William Alexander was a Scottish courtier and poet who was involved in the Scottish colonisation of Charles Fort, later Port-Royal, Nova Scotia in 1629 and Long Island, New York.
The marriage of his parents was ‘about 1566 or 1567,’ so William Alexander has been estimated to be born about 1567, He is also known as Viscount of Canada, Baron of Menstrie, and Baronet of Nova Scotia [1].
Parents and Education
William Alexander was the only son of Alexander Alexander (d. 1581) and Marion Graham, daughter of Gilbert Graham of Gartavertane. [2][3]. His father died while he was young and his grand uncle James was appointed his tutor. Paul believes he received his early education at the Grammar School of Stirling and University of Leyden. He was chosen as travelling companion to Archibald, seventh Earl of Argyll, and went with him to France, Spain and Italy.
William Alexander was among the Scots nobility who accompanied James VI to London when he assumed the throne of England as James I.
1605 Lands at Menstrie
As early as 1605 he had a relationship with lands at Menstrie as a renter. Over time this relationship involved mineral rights and then ownership, culminating in a charter 30 July 1638 from the king conveying to him absolute proprietorship of Menstrie.
1614 Poet Drummond
William Alexander formed a friendship with the poet Drummond, who visited him at Menstrie when William was there to superintend his mining business. Alexander wrote poetry and was selected by the King to publish a translation of the psalms.
1621 Nova Scotia
He joined the king in promoting an attempt to colonize North America, obtaining a charter to create 100 baronies in Nova Scotia. A few of these baronies were created, but the effort came to an end when by treaty Nova Scotia was turned over to France.
Later, in January 1635, he obtained from the Council of New England a grant of the Island of Matowack -- today known as Long Island, New York, which he proposed to call the Isle of Stirling. This endeavor like many of his others came to naught.
1624 Public Service
Alexander held various posts from the king, including Principal Secretary for Scotland.
1630 Titles
On 4 September 1630 a patent was issued creating him "Viscount of Stirling and Lord Alexander of Tullibody". At the coronation of Charles on 14 June 1633, he was created "Earl of Stirling, Viscount of Canada, and Lord Alexander of Tullibody."
1640 Death
He died 12 February (Some show September) 1640 at his Covent Garden townhouse in London. He was insolvent at the time of his death. Kingsley notes that he left debts of £136,000. [4]His estate was confirmed in Edinburgh Commissary Court on 4 December 1641.[5]
Reflecting on his life, Paul wrote, "A far-seeing statesman, with ideas much in advance of his time, and with talents which distinguished him from his contemporaries, he stands out as one of the most brilliant of his countrymen that the seventeenth century produced. But from a mundane point of view he was a failure. His great schemes of colonisation were not destined to be carried into execution for long after his day, and then in a manner which he did not anticipate. His literary productions failed to attract the attention of the public, and his edition of the Psalms seemed to accentuate an unpopularity when he had already earned by his fearless and impartial administration in his office of Secretary of State. His body was buried 12 April 1640 in the family vault in the Parish Church in Stirling.
Issue
Sir William Alexander and his wife Janet had eight sons and 3 daughters. [2][3]
Jean Alexander, b. 1600. Lady Jean Alexander (d. 1670) m.(1) in 1623, Hugh Montgomery, 2nd Viscount of the Ards (d. 1642) and (2) Maj-Gen. Robert Munro, son of Obsdale Munro of Foulis. (7) Lady Jean Alexander (d. 1670), married first, 1623, Hugh Montgomery, 2nd Viscount of the Ards (d. 1642) and second, Maj-Gen. Robert Munro, son of Obsdale Munro of Foulis; [4]
Robert Alexander, b. 1604. Hon. Robert Alexander (d. by 1638); (9) Hon. Robert Alexander (d. by 1638); [4]
William Alexander Lord Alexander, b. 1604. (1) Sir William Alexander (c.1604-38), Lord Alexander d. 18 May 1638 [4]
Anthony Alexander, b. 1605. Hon. Sir Anthony Alexander (dsp 17 Sep 1637), m. Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Wardlaw, bt. of Pitreavie. (2) Hon. Sir Anthony Alexander (d. 1637), educated at Glasgow University; licenced to travel abroad, 1626-29; Master of Works in Scotland, 1629-37 (jointly with James Murray until the latter's death in 1634); knighted, 1635; married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Henry Wardlaw, bt. of Pitreavie but died without issue, 17 September 1637; [4]
