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Birth: 1630 Scotland
Family Line:
Thomas ALEXANDER (1630 - )
William
ALEXANDER (1676 - )
Robert
ALEXANDER (1710 - Nov 1783) & Esther BEARD (1724 - 1769)
Peter ALEXANDER (1758 - 1842) &
Elizabeth Jannett STEELE (1762 - 1846)
Sarah ALEXANDER (1791 - 1862) & Robert McMAINS (1786 - 1868)
Jane S. McMAINS (1811 - 1872) & Marmaduke N. BARNES (abt 1815 - abt
1850)
Linia Ann BARNES ( 1840 - 1880) & Jacob Sylvester ARNEY (1839 -
1927)
Mary Ellen
ARNEY (1861 - 1935) & Joshua Newton MACHLAN (1859 - 1936)
Linnie
Ellen MACHLAN* (1884 - 1974) & Everett Elmer WALKER (1882 - 1948)
Elsie
Maureen WALKER (1903 - 1983) & Leo Newton COFFEY (1901 - 1998)
Misc. Notes:
(Notes by Fred Coffey)
Thomas Alexander was born in
Scotland, but moved to Ireland in 1652, apparently because he was unhappy with
the rule of Oliver Cromwell. He was a staunch Presbyterian, which at first
thought might have put him in opposition to the Catholic king executed by
Protestant Cromwell. However Cromwell, a Puritan, rejected Presbyterianism as
well. Further, Thomas traced his ancestry to the Catholic Stuart Kings. He is
sometimes called "Thomas the Royalist".
There may have been other reasons
for his migration: One report is that a daughter, Margaret, married a Joseph Parks,
who occupied lands in County Donegal, Northern Ireland. Further, the Protestant
rulers of England often encouraged Protestant Scots to move to Ireland, to help
keep the Catholic Irish in their place. Thus came the label "Scotch
Irish", and thus began the troubles that continue today in Northern
Ireland.
Thomas Alexander indeed appears to
have a reasonable claim to be descended from Scottish Royalty. In fact I can
find several different genealogies leading back from Thomas – and
it is quite possible that more than one of them is true, since there would have
been many intermarriages of distant relatives over time among the Royalty. I
will not try to incorporate this complex genealogy into my family tree, but you
may find the following discussion interesting:
One genealogy source, that I found
cited many times, was actually written in 1877, and it is extracted below. (I
never actually found the 1877 source book, but found many citations that copied
the following. The genealogy was presented in the form of one continuous
paragraph, and numbers have been inserted below to show the position of each
named ancestor counting back from Robert Alexander, our immigrant to America.)
You might also find it interesting
to go to an internet source, such as Wikipedia, and read the history that goes
with many of the names below.
The following is extracted from
"Memorials of the Earl of Stirling and the House of Alexander", by
Charles Rogers, LLD, and Chart by Francis Thomas Anderson Junk Author: Charles
Rogers, LLD Publication: Vol I, 1877.
"A
Norse settlement was early established in Arran and Brute and other islands in
the West of Scotland under the (?)
Viking Conn Cétchathach (Conn of the Hundred Battles). His descendant, (17) Viking Somerled, about
1150, exercised powerful authority in the Western Isles, disputing the
sovereignty of Scotland with David I. In
1164 he entered the Firth of Clyde with a fleet of one hundred and sixty
vessels, intending to usurp the Scottish Crown.
He was defeated at Renfrew and there slain. (Chron. Man. A.D.
1104-1167). He married, about 1140
(second wife) (17) Affrica,
daughter of (18) Olave the Red,
King of Man and had three sons: Dougal, from whom came subsequently the Ducal
House of Argyle; Angus, the third son who became Lord of the Isle of Brute; and
(16) Ranald, the second son,
who became Lord of the Isles of Mull, Kintyre, etc. His son (15) Donald was the father of (14) Angus (d. abt 1290) whose
grandson, (12) John, Lord of
the Isles, married (12) Margaret,
daughter of Robert II, King of Scotland, grandson of King Robert I, the Bruce.
(Margaret's) descent from the old English kings of the House of Cerdic is as
follows: (31) King Ecgberht, d. 836;
his son, (30) King Ethelwulf,
d. 855; son, (29) King Alfred the
Great, d. 899; son, (28) King
Edward the Elder, d. 927; son, (27)
King Edmund, d. 946; son, (26)
King Edgar, d. 975; son, (25)
King Etheldred the Unready, d. 1016; son, (24) King Edmund Ironside killed 1016; son, (23) Edward the Confessor;
daughter (22) Saint Margaret,
who m. 1068, (22) Malcolm III, King
of Scotland, d. 1093; son (21)
King David I of Scotland, d. 1168; son, (20) Henry, Earl of Huntington; son, (19) David, Earl of Huntington, brother of King William IV,
the Lion; second daughter, (18)
Isabella, m. (18) Robert
Bruce, Lord of Annandale; son, (17)
Robert Bruce, the Claimant; son (16)
Robert Bruce, Earl of Carrick, who m. (16) Isabella, Countess of Buchan of the family of MacDuff;
son, (15) Robert I, the Bruce,
King of Scotland, b. 1274 and d. June 7, 1329, m. (15) Isabel of Mar;
daughter (14) Marjory
m. about 1316 (14) Walter Fitz Allan,
the High Steward of Scotland; son, (13)
Robert II, King of Scotland, 1370 and founder of the Stewart (Stuart)
dynasty; his daughter (12) Margaret
m. (12) John, Lord of the Isles,
the father of (11) Alexander, Lord of
Lochaber; whose son, (10)
MacAlexander, is looked upon as the real founder of the House of
Alexander. His descendent, (9) Thomas Alexander, in a legal
instrument dated March 6, 1505 is mentioned as Baron of Menstrey. His son, (8)
Andrew Alexander, Baron of Menstrey, died prior to 1527. His wife was (8) Katherine Graham. Their son,
(7) Alexander Alexander,
Baron of Menstrey (1529) m. (7) Lady
Elizabeth Douglas, daughter of (8)
Thomas Douglas, eldest son of (9)
Sir Robert Douglas of Lochleven by his wife (9) Margaret, dau. of (10)
David Balfour of Burleigh, an ancestor of the Earls of Morton. (See
Douglas' Peerage, vol II, p.273.) Alexander Alexander had a son, (6) Andrew Alexander, Baron of
Menstrey (1544) whose son, (5)
Alexander Alexander, Baron of Menstrey, d.about 1565. His wife was (5) Elizabeth Forbes. His son, (4) William Alexander, had two
sons, Alexander Alexander, Baron of Menstrey, who was the father of William
Alexander, Earl of Sterling, and (3)
Thomas Alexander, b. in Scotland 1630 but removed to Ireland 1652 for
distaste of the Rump Parliament of Cromwell. (He was) an Intense Presbyterian,
but loyal to the Catholic Stuarts of whom he was a blood kinsman. A son, (2) William, remarkable for his
corpulency, married and had four sons: Archibald, Peter, (1) Robert and William."
Phew! Got
that? (By the way, Wikipedia says that "(22) Saint Margaret of
Scotland", who married Malcolm III, was NOT the daughter of "Edward
the Confessor" as shown above, but was instead the daughter of Edward's
brother, "Edward the Exile". I don't know how anyone could get
confused about that. Anyway, I'm sure careful research would reveal other
disputed entries!)
Spouses
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1: Unknown
Children: William (1676-)
Margaret (-1775)
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Last
Modified: 1 Jul 2006
Created: 1 Jul 2006
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