Crawford Co., AR - Biographies - William M. Alexander

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SOURCE: History of Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Crawford,
Franklin, and Sebastian Counties, Arkansas. Chicago: The Goodspeed 
Publishing Co., 1889.
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William M. Alexander, farmer and stock raiser, was born in Williamson 
County, Tenn., in 1828, his parents being Alfred and Rebecca (Kerby) 
Alexander, natives of the same county, where they lived until 1837. 
They then started for Oregon, but stopping in Stoddard County, Mo., 
died there in 1881 and 1883, aged seventy-six and seventy-one, 
respectively. In religion they were Methodists. The grandfather, 
Thomas Alexander, was born in Buncombe County, N. C., was an early 
settler of Tennessee, a soldier in the Revolution, and died in 
Williamson County, aged one hundred and five. His father came to 
America from Ireland, and died in Tennessee, aged one hundred and ten, 
on the farm upon which our subject's father was born William M. is the 
eldest of a family of himself and six sister, and was reared in 
Stoddard County, Mo., during the pioneer days, receiving but a very 
limited schooling. In 1856 he married Sarah M., daughter of John 
Edwards, and a native of Kentucky. Mr. Edwards was born in England. 
This union was blessed with six children, three sons now living. In 
1872 Mr. Alexander moved from Stoddard County to his present farm, in 
Vine Prairie Township. He now owns eighty acres of well-improved land, 
all of which he has cleared. Having learned the cooper's and 
blacksmith's trades, he works at them in connection with his farming. 
He is always willing to aid any enterprise for the advancement of the 
county, and is known as one of its upright and well-to-do citizens. He 
cast his first presidential vote for Pierce, and with the exception of 
1864, when he voted for Lincoln, has supported every Democratic 
candidate since. He is a member of the Producers' Trade Union, and 
Knights of the Horse. Himself and wife belong to the Methodist Church.