The Alexander family traced its origins to Scotland and later Ulster before several members emigrated to America in the eighteenth century. Archibald Alexander, born in Ireland in 1708, came first to Pennsylvania and then settled on the South River in Virginia about 1747. His descendants became closely associated with Timber Ridge, Rockbridge County government, Washington College, the Presbyterian Church, and several prominent educational institutions.
The following account brings together the Alexander family references scattered throughout William Henry Foote’s Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical, Second Series, arranging them by generation and family relationship.
European Origins of the Alexander Family
Foote traces this branch of the Alexander family to Archibald Alexander of Scotland, whose sons Strong, William, and Thomas Alexander removed to Ireland during the plantation of Ulster in the early seventeenth century.
A later William Alexander, descended from one of these brothers, lived in Ireland and was remembered in family tradition for his unusual corpulence. He had four sons: Archibald, William, Robert, and Peter Alexander.
Three of the brothers emigrated from the Manor of Cunningham in Ireland to America in 1736. Archibald Alexander, William Alexander, and Robert Alexander crossed the Atlantic, while their brother Peter Alexander remained in Ireland and later died in Londonderry.
Robert Alexander was a classical scholar who eventually settled near Greenville in Augusta County. There he established and taught what Foote described as the first classical school in the Valley of Virginia.
Archibald Alexander
Archibald Alexander, sometimes called “Old Ersbell,” was born in the Manor of Cunningham, Ireland, on February 4, 1708.
He married his cousin Margaret Parks on December 31, 1731. In 1736 the family emigrated to America and initially settled near Nottingham, Pennsylvania.
About 1747, Archibald Alexander moved his family to Virginia and settled on the South River, a tributary of the James River, opposite the mouth of Irish Creek.
Alexander became an important figure in the developing settlement. He served as a captain of the local Rangers, became an elder in the first session of the Timber Ridge Presbyterian Church, and later served as High Sheriff of Rockbridge County.
He was also employed by Benjamin Burden in connection with the settlement of Burden’s large Virginia land grant. Alexander assisted in completing and executing deeds for settlers who had acquired portions of the tract.
Margaret Parks Alexander died suddenly of dysentery in August 1753 while her husband was away participating in the effort to secure Rev. John Brown as pastor of the local Presbyterian congregations.
In 1757 Archibald married his second wife, Jane McClure.
Foote states that Archibald Alexander was the father of fifteen children. Three daughters died in infancy, while twelve children—six sons and six daughters—survived to become heads of families.
Children of Archibald Alexander and Margaret Parks
The children attributed to Archibald Alexander and his first wife, Margaret Parks, include the following.
Eliza Alexander
Eliza Alexander was born in Ireland in October 1735, before the family’s emigration to America.
William Alexander
William Alexander, the eldest son of Archibald and Margaret, was born near Nottingham, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 1738.
He later became one of the more prominent members of the second generation and continued the Alexander family line in Rockbridge County.
Ann Alexander
Ann Alexander was born in Pennsylvania during the family’s residence there.
Joseph Alexander
Joseph Alexander was likewise born in Pennsylvania.
Hannah Alexander Lyle
Hannah Alexander, born in Pennsylvania, married James Lyle.
Phoebe Alexander
Phoebe Alexander was born after the family settled on the South River in Virginia.
Margaret Alexander
Margaret Alexander was also born on the South River.
Children of Archibald Alexander and Jane McClure
Foote attributes additional children to Archibald Alexander and his second wife, Jane McClure.
They included Isabella Alexander, Mary Alexander, Margaret Alexander, John Alexander, James Alexander, Samuel Alexander, Archibald Alexander, and another James Alexander.
The repetition of the names Margaret and James in Foote’s family listing should be preserved as given unless additional records clarify whether these represent separate children, children who died young followed by later children given the same name, or an error in the surviving account.
William Alexander and Agnes Ann Reid
William Alexander, eldest son of Archibald Alexander and Margaret Parks, was born near Nottingham, Pennsylvania, on March 22, 1738. He was approximately nine years old when his family moved to Virginia.
As an adult, William engaged in mercantile business until the disruptions of the Revolutionary War interfered with his trade. He later served as deputy sheriff under his father.
William also followed the family’s strong connection with the Presbyterian Church and became an elder of the Timber Ridge congregation.
His involvement in education extended beyond the church. When Washington College, formerly Liberty Hall, received its charter in 1782, William Alexander was named among its original trustees.
William married Agnes Ann Reid.
Agnes was the daughter of Andrew Reid and Sarah Reid, who were cousins. Andrew Reid had emigrated from Ireland when he was fourteen years old. Sarah was the daughter of John Reid. Her grandfather, another Andrew Reid, had earlier emigrated from Ireland and settled at Octorara, Pennsylvania.
Children of William Alexander and Agnes Ann Reid
William and Agnes Alexander had ten children identified in Foote’s account.
Their first four children were born on Irish Creek:
Andrew Alexander, Margaret Alexander, Archibald Alexander, and Sarah Alexander.
After the family relocated to the North River near Lexington, six additional children were born:
Phoebe Alexander, Elizabeth Alexander, John Alexander, Nancy Alexander, Ann Alexander, and Martha Alexander.
Among these children, Archibald Alexander became particularly prominent as a Presbyterian minister, educator, and theologian.
Rev. Archibald Alexander, D.D.
Rev. Archibald Alexander, D.D., son of William Alexander and Agnes Ann Reid, was born April 17, 1772, on the South River in Rockbridge County.
He received his early education at Liberty Hall Academy, where his teachers included William Graham and the classical scholar James Priestley.
At seventeen years of age, Alexander left Rockbridge County for a time to serve as a private tutor in the household of General Posey in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
He subsequently prepared for the Presbyterian ministry. The Lexington Presbytery licensed him to preach on October 1, 1791, at the Stone Church in Winchester.
Alexander’s career eventually extended well beyond the Shenandoah Valley. In 1797 he became president of Hampden-Sydney College, a position he held until resigning in 1806.
In 1812 the Presbyterian General Assembly selected him as the first Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.
On April 5, 1802, Archibald Alexander married Janetta Waddell, daughter of the noted Presbyterian minister and orator Dr. James Waddell.
Through his ministry, teaching, and theological work, Archibald Alexander became one of the most prominent descendants of the early Timber Ridge family.
Genealogical Notes
Foote traces this Alexander line from an Archibald Alexander in Scotland through descendants who settled in Ireland before emigrating to Pennsylvania and Virginia. The precise parentage of the William Alexander who fathered Archibald, William, Robert, and Peter is not specified beyond his descent from one of the earlier brothers Strong, William, or Thomas Alexander.
Archibald Alexander and Margaret Parks were cousins, although the exact degree of their relationship is not stated in the account summarized here.
Foote states that Archibald Alexander had fifteen children, three of whom died in infancy, leaving twelve who became heads of families. His enumeration nevertheless contains repeated given names, including Margaret and James. Those repetitions should not be resolved without additional evidence.
The family was closely connected with several other early Virginia families through marriage, particularly the Parks, Reid, Lyle, McClure, and Waddell families.
The spelling M’Clure appears in Foote’s nineteenth-century text. The modern surname form McClure has been used here for consistency.
Source
This family genealogy was compiled from references appearing throughout William Henry Foote’s Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical. Foote’s scattered biographical, family, church, and settlement references have been brought together here and arranged by generation to make the genealogical relationships easier to follow.
Foote, William Henry. Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical. Second Series. Second edition, revised. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1856. Available online at AccessGenealogy, Sketches of Virginia: Historical and Biographical. Accessed 9 August 2026.