Henry Alexander IIIrd Earl of Stirling, b. 1606. Henry Alexander (d. 1647), 3rd Earl of Stirling d. 1650. (3) Henry Alexander (d. 1647), 3rd Earl of Stirling (q.v.); [4]
Margaret Alexander , b. 1607. Lady Margaret Alexander m.(1) 1620 Sir William Murray (d. 1646), 1st bt., of Dunearn; (8) Lady Margaret Alexander, married 1620 Sir William Murray (d. 1646), 1st bt., of Dunearn; [4]
Elizabeth Alexander, b. 1608 . Lady Elizabeth Alexander (d. unm. Dec 1642). (11) Lady Elizabeth Alexander (d. 1642); died unmarried, December 1642. [4]
Charles Alexander, b. 1611. Hon. Charles Alexander (d. 1664), m. bef. 1645, Anna Drurie 2s. (5) Hon. Charles Alexander (d. 1664), married, before 1645, Anna Drurie and had issue two sons; [4]
John Alexander, b. 1612. Hon. John Alexander of Gartmore (d. 1641/2), m. Agnes (d. c.1636), daughter of Robert Graham of Gartmore, 1da. (4) Hon. John Alexander]] of Gartmore (d. 1641/2), Master of Minerals and Metals in Scotland (jointly with his father), 1635; Master of the Mint in Scotland, 1635-41; married Agnes (d. c.1636), daughter of Robert Graham of Gartmore and had issue one daughter; [4]
Ludovich Alexander, b. 1614. Hon. Ludovic Alexander, died young; (10) Hon. Ludovic Alexander, died young; [4]
James Alexander, b. 1615. Lt-Col. Hon. James Alexander (d. 1671), m(1) 16 August 1656, Margaret (d. 1662), daughter of Capt. Hon. David Scrimgeour (2) c.1668, Grizel, daughter of Hon. James Hay, 1da. (6) Lt-Col. Hon. James Alexander (d. 1671), married first, 16 August1656, Margaret (d. 1662), daughter of Capt. Hon. David Scrimgeour and second, c.1668, Grizel, daughter of Hon. James Hay and had issue one daughter; [4]
David Reid in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography [3] followed by Wikipedia [2] estimate his birth a decade later, saying he was probably born in 1577 at Menstrie Castle , Clackmannanshire, Scotland.
Children
Children Notes:
Burke's has a da. Mary, who m. Sir William Murray 1st Bt., but she's not in the Scots Peerage, I think she's been confused with Margaret.
Sons James, Anthony have been disconnected, they were born well before his marriage, the former has a different surname. They didn't have a son named Archibald or Andrew.
↑Will or Testament: "Wills and Testaments," database, National Records of Scotland, (https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/ : accessed 22 May 2023), Surname Alexander, Forename William, Date 4/12/1641, Description Earl of Stirling, Type Testament Dative and Inventory, Court Edinburgh Commissary Court; citing Reference Number CC8/8/60.
↑ Birth date: Sir James Balfour Paul. The Scots Peerage Founded on Wood's Edition of Sir Robert Doublas's Peerage of Scotland. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1911. Alexander Earl of Stirling Accessed November 7, 2018 jhd
Barghouti, Kim, comp. US & British Isle, Joseph Thomas Biographical Dictionary: 1890 Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.Original data - Lippincott's Pronouncing Biographical Dictionary, University of Nevada, Reno Library. Philadelphia, PA, USA: J.B. Lippincott, Joseph Thomas M. D. LL. D, 1890.
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DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA.
Y-chromosome DNA test-takers in his direct paternal line on WikiTree:
Richard McKain :
AncestryDNA Paternal Lineage (discontinued) 46 markers, haplogroup R1b, Ancestry member mckainmckean
There are some problems with this profile. Margaret Alexander, was the daughter of William Alexander, Lord Alexander, (I don't think he ever used the title Viscount Canada) the eldest son of William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling. In which case this profile needs to be unlinked from Alexander Alexander as his father and merged with Alexander-629. Or Margaret can be unlinked as his daughter, and connected to Alexander-629, and then the merge you have proposed to Alexander-642 can go ahead. See The Scots Peerage https://archive.org/stream/scotspeeragefoun08pauluoft#page/176/mode/2up
Alexander-8538 and Alexander-642 appear to represent the same person because: same name, same spouse, same birth and death, same time frame, same location
Alexander-4623 and Alexander-642 appear to represent the same person because: It appears that these two profiles represent the Sir William Alexander of Menstrie. Can you please merge.
Scottish courtier, statesman, and poet who founded and colonized the region of Nova Scotia in Canada. His last important poetical work, Doomes-day, or, The Great Day of the Lords Judgement (1614), caused King James to choose him to collaborate in translating the Psalms.
https://electricscotland.com/webclans/atoc/earlofstirling01.pdf if anyone cares to wade and map