This is part of an occasional series in which I process information from a book called Marriage and Death Notices from Extant Asheville, N. C. Newspapers 1840-1870 An Index. I consulted this book last year at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I have lots of people from in and around Asheville, so I was able to get copies of 24 pages that had surnames of interest to me. Today’s installment begins the “Death Notices” section of the book and focuses on the surname Alexander (all extracts below are from p. 58).
Extracts
“ALEXANDER, Alfred William, only son of A. M. and Susan C. Alexander and brother of Emma and Minnie Alexander, deceased, aged 7 years and 21 days, Oct. 29, 1862 (A. N., Nov. 6, 1862).”1
Comment: “A.N.” refers to the Asheville News, “founded in June, 1849, and published (with periodic interruptions during and after the Civil War) until at least as late as March 28, 1883, the date of its last-known extant copy. In 1868 and 1869 this journal was published as the Asheville News and Western Farmer and the Asheville News and Mountain Farmer, respectively.” 2 Alfred is a 4th-generation descendant of my ancestors, James Alexander and Rhoda Cunningham, so I won’t add him to RootsMagic (I generally limit myself to three generations). However, I do want to make a note regarding his sisters, Emma and Minnie; Emma is the next entry and Minnie is listed a few entries down on this page. This family lost three young children in the space of a few weeks.
“ALEXANDER, Emma F., daughter of A. M. and Susan C. Alexander of Buncombe County (born May 29, 1853), Oct. 4 1862 (A. N., Oct. 16, 1862).”
Comment: See previous comment.
“ALEXANDER, James, Sr., aged 88, a veteran of King’s Mountain, June 29, 1844, on Swannanoa, Buncombe County, (H. M., July 5, 1844).”
Comment: “H. M.”refers to the Highland Messenger: Extant and almost entirely complete from June 5, 1840, until some point between August 17, 1848, and September 27, 1849.” 3
This is the James Alexander who married Rhoda Cunningham.
To Do: look for original image copy of death notice & probate records, if any.
“ALEXANDER, James Washington, aged about 40, June 27, 1859, at his residence on Swannanoa (A. N., June 30, 1859).
Comment: At this time, he is unknown to me, but since he’s an Alexander who lived on Swannanoa, I bet he’s kinfolk.
To Do: determine the identity of James Washington Alexander.
“ALEXANDER, John, one of the oldest citizens of Buncombe County, n.d., at his residence on Swannanoa (A. N., Feb. 5, 1857).”
Comment: This is John C. Alexander, son of James Alexander and Rhoda Cunningham.
To Do: look for probate records, if any.
“ALEXANDER, Mrs. Leah, wife of William D. Alexander, March 18, 1842, on Swannano, Buncombe County (H. M., March 25, 1842).”
Comment: This is Leah Burgin, daughter of John Burgin and Elizabeth Mann.
To Do: look for original image copy of death notice & probate records, if any.
“ALEXANDER, Minnie, daughter of A. M. and Susan C. Alexander of Buncombe County, n.d. (A. N., Oct. 16, 1862).”
Comment: See above comment under Alfred William.
“ALEXANDER, Mrs. Nancy, relict of the late Col. J.M. Alexander, Jan. 14, 1862, at her residence 8 miles north of Asheville (A.N., Jan. 16, 1862).
Comment: This is Nancy Foster, wife of James Mitchell Alexander.
To do: look for probate records.
Clues to be Pursued
Some issues of the Highland Messenger are available online as part of the Digital North Carolina Collection, so seek image copies of the death notices from that publication.
Work Plan
- Look for images from the original papers at the North Carolina Digital Collection. http://digitalnc.org/collections/newspapers
o James Alexander, Sr.
o Mrs. Leah Alexander
- Then look in the North Carolina, Probate Records, 1735-1970 and/or North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1979 .
o James Alexander, Sr.
o Mrs. Leah Alexander
o Mrs. Nancy Alexander
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