| Notes |
- William Taylor Alexander apparently migrated to Rutherford Co., NC,
perhaps with his parents, Col. Elias and Agnes Nancy (McCall)
Alexander. (Record and anecdote of Elias Alexander in "North Carolina
1780-1781 by Judge Shenck). After serving in the War of 1812, Wm
Taylor married and made his home near Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., NC,
in the Sugar Creek neighborhood on the old stage road leading from
Charlotte to Statesville. Post office at that time was about a mile
from their home and was called Alexandria or Alexandriana.
Their home was 1 1/2 story log house, a large room furnished according
to the style of the day with mahogany writing desk and chest of
drawers (this is owned sand prized very highly by their
granddaughter., Mrs. John D. Hunter, i.e., Lillian Cornelia (Pitman)
Poole Hunter, of Tupelo MS.) "There was a large grandfather clock in
which my grandmother, Mary Isabella (Alexander) Pitman would hide when
she was a little girl, in the game of hide and seek. Nearby was a
Spring, orchard and beehives. My great grandmother, Mary Shelby
Alexander, was affectionately called 'Polly' by her husband and
neighbors, some of whom were the families of Dan, Allison, Amos and
other Alexander families, and a Dutch family named Orton, also the
Steele, Henderson and Davidson families. They attended Sugar Creek
and Hopewell Presbyterian churches. I have heard my grandmother, Mary
Isabelle Alexander, tell of her school days in NC, where her little
chum was Amanda Steele and her first sweetheart was Matthew Henderson,
bro. of poet Phil Henderson. She would carry a goose quill to the
teacher, who would make a writing pen for her. On the way to school,
she would stop and pick up oak balls for ink. One of her teachers was
Dr. Wilson.
About the year of 1832-1833, Wm. Taylor and family, his son-in-law,
William Wilson, and several other Alexander families emigrated to West
TN; Mary Shelby's bro's Willliam and John Milton Shelby, emigrated,
too. Shelby Co., is named for the first gov. of KY, Isaac Shelby,
whose father, Gen. Evan Shelby, was brother to Moses Shelby, who was
Dr. Evan Shelby's father; Dr. Evan was father of Mary Shelby, wife to
Wm. Taylor Alexander. Wm. Taylor often told of having hunted deer in
Fayette and Shelby Counties before Memphis, TN, was scarcely a
village, with friends Dr. Cole, Capt. Pitman, George Thompson, Baker,
McDowell, and Billy Carr of Fayette Co. Two of his deer hounds were
call "Trap" and "Drum".
The site of the old Alexander home between Barlett and Raleigh is most
beautiful. Other early settlers were the Gifts, Browns, and Duncans.
The old log house has long since been torn down and a modern brick
home stands in its place; but the magnificent grove of giant oaks
stands as a memorial to these splendid pioneers of early days. The
Alexanders and Shelbys were staunch Presbyterians and were officers in
the churches they helped to organize in Shelby and Fayette Co's.
After a time, Wm. Taylor, with his family, moved to Fayette Co., TN,
near the little village of Wythe, or Hickory Wythe as it is now
called. The old home still stands, surrounded by a grove of
magnificent old trees, and even the old log cabin offices and out
houses are in a good state of preservation. During the late war, Maj.
Alexander, as he was called, entertained a General of the Federal Army
in his home, who immediately had returned to him several fine horses
that had been stolen. One of the servants recalled my grandmother,
Mary Isabella, as a pretty auburn haired girl and quite witty. On one
occasion, she had ridden horse-back with her cousin from Raleigh to
her home near Wythe during inclement weather. On alighting, the
servant who attended her called attention to her red clay bespattered
attire, whereupon she gave a cheer and said, 'Hurrah for Clay'. This
was in 1844 when Henry Clay came forward for the third time to run for
the presidency (he was defeated by a relative of Mary Shelby Alexander
... James Knox Polk. They seemed to be for Clay!)
Wm. Taylor was blind for years, and during his declining days, his
greatest comfort was his violin, on which he would play for hours at a
time. He died Oct 19, 1868, and both he and Mary, with other members
of the family, are buried at Mount Pleasant, a cemetery near the old
home.
Wm. Taylor is said to have brought the seed of the tomato back from
the Southwest to NC after the War of 1812, and that this was the first
introduction of the tomato in NC in 1815."
(written by Caroline Isabel Pole Jones).
1850 Census in Fayette Co., TN, #738 Dist. 7:
William T. Alexander 65 m NC (farmer),
Mary Alexander 55 f NC (Mary Shelby
Alexander),
Milton T. Alexander 19 m NC
Susan Alexander 35 f NC (m. to Jon K. Orr who
died 1844-1850)
Mary Orr 12 f NC
Henrietta Orr 5 f NC
(Notes: courtesy of Ezra Mac Alexander, 2003)
|
1787 - 1868 (81 years)