Adam Rankin Alexander (November 1, 1781 – November 1, 1848) was an American slave owner[1] and politician who represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.

Adam Rankin Alexander
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 9th district
In office
March 4, 1823 – March 3, 1827
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byDavy Crockett
Personal details
Born(1781-11-01)November 1, 1781
Rockbridge County, Virginia
DiedNovember 1, 1848(1848-11-01) (aged 67)
Marshall County, Mississippi
Political partyJacksonian Republican
SpouseLeah Reagan Alexander
ChildrenEbeneza Alexander
Mary Melissa Alexander
William Reagan Alexander
Jane Maria Alexander
James Henry Alexander
Margaret Ann Alexander
Joseph Brown Porter Alexander
Benjamin Newton Alexander
Martha Hill Alexander
Samuel Blair Houston Alexander
John Bell Pinkney Alexander
Professionpolitician

Biography

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Alexander was born in Rockbridge County, Virginia, on November 1, 1781, to Oliver and Mary (née Craig) Alexander. Educator Eben Alexander was his grandson.[2]

Career

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During the War of 1812, Alexander served from October 4, 1813, to January 4, 1814. He served as a private in Captain William Dooley's Company; and as a Lieutenant and Quartermaster in Thomas McCrory's 2nd Regiment, West Tennessee Militia.

He married Leah Reagan, a Virginia native, on March 26, 1805, in Blount County, Tennessee.[3]

Alexander worked as a surveyor, and afterwards, he was the register of the land office for the tenth surveyors' district in Madison County, Tennessee. He was a member of the court of Madison County in 1821. He became a member of the Tennessee Senate in 1817.[4]

Elected as a Jacksonian Republican to the Eighteenth and as a Jacksonian to the succeeding Congress, Alexander served as a U.S. Representative from March 4, 1823, to March 3, 1827.[5] He was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election to the Twentieth Congress in 1827, and lost his seat to frontiersman Davy Crockett.[citation needed]

Alexander represented Shelby County, Tennessee, at the Tennessee constitutional convention in 1834. He was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1841 and 1843.[citation needed]

Death

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Alexander died on November 1, 1848, aged 67, in Marshall County, Mississippi. He is interred at Alexander-Pryor Family Cemetery, Laws Hill, Marshall County, Mississippi.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, 2022-01-13, retrieved 2022-01-14
  2. ^ "Orange County, North Carolina Genealogy and History". genealogytrails.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
  3. ^ "Adam Rankin Alexander". Alabama Trails War of 1812. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  4. ^ "Adam Rankin Alexander". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  5. ^ "Adam Rankin Alexander". Govtrack US Congress. Retrieved February 17, 2013.
  6. ^ "Adam Rankin Alexander". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 27, 2022.
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U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
District created
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 9th congressional district

1823–1827
Succeeded by