while making his famous Southern tour, while he tarried one night in Charlotte, she gave it as her opinion that they were the prettiest women she had ever met with.
Mrs. Polk met a tragic death while still a young woman. Her husband was cleaning out his rifle in his wife's bed room, when the gun went off and killed her while she sat by the fire nursing her baby. A great deal of secret talk was indulged in, but no proof was brought to light to prove that it was not an accident.
In a few months he announced that he was going to marry the beautiful sister of his wife. Charley Polk had won a name for daring that made him famous over a large scope of country, but he was not equal to the storm of opposition to his offer to marry the remaining sister. Her brothers and his brothers told him plainly that they would not allow him to marry her. And he didn't marry her. At that time it was very fashionable to move to Tennessee, as it was sixty years later to go to Texas. The beautiful Miss Alexander never married any one, but soon followed her sister to the Spirit Land. The great pioneer lived to see many of his children's children, and passed away in 1801. [Hezekiah and Mary Alexander had three daughters: Mary Alexander Polk died in 1795/6; Keziah, who never married, died in 1819; Esther married Samuel Garrison and moved to Kentucky in the 1790's, and by some accounts, died there around 1827.]
I do not suppose of all the signers of the Declaration of Independence, there was one superior in ability, or was more determined in severing the relations with the mother country than Hezekiah Alexander. He considered well the course they were about to take; if the Colonies should not fall into the same line of thought with Mecklenburg county, their doom was sealed, and each one of them would pay for the crime of treason. But these men of Mecklenburg had the training, for eight years, of that grandest of men, Rev. Alexander Craighead. Hezekiah Alexander was one of Mr. Craighead's elders, and was a sympathizer in his teaching. And I believe that Mecklenburg owes much of her glory to the fact that the doctrine of resistance to the King was preached to the people from 1758 to 1766.
Mary Sample Alexander at Tea with Mary Shelby Polk
by Willie Alexander Carr
Willie Alexander Carr
Willie Alexander Carr, (April 15, 1911-April 2, 2005) was a descendant of Hezekiah and Mary Alexander and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her DAR chapter and others organized and raised funds for the restoration of the Alexanders' rock house, to be an exhibit of Colonial life and local history for the Charlotte Museum.
Aunt Willie's copy of Hezekiah Alexander and the Revolution in the Back Country, by Norris Preyer, was given to me for my study of the family history. Inside it I found this speech, apparently prepared for a DAR program, summarizing the life of Hezekiah and Mary. The speech is written in the voice of Mary Alexander, addressed to the wife of Colonel Thomas Polk, an associate of Hezekiah who served under George Washington and hosted a banquet for Washington during the President's visit to Mecklenburg County:
"Good afternoon, Mary Shelby. You are most kind to have us in for tea and give us a chance to discuss and thank General Polk for the beautiful party you gave last night for President Washington. Weren't we fortunate to have President Washington stop by on his tour?
I feel that we are indebted to you, General Polk, as I'm sure your duties and friendship with President Washington during the war was helpful in having him here for a visit.
Hezekiah and I and especially our daughters were so happy to be there and to get to see so many old friends.
From the time we arrived in North Carolina in 1767, Hezekiah has been interested in the development of Charlotte and Mecklenburg. Perhaps his greatest joy was in obtaining the charter for Queens College.
He, too, was one of the signers of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence. During the war Hezekiah served as a Commissary for the troops in this area. He made frequent trips to Charleston and New Orleans, raising funds and procuring supplies. Hezekiah was also elected as a delegate to the first Congress when the State Bill of Rights and the State Constitution was drafted. So to finally meet General Washington with whom he had much correspondence during the war--and now President Washington, the leader of our country--it was indeed a momentous occasion.
Hezekiah and I are so fortunate to live in Mecklenburg County. We love our Rock. It served us well during the War. (How well I remember those anxious times during the war when Cornwallis was in the area and Hezekiah and the boys had to hide out in the woods. We would hang a white cloth out the upstairs window when it was safe to return.) It is a happy home for all of us. We are near Sugar Creek Presbyterian Church where the children attend church and school and Hezekiah has served in many capacities. We have really been blessed.
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