  
Alexander
Alexander MacDonald, second son of Donald, king of the Isles, had two sons who used their father's given name as a surname for themselves and their descendants. Many Scottish Alexanders are descended from these MacDonalds. Their chieftains were Earls of Stirling, Seekirk, and of Ross, and originally lived in the areas of Edinburgh, Stirling and Glasgow.
John Alexander, "the Immigrant"
John Alexander, "the Immigrant," was born in Scotland in 1603. He entered Glasgow University in1630, and married Catherine Graham of Gartmore, Scotland.
They immigrated to Virginia in 1636 settling in Northampton County (Accomac). He purchased the Howsen patent of land along the Potomac from Pompey Gale's Marsh, south of (what is now) Alexandria, to a point opposite Analostan Island and Georgetown. In 1659, he purchased "Salisbury": 1,950 acres in the Northern Neck, overlooking the Potomac and near "Ridge Road," and settled there in 1663-64. He was neighbors with several families whose descendents later intermarried with his descendants: the Masons (later of Gunston Hall); Gerard Fowke at Potomac (Paspatanzy); Peter Ashton at Chatterton; the Dades at Litchfield; the Hooes at Hooes Ferry; Col. Richard Townshend at Chotank Creek (Waterloo); and Robert Townshend at Albion.
John Alexander was a merchant engaged in merchandising and tobacco shipping. In1659 he patented 1,500 acres of land with Littleton Scarborough and his Scarborough's Tabitha Smart for transporting 30 people to Virginia.
John Alexander was an involved citizen. He witnessed a deed in 1663. The next year, he was appointed Justice and High Sheriff . On May 27, 1664 he presided at the first court for the county, earning title of Captain. On December 29, 1664 he became superintendent of the building of the first county courthouse.
He was active in his church, as well. On November 8, 1666 he was elected a vestryman of Potomac Parish. In 1667 he was reelected vestryman with his neighbors Robert Townshend, George Mason and others.
He died in 1677, leaving his land to his two sons.
- Robert Alexander inherited part opposite Washington.
- Philip Alexander inherited the lower part, including the site of Alexandria
The old register of St. Paul's Parish, dating 1716-1793, now in King George Co., has the names of generations of Alexanders who trace a direct descent from the first John Alexander.
Land Grants
The following grants of land appear of record in the Virginia Land Registry Office to John Alexander and others of the name: John Alexander and Tabitha Smart, 1,500 acres in Northampton County, March 24, 1659, Book IV, page 392; John Alexander, 1,450 acres in Stafford County.- being half of 3,900 acres formerly granted John Bugnall and John Walter, and by them assigned to Edmund Scarborough Sept. 25, 1664 (Book IV, page 581); Robert, John Jr., and Christopher Alexander and George Weeding 1,460 acres in Westmoreland County, March 23, 1664 (Book V, page 41); Robert Alexander and George Weeding, 800 acres in Westmoreland County (Book B, page 490). Captain John Alexander, Capt. Peter Ashton and Robert Street, 2,000 acres in Stafford County, May 6, 1668 (Book IV, page 157); John Alexander 1,350 acres in Goochland County, March 26, 1739 (Book 18, page 276); William Alexander 170 acres in Augusta County, May 12, 1770 (Book 39, page 44); John Alexander 150 acres in Botetout County, August 3, 1771 (Book 40, page 463).
Alexandria
The town of Alexandria arose from the Tobacco Inspection Act of 1730, which provided that one of the inspection's warehouses should be established "at Great Hunting Creek upon Broadwater's land in Prince William County."
A colony of Scottish tobacco merchants soon settled about the new warehouses and made up a community called "Belhaven" in honor of their political hero, Lord Belhaven.
Efforts to secure an Act of the Assembly to establish a town at Belhaven were resisted by the Alexanders, who owned most of the land around the warehouse. Nevertheless, in 1749 the act was passed. As a compromise with the Alexanders, the town was named "Alexandria," but it was commonly known as "Belhaven."
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Philip Alexander (John1) of "Effington," Prince William County, Virginia married Sarah Ashton, daughter of John Ashton and Grace Muse.They had five children:
- Jane Alexander, born on July 1, 1696, and married Francis Dade.
- Elizabeth Alexander, born September 5, 1698, married Townshend Dade.
- Sarah Alexander, born May 31, 1700, married Cadwallader Dade.
- Philip Alexander, born July 22, 1704 married Sarah Hooe.
- Anne Clifton was born on September 5, 1706.
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Capt. Philip Alexander (John1, Philip2), was born on July 22, 1704, in King George County, Virginia. He died on July 19, 1753; leaving a will dated July 18, 1753 and probated Aug. 14, 1753.
He married November 11, 1726, Sarah Hooe, from "Barnesfield," who was born in 1708, daughter of Col. Rice Hooe and Frances Townshend-Dade, of King George County, Virginia; and granddaughter of Rice Hooe and Catherine Taliaferro, and of Col. Robert Townshend and Mary Langhorn. Sarah died on August 14, 1758. Captain Philip and Sarah Hooe Alexander had seven children:
- Frances Alexander, born October 5, 1728, married John Stuart on November 16, 1749.
- Elizabeth Alexander was born on December 23, 1731, and died in 1732.
- Sarah Alexander was born on September 30, 1733.
- John Alexander, born November 15, 1735, married Lucy Thornton, daughter of Col. William Thornton of King George County.
- Philip Alexander was born on May 31, 1742.
- William Alexander was born on Mar. 3, 1744.
- Robert Alexander was born on August 1, 1746.
