ALEXANDER BIOGRAPHIES, Henry County, Missouri ==================================================================== ALEXANDER, Wiley H. - b: 1859 KY source: 1919 History of Henry Co MO, Uel W. Lamkin, Historical Publishing Co - page: 386 residence: Davis Twp Wiley H. Alexander. The Alexander farm in Davis township is one of the finest tracts of productive land in this section of Missouri. The tract, which consists of 180 acres, is one mile and one-eighth in length and one-fourth of a mile wide and has been the home of the Alexanders since 1896. All of the improvements were placed on the land by the present owner. The residence, a pretty white cottage, is located on one of the highest spots in Henry County and from this place one can see in every direction for many miles. Five towns can be seen from the Alexander residence, Clinton, eight miles away; Montrose and Deepwater, twelve miles distant; Urich, twelve miles to the northwest, and Hartwell, while La Due, four miles to the southeast, can be plainly seen. This farm is well improved and Mr. and Mrs. Alexander are continuously adding to the attractiveness of the place. Mr. Alexander is engaged in general farming and stock raising and has fifteen horses and mules on the place, including seven brood mares. Wiley H. Alexander was born December 19, 1859, in Kentucky, the son of John B. (born 1819, died 1887) and Julia (Rowland) Alexander (born 1826, died 1871), to whom were born children as follows: R. C., living in California; L. G., deceased; John F., California ; Mrs. Nannie S. McMurdray, Kentucky; and Wiley H., subject of this review. John B. Alexander was the son of Philip Alexander, who left Kentucky en route to Missouri in 1831 and was killed by Indians while crossing southern Illinois. His widow later made her home in Illinois, but the parents of Wiley Alexander lived all of their lives in Cumberland County, Kentucky. Wiley H. Alexander resided in his native State until 1882, when he came to Missouri, and after a residence of six mouths in Sedalia he located in Henry County on a farm situated about four miles from his present home place. He rented land for a time and then bought his farm which he improved and sold when he purchased his present place in 1896. On May 12, 1892, there occurred the marriage of Wiley H. Alexander and Miss Lillie Gragg and to this union were born children as follow: Naomi Elizabeth, a graduate of the Warrensburg Normal School and who is now teaching the Carterville High School; Mary May, who studied at the Warrensburg Normal and Oklahoma City High School and is a teacher in the Deepwater schools; Herbert Henry, who spent two years in the Clinton High School and became a student in the Quincy, Illinois, Business College, where he contracted a fatal sickness, dying on February 28, 1917, at the age of twenty years; Nina, graduated from Clinton High School, class of 1918; Ralph Lee, a student in the Clinton High School; Margaret Maurine, attending the district school. By a former marriage in 1884 with Jennie Gilmer, Mr. Alexander has two children: Mrs. Julia Gates, a former teacher of Henry County, and Georgia, principal of one of the ward schools at Carthage, Missouri, and a graduate of the Warrensburg Normal School. Mrs. Jennie (Gilmer) Alexander died in 1889. Mrs. Lillie Alexander taught school for nine years, beginning at the age of eighteen years. She studied for one year in the Pilot Grove Collegiate Institute and graduated from this institute in 1889. Mrs. Lillie (Gragg) Alexander was born in Henry County, January 27, 1865, and is the daughter of Henry H. (born 1820, died 1893) and Elizabeth (Sevier) Gragg (born 1835, died 1912), natives of Missouri and Tennessee, respectively. Elizabeth (Sevier) Gragg was a daughter of Abraham Sevier, a descendant of the famous Sevier family of Tennessee, who were of French descent and included Governor Sevier. Abraham Sevier came to Henry County and settled on Camp Branch as early as 1851. Henry H. Gragg was a son of Malcolm Gragg, a pioneer settler of Howard County, Missouri, who entered Government land in that county nearly a century ago. During the early forties, three sons of Malcolm Gragg came to Henry County and entered land in this county. Their parents also located in this county. Henry H. Gragg was twice married, being the father of seven children by his first marriage. He was married to Elizabeth Sevier in 1864 and this marriage was blessed with four children: Mrs. Lillie Alexander; George W., Rockville, Missouri; Mrs. C. O. Swift, Springfield, Illinois; Amos E., Hutchinson, Kansas. Prior to coming to Missouri, the Graggs resided in Illinois. The Democratic party has always had the allegiance of Mr. Alexander. Both he and Mrs. Alexander are members of the Mt. Carmel Presbyterian Church. He is fraternally affiliated with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and the Modern Woodmen of America Lodges at Clinton, Missouri. ==================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. 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