Alexander Hodge (1760 - 1836)

Born 1760 in Newton Township, Cumberland, Pennsylvania

Ancestors

Husband of Ruth Hodge — married 1788 in York, South Carolina, United States

Descendants

Died 17 Aug 1836 at about age 76 in Hodge's Bend, Fort Bend, Republic of Texas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Carol Hurley [send private message]

Note

Hodge-1101 and Hodge-3592 were merged on 5/1/2019

Biography

HODGE, ALEXANDER (1760-1836). Alexander Hodge, a member of Stephen F. Austin's "Old Three Hundred," the son of William Hodge, was born in Newton Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in 1760. A preponderance of evidence indicates that his mother was Mary Elliott, daughter of James Elliott, also of Cumberland County. Before his eighteenth birthday Alexander and his brother, William, Jr., moved to Edgefield District, South Carolina, where they served with the "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion and his brigade during the American Revolution. After the war Hodge moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, where he read for the law and where his seven children were born. After 1806 he moved west through Kentucky, and in 1815 he was in Arkansas. He served as a magistrate in Spring River Township, Lawrence County. He met Stephen F. Austin, and in 1824 he and his family began the trip to Texas. On April 12, 1828, Austin granted the old judge one of the leagues of land he had reserved for himself on the Brazos River and Oyster Creek near Fort Bend. Hodge served his district as commissario and alcalde. His plantation, Hodge's Bend, was a favorite stopping place for William B. Travis, James B. Bonham, Erastus (Deaf) Smith, and other persons of prominence in Texas history, as well as unknown travelers. His wife, Ruth, died in 1831. Hodge's sons and sons-in-law were active in the Texas Revolution. Hodge shepherded the women, children, and family slaves in their flight to safety. In her memoirs his granddaughter, Clarinda Pevehouse Kegans, described him as a tall, white-haired man who raised fine horses and was usually too preoccupied for his grandchildren. However, that changed during their escape. They traveled by night, and as they walked Hodge held some child's hand in his, and all through the dark night they could hear his voice-sometimes laughing, sometimes cajoling-even above the rain and thunder. They huddled in a thicket on April 21 and listened to the guns of San Jacinto. Hodge brought his family back to Oyster Creek, but he was ill and exhausted. He died on August 17, 1836, and is buried at Hodge's Bend Cemetery. In 1912 a stone in his honor was placed in Sam Houston Park, Houston.

Hodge moved his family west. in 1814 he was serving as magistrate in Spring River Township, Lawrence County Arkansas. There he met Stephen F. Austin. The empresario's "Come with me to Texas, Judge Hodge," struck a responsive chord in the old Scotsman. He and his family arrived in Austin Colony in 1826. Austin granted Hodge one of the leagues he had reserved for himself. Hodge's Bend was situated on the road running from Fort Bend to Harrisburg and was a gathering place for family and friends alike. Ruth Hodge was a gregarious hostess and never needed an excuse to arrange a "social" William B. Travis, James Bonham, Lorenzo de Zavala and the de Leons from Victoria were among the visitors to enjoy the Hodge hospitality.

According to [Clarinda Pevehouse] Kegan's Memoirs, Sam Houston was never popular with Judge Hodge. He and his family were completely loyal to Austin, and once independence was declared, they exerted every effort toward that end.

Alexander mortgaged his property to raise funds for the fledgling army. His sons, James, John, Alexander Elliott, and son-in-law, James Pevehouse were among the petitioners calling for a convention in 1835. When it convened November 7, 1835, James Hodge had been elected to represent Brazoria District. Hodge's son John and James Pevehouse were at the Battle of Velasco. John and Archibald Hodge were stationed with Captain Walter Splane at Harrisburg during the Battle of San Jacinto . The Lady Washington Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, erected a marker in Sam Houston Park, Houston honoring Alexander Hodge as a "Hero of the Two Republics." (Not certain, but I believe this is from the same Marguerite Henry passage as the earlier quote.)

From Clarinda Pevehouse Kegans' memoirs, housed in the Nita Steward Haley Library in Midland, TX.:

"Grandpa [Alexander Hodge] was a judge in Arkansas so when we got to Texas he was the official in our district. He was everything -- judge, sherriff [sic]. People would leave messages with him and folks would come by to pick them up ... The Mexican name was alcalde. Many steelers stopped at his plantation and our family gatherings were always held there."

"Mr. William B. Travis was sometimes at Grandpa's and seemed to think the Texans ought to be more aggressive but Grandpa disagreed. He thought Mr. Austin could settle the problems as he always had. ... Grandpa blamed President Jackson for a lot of the trouble. He never liked the way he treated the Indians and his constant talk of moving the United States boundary farther west was worrisome. [Missing] didn't like Sam Houston, either. He had a reputation for drinking too much and he had not bothered to do anything worth a hill of beans for Texas since he came. Even after the war Grandpa was suspicious he would try to use his new fame to get elected president of Texas. Grandpa thought Mr. Austin deserved to be. So you see Grandpa was right as usual."

