Adam Rankin Alexander

Adam Rankin Alexander (November 1, 1781 – November 1, 1848) was an American 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 by	District created
Succeeded by	Davy Crockett
Personal details
Born	(1781-11-01)November 1, 1781 Rockbridge County, Virginia
Died	November 1, 1848(1848-11-01) (aged 67) Marshall County, Mississippi
Political party	Jacksonian Republican
Spouse(s)	Leah Reagan Alexander Dorothea Alexander (Slave)
Children	Ebeneza 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 Bettie Alexander (Slave) Aaron Alexander (Slave)
Profession	politician

Biography

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

Career

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4] 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

Alexander died on November 1, 1848, aged 67, in Marshall County, Mississippi. He is buried at Alexander-Pryor Family Cemetery, Laws Hill, Marshall County, Mississippi.^[5]