Harry ALEXANDER Biography

Harry ALEXANDER first settled in Antigua, probably as a sugar estate attorney before purchasing his own sugar estates in St. Vincent. After his wife Lydia MARTIN died in St. Vincent in 1771, Harry Alexander took to the sea again and headed for British West Florida, settling at Pointe Coupée near Baton Rouge, where he remained from about 1776 until at least 1781, if not later. He is believed to have returned to St. Vincent but it's not certain if that is where he died in 1793.

Harry ALEXANDER seems to have been born in Scotland in the 1720's. While his parent's names have not yet been discovered, family letters Harry ALEXANDER wrote from Antigua to his cousin Alexander LEITH (Of Freefield and Glenkindy) in Aberdeenshire, Scotland in the 1750's, give the following as his brothers and sisters. It's not yet known if this is a complete list of all of his siblings:

• John ALEXANDER - He might be the eldest brother of Harry ALEXANDER, as he is mentioned as selling lands [of Jackstoun] that belonged to their father. He seems to have died before 1752, and was likely buried in Scotland.
• James ALEXANDER - He was a crewman or soldier on a British warship/man of war ship called "Sunderland". He died about 1746, probably at sea.
• Alexander "Sandy" ALEXANDER - He died between June 1752 and December 1753.
• Janet ALEXANDER - She was living in the Huntly area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1759. She married James LUMSDEN.
• Betty [Elizabeth ?] ALEXANDER - She was living in the Huntly area of Aberdeenshire, Scotland in 1759.

Harry ALEXANDER was a merchant/businessman in Antigua, and also managed or owned at least one sugar plantation there. On page 4 of Vere L. Oliver's "The History of the Island of Antigua....", he is listed as a "Gentleman" in 1758 and 1763. The book also details a 1758 indenture between Harry ALEXANDER (identified as a "Planter") and Charles ALEXANDER and his wife Bisse [neé HAMILTON] for the grants of "those 3 negro slaves, Bessy and her 2 children, Johnny and James....to the only proper use of Harry ALEXANDER and his heirs for ever".

Harry ALEXANDER relocated to St. Vincent shortly after 1763, where as an original land purchaser, he bought Lots 110/111 for a total of 465 acres comprising the sugar plantations "Redemption", and "Liberty Lodge." According to the 1777 letter to GERMAIN referenced above, ALEXANDER served the Crown in many capacities on St. Vincent. He states that he "had the honor of being Colonel of and Commanding a Regiment of Horse Military composed of the Principal Gentleman of the Country". He also "was the Senior Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, where for Years I presided in the place of the Chief who had the Salary, &....I was Chief Barron of the Exchequer and the Second in His Majestys Council".

In 1777, during the American Revolution, Harry ALEXANDER left St. Vincent and immigrated to British West Florida, locating in what is now present-day Louisiana in the United States. The GERMAIN letter referenced above was addressed as being from "Mississippi British Pointe Coupée". We find other details about Harry ALEXANDER's arrival in British West Florida on page 69 of Robin F. A. FABEL's "The Economy of British West Florida, 1763-1783":

"The flight of settlers there who were looking to escape the tumult of revolution enormously increased the price of land in St. Vincent. Harry ALEXANDER, a middle-aged man of substance who had lived in St. Vincent for years, was a judge, a councillor, and the employer of twenty-five servants and slaves. Fearing that he could not provide land for his eight children on St. Vincent, he immigrated to West Florida. Clearly moved by economic considerations, he abandoned what was generally considered (quite wrongly, as it turned out) a refuge."

[The original source for the information on Harry ALEXANDER's immigration to British West Florida is CO5/634, Council Minutes for 26 December 1776. CO 5 refers to the Colonial Office records housed in the National Archives/Public Record Office in Kew, England and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC, USA.]

On page 49 of FABEL's book, Harry ALEXANDER is again mentioned as owning "between twenty and thirty slaves". The original source of this information is also CO5/634, as stated above.

Further proof that Harry ALEXANDER was a prominent individual on St. Vincent is found in the marriage records of two of his daughters, where he is called, "the Honorable Harry ALEXANDER". As noted above, in John Roche DASENT's book "A West Indian Planter’s Family – Its Rise and Fall", on page 23, he is described as the "first President of the Council of the island". This is assumed to refer to His/Her Majesty's Council on the island. Along with his council post and military duties, Harry ALEXANDER also owned sugar estates. It's not yet known where Harry ALEXANDER died. His death is believed to have occurred in late 1792 or early 1793, based on a newspaper notice in the Times of London in April 1793 regarding any creditor's claims to his estate.