Re: the Runaway Scrape, in which they both, and other families, were caught up: [missing] too terrible to describe but we made it only with the help of our slaves and Grandpa. ... Grandpa was wonderful. He wouldn't let us walk with our cousins, we had to walk beside our mother, but he would walk with different ones and always held our hand. I thought of all kinds of tricks to get him to hold my hand as often as I could. He talked all the time and that was very comforting during the long dark nights. [Even] during the rain storms we could hear his voice and knew we would make it somehow. Then while we waited for our meals to be fixed he would tell us funny stories."

(more from the Runaway Scrape): "Grandpa was a religious man and every day he read us a chapter from his Bible and said a prayer for our men. ... [Missing] vinegar water and Grandpa put vinegar in the drinking water for the trip. Tasted pretty bad I can tell you. We traveled at night and rested during the day. Papa and Grandpa thought it would be safer. ... There was so much sickness, especially the children, some died along the way. Grandpa insisted it was the vinegar water that kept us from getting sick."

"It nearly broke my heart when Grandpa died. [He] had been so wonderful and I loved him very deeply."

From original documents held at the Texas General Land Office:

Alexander Hodge's application for land on behalf of his orphaned grandchildren. Original in Spanish. English translation of pertinent parts:

[I], Alexander Hodge, grandfather of the children of the deceased William Hodge, one of the colonists introduced by Empressario Austin, before you with the greatest respect say: That in the year of 1824 my son, the said deceased, came to this country with his family with the object of settling permanently. He died in the year 1828 without having acquired possession of his land, leaving his children at a very tender age, for which reason I apply to you so that you may be pleased to admit this petition and put me in possession of a league of land for the said minors, with the understanding that the league of land selected is situated on the right margin of the San Jacinto River and is the third league above the unction, and also that I offer to settle and cultivate said league for the aforesaid as well as to comply with the obligations prescribed by the same. Therefore, I ask that you may be pleased to do as I have st forth, wherein I shall receive favor. Town of [San Felipe de] Austin, March 12, 1831 [s] Alexander Hodge

Honorable Commissioner: The petitioner, Alexander Hodge, grandfather of the children of the deceased William Hodge, shows in his petition the grounds on which he claims a league of land for the said children of the deceased. What he states about the time they emigrated to this country is true; and as their parents lost their lives by settling in a wilderness without resources, I consider it very just that their claim can be admitted and that they be granted the league of land they request, which is vacant and outside the ten littoral leagues. Town of [San Felipe de] Austin, March 13, 1831 [s] Samuel M. Williams, entered by Stacy Aannestad

Notes

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Eugene C. Barker, ed., The Austin Papers (3 vols., Washington: GPO, 1924-28). Lester G. Bugbee, "The Old Three Hundred: A List of Settlers in Austin's First Colony," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 1 (October 1897). Telegraph and Texas Register, November 7, 1835. Texas and the American Revolution (San Antonio: University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures, 1975). Texas Gazette, October 16, 1830. William Barret Travis, Diary, ed. Robert E. Davis (Waco: Texian, 1966). Marguerite Starr Crain

Alexander Hodge's petition for land for grandchildren http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=a5dd89ab-8ede-45ad-bf83-1ed11ad15874&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge grave back Media

Map Showing Alexander Hodge's league of land Media

Yet even MORE Alexander Hodge info http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=e51d8fde-112c-4214-87b3-30407375ca1a&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge grave Media

Alexander Hodge 2nd land grant petition for grandchildren p2 Media

Grandpa Hodge (from Clarinda Pevehouse Kegans' memoirs) http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=c95e4f84-6802-4903-8711-3ad117a85b76&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge information http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=3d41d295-217d-472e-92ed-3da1e50f2724&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge original land grant petition, Spanish, p2 Media

Stephen F. Austin land (5 leagues) in/near Fort Bend County, TX Media

Alexander Hodge 1st land grant petition for grandchildren, Spanish p1 Media

Alexander Hodge 2nd land grant petition for grandchildren p4 Media

Alexander Hodge original land grant petition, Spanish, p3 Media

Alexander Hodge 2nd land grant petition for grandchildren p1 Media

More Alexander/Ruth Hodges info http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=d8a6f4b9-2784-4aac-8169-98aff778673c&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge's Texas land grant petition http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=d0fb2c5b-f599-4a05-ab50-9fb66715cfff&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge 2nd land grant petition for grandchildren p3 Media