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Colonel William Alexander
Col. William Alexander, (John1, Philip2, Philip3) of "Effingham," Prince William Co., Virginia was born on March 3, 1744. He died on April 3, 1814, leaving a will made on September 20, 1813, and probated May 2, 1814. He was a prominent and influential citizen in civil and church affairs. He built "Effingham House," and married on April 18, 1765, to Sigismunda Mary Massie. She was born on April 18, 1765, and died on April 18, 1832 leaving a will made on March 4, 1829 and probated on January 7, 1833. She was a daughter of. Sigismund Massey and Mary Stuart, (daughter of David Stuart, Rector of St. Paul's, King George County, Virginia. Col. William and Sigismunda Mary Massie Alexander were a prolific couple, having 16 children:
- John Stuart Alexander, born April 5, 1766, married Catherine Foote.
- Sarah Alexander, born November 22, 1767, married William Foote.
- Mary Alexander was born on January 24, 1769.
- Frances Alexander, was born on March 11, 1770.
- Jane Alexander was born on November 30, 1771.
- Elizabeth Ashton Alexander, born December 22, 1773, married her first cousin, Gerard Alexander.
- Mary Stuart Alexander was born on February 8, 1775.
- Philip Alexander was born on May 21, 1776.
- Frances Alexander and Stuart Alexander were twins, born on April 5, 1778.
- William Alexander was born on September 17, 1779.
- Robert Alexander was born on August 6, 1781.
- Langhorn Alexander was born on April 10, 1783.
- Gerard Alexander was born on June 25, 1784 and died on July 2, 1834.
- Laurence Gibbons Alexander, born October 6, 1785, died on May 1,1868 in a railroad disaster in New Orleans.
- William Sigismund Alexander, born November 10, 1787 died on August 27, 1836.
Effingham House
The house that Col. William Alexander had built was a two-story frame with two chimneys at each end. It had a large hallway that ran through the center of the house. A hidden stairway led to the second floor. The front parlor was wood paneled, with a carved ceiling, and a carved arched cupboard with glass doors on top and wood doors below. The attic was large. On the grounds were a blacksmith shop built of native rock, a two-room log weaving house, an outside kitchen, a meat-house with a round roof, an ash-house (lye was made of ashes, which was used to make soap), slave quarters, and the family graveyard. The Colonel was buried here, with his grave marked: "William Alexander - 'Though lost to sight in memory dear.' d. April 3,1814, aged 70."
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Dr. Robert Alexander (John1, Philip2, Philip3,William4), was born on August 6, 1781 and died in 1811, age 30. His will, probated Oct. 18, 1811, indicated that he was about to move to a different climate for his health. The will names his wife, Helen Bailey Brown, daughter of Alexander Brown and Humphrey Ann Frances (Toy) Whiting; their 2 children; and 2 of his brothers, Lawrence and Philip. Dr. Robert and Helen Bailey Brown Alexander's two children were"
- Robert Alexander, M.D. (~1807-1836)
- Sigismunda Mary Alexander,(1808-1870) married Pearson Chapman, (1803-1877). They lived at "Mt. Aventine," in Charles County, Maryland.
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Robert Alexander, M.D. (John1, Philip2, Philip3, William4, Robert5), (~1807-1836) lived in Alabama until he married Elizabeth Ann Clark of South Carolina, (1811-1881). They moved to Centerville, Virginia and had four children:
- Elizabeth Tillinghast Alexander, born on September 25, 1833, and died in 1909. She married George Washington Lee, born on February 1, 1831 in Centerville, Virginia, son of Thomas W. and Harriet Lee. George died on June 1, 1853.
- Eugenia McLean Alexander, born on March 20, 1839, died on November 10, 1905, leaving her husband Edgar Vaux Weir, who was born December 11, 1836, and died on December 4, 1911, in Manassas, Virginia.
- Lawrence Stirling Alexander, M.D., born September 15, 1842, in Centerville, Virginia, died on November 6, 1910, in St. Augustine, Florida. He was married on September 1, 1868, to Mary Lavonia Adickes, of Yorkville, South Carolina.
- Helen Bailey Alexander, was married in 1879 to Thomas Brawner of Charles County, Maryland.
Sources
- A History of Chapman and Alexander Families, by Sigismunda Mary Frances Chapman; Berryville, VA; 1939
- The Virginia Tribune, July 3, 1931, article on "Effingham"
- Record from the "Effingham" Branch of Alexanders, by Frances Chapman, June 19, 1931
- Virginia Genealogies, by Rev. Horace Edwin Hayden, 1891, 3rd printing by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD
- Sigismunda Mary Frances Chapman's family Bible
- Virginia Heraldry, by Wm. Armstrong, Crozier, Va., Col. Record Series.
- William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. X.
- Colonial Families of the Southern States, by Hardy
- St. Paul's Parish Register
- Virginia Land Registry Office records
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- A History of Chapman and Alexander Families, by Sigismunda Mary Frances Chapman; Berryville, VA; 1939
- The Virginia Tribune, July 3, 1931, article on "Effingham"
- Record from the "Effingham" Branch of Alexanders, by Frances Chapman, June 19, 1931
- Virginia Genealogies, by Rev. Horace Edwin Hayden, 1891, 3rd printing by Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD
- Sigismunda Mary Frances Chapman's family Bible
- Virginia Heraldry, by Wm. Armstrong, Crozier, Va., Col. Record Series.
- William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. X.
- Colonial Families of the Southern States, by Hardy
- St. Paul's Parish Register
- Virginia Land Registry Office records
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