Alexander Hodge 1st land grant petition for grandchildren, Spanish p2 Media

Kegans information http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=20651e04-6a82-440f-9315-b359700b644d&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Info from the Alexander Hodge Chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas http:/trees.ancestry.comrd?f=document&guid=bc98482b-a703-416d-a2fa-b90ee9289c6e&tid=1018977&pid=-2014295031

Alexander Hodge original land grant petition, Spanish, p4

• • • NOTE*** (from S. Aannestad): in researching the claim that Hodge fought in the Rev. War under Francis Marion, I discovered that the pension application documents concerning "Alexander Hodge" must refer to a different man -- one who "never left his home" (in SC) after the war, and who was in residence in SC at the time my Alexander Hodge was in Georgia, Arkansas and Texas. The other A. Hodge died in SC, which was certainly not true of my A. Hodge, who died at Oyster Creek, Ft. Bend Co., TX. According to a couple of DAR women who responded to an information request I posted on the web, there is a note on Hodge's DAR file stating that any further descendent applications (I believe after the late 1960s) would have to PROVE his military service.

HOWEVER ... in his granddaughter Clarinda Pevehouse's memoirs, she mentions that he had fought in the American Revolution with General Marion in the South Carolina swamps and that this is where he had learned about drinking vinegar water to ward off fevers ...

Texas Land Title Abstract: Grantee: Alexander Hodge Patent Date: 12 Apr 1828 Acres: 4428.40 District: Fort Bend County: Fort Bend Patent #: 600 Patent Volume: 2 Class: Title

Georgia Tax Index, 1789-1799 NAME: HODGE, ALEXANDER COUNTY: OGLETHORPE YEAR: 1798 DISTRICT: EVANS

Look for: Founders and Patriots of the Republic of Texas (book) -- he is mentioned on several pages.

From original documents held at the Texas General Land Office:

Alexander Hodge's application for land on behalf of his orphaned grandchildren. Original in Spanish. English translation of pertinent parts:

[I], Alexander Hodge, grandfather of the children of the deceased William Hodge, one of the colonists introduced by Empressario Austin, before you with the greatest respect say: That in the year of 1824 my son, the said deceased, came to this country with his family with the object of settling permanently. He died in the year 1828 without having acquired possession of his land, leaving his children at a very tender age, for which reason I apply to you so that you may be pleased to admit this petition and put me in possession of a league of land for the said minors, with the understanding that the league of land selected is situated on the right margin of the San Jacinto River and is the third league above the unction, and also that I offer to settle and cultivate said league for the aforesaid as well as to comply with the obligations prescribed by the same. Therefore, I ask that you may be pleased to do as I have st forth, wherein I shall receive favor. Town of [San Felipe de] Austin, March 12, 1831 [s] Alexander Hodge

Honorable Commissioner: The petitioner, Alexander Hodge, grandfather of the children of the deceased William Hodge, shows in his petition the grounds on which he claims a league of land for the said children of the deceased. What he states about the time they emigrated to this country is true; and as their parents lost their lives by settling in a wilderness without resources, I consider it very just that their claim can be admitted and that they be granted the league of land they request, which is vacant and outside the ten littoral leagues. Town of [San Felipe de] Austin, March 13, 1831 [s] Samuel M. Williams

Sources

• Edmund West, comp., Family Data Collection - Births (- Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.), Ancestry.com, 360 West 4800 North, Provo, UT 84604, Birth date: 1760 Birth place: Newton, Cumberland, PA, USA.

• Texas, General Land Office, 1700 S. Congress, Austin, Texas, Box 5; Folder 51, Pre-Republic Spanish-language documents. Alexander Hodge's Texas land-grant petition, color copy.

• Original Austin Colony land grant petitions, Texas General Land Office, 1700 S. Congress, Austin, Texas,

• Texas Land Title Abstract: Grantee: Alexander Hodge, Patent Date: 12 Apr 1828, Acres: 4428.40, District: Fort Bend, County: Fort Bend, Patent #: 600, Patent Volume: 2, Class: Title

• Mexican Land Grant to heirs of Wm. Hodge (official translation and transcription) from the files in the Texas General Land Office in Austin, TXexasTranscript

• Salley, A. S. Accounts Audited of Revolutionary Claims against South Carolina. Columbia, SC: The State Company, 1935. vol. 1, p. 91-92 Transcript

• Grave Marker in Hodges Bend Cemetery, Hodges Bend, Fort Bend County, Texas.

• Eugene C. Barker, ed., The Austin Papers (3 vols., Washington: GPO, 1924-28).

• Lester G. Bugbee, "The Old Three Hundred: A List of Settlers in Austin's First Colony," Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 1 (October 1897).

• Von-Maszewski, W. M. Austin's Old Three Hundred: Histories of the first Anglo colonists in Texas. Waco, Tex: Eakin Press, 2011. p. 39-40, 104-105

• Handbook of Texas Online, Marguerite Starr Crain, "HODGE, ALEXANDER," accessed July 09, 2019 Biographical article

• Telegraph and Texas Register, November 7, 1835.

• Texas and the American Revolution (San Antonio: University of Texas Institute of Texan Cultures, 1975).

• Texas Gazette, October 16, 1830.

• William Barret Travis, Diary, ed. Robert E. Davis (Waco: Texian, 1966).

• Marguerite Starr Crain

• The Territorial Papers of the United States, Arkansas Territory, 1819-1825 Publication: Name: U. S. Department of State

• Wortham, Louis J. A history of Texas : from wilderness to commonwealth Publication: Name: Fort Worth, Tex.. Wortham-Molyneaux Co.. 1924.; NOTE_PAREN: Y

• Edmund West, comp Family Data Collection -- Marriages Publication: Name: Ancestry.com. [database on-line] Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001; NOTEThe Family Data Collection - Marriages database was created while gathering genealogical data for use in the study of human genetics and disease

• Worth S. Ray Austin Colony Pioneers Publication: Name: copyright 1949, 1970 by Worth S. Ray; Reprinted 1995 by Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc.; NOTE_ITALIC: Y

• Ancestry.com U.S., Sons of the American Revolution Membership Applications, 1889-1970 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;

• Roster of Soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution Publication: Name: North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution, 1932; NOTE_ITALIC: Y

• Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection - Marriages Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.; NOTE_APID: 5774::0

• Jeffery, Alice Georgia Tax Index, 1789-1799 Publication: Name: The Generations Network, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 1998;

• 1800 Christian County Kentucky Census

• Index of the Rolls of Honor (Ancestor's Index) in the Lineage Books of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vol. I NOTE_APID: 48097::0

• Index of the Rolls of Honor (Ancestor's Index) in the Lineage Books of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vol. II NOTE_APID: 48098::0

• Wharton, Clarence Wharton's history of Fort Bend County Publication: Name: San Antonio, Tex.. Naylor. 1939

• Original Austin Colony land grant petitions NOTE (not the title of the source, but description)

• Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection - Births Publication: Name: - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.; NOTE_APID: 5769::0

• Abstracts of all original Texas Land Titles comprising Grants and Locatons Publication: Name: Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX, USA;

• Hatcher, Patricia Law Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 1999. Original data - Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Graves of Revolutionary Patriots. Dallas, TX, USA: Pioneer Heritage Press, 1987.Original data: Hatcher, Patricia Law. Abstract of Gr; NOTE_APID: 4110::0

• Texas General Land Office. Abstracts of all original Texas Land Titles comprising Grants and Locations. Austin, TX, USA.Original data: Texas General Land Office. Abstr; NOTE_APID: 5112::0

• Williams, Villamae, ed.. Stephen F. Austin's Register of Families. Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD: 1984 (From the originals in the General Land Office, Austin, Texas), p. 6, 38, 39, 41, 68, 162, 163 Transcript

• Ancestry.com Roster of soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution : with an appendix containing a collection of miscellaneous r Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT: The Generations Network, Inc., 2005.Original data - Roster of soldiers from North Carolina in the American Revolution : with an appendix containing a collection of miscellaneous records.. unknown: The D.A.R., 1932.

• Ancestry.com Web: BillionGraves.com Burial Index Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2013;

• Carter, Clarence Edwin. Territorial Papers of the United States: Vol. XV Territory of Louisiana/Missouri 1815-21. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington: 1951, p. 189, 280, 331, 376 Transcript

• Alice, Jeffery Georgia Tax Index Publication: Name: Orem, UT: Ancestry, Inc., 1998;

• Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8935191/alexander-hodge: accessed 14 April 2023), memorial page for Alexander Hodge (1757–17 Aug 1836), Find A Grave: Memorial #8935191, citing Hodges Bend Cemetery, Fort Bend County, Texas, USA; Maintained by Paula and Dale (contributor 46489742).

• Edmund West, comp. Family Data Collection - Births Publication: Name: Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: The Generations Network, Inc., 2001.;

• Ancestry.com U.S. Census Reconstructed Records, 1660-1820 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2011;

• Georgia 1800 Territorial Census

• Ancestry.com Texas, Index Card Collections, 1800-1900 Publication: Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2012;

• Index of the Rolls of Honor (Ancestor's Index) in the Lineage Books of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Vol. III NOTE_APID: 48099::0

• White, Gifford. 1830 Citizens of Texas, p. 136. Eakin Press, Austin, Texas, 1983 Transcript

• Georgia Tax Digest Books 1787-1900 Transcript