| Notes |
- "Given the birthdate of William, 1676, and Margaret, abt 1680, it is highly probable Thomas had other earlier issue." (Bob Frey) e-mail: rcfrey@greenapple.com (2002)
According to Rogers’ Memorials. . ., Thomas was a s/o William Alexander and a brother of William, Earl of Stirling. This is illustrated by the following excerpt:
“Alexander Alexander had a son, Andrew Alexander, Baron of Menstrey (1544) whose son, Alexander Alexander, Baron of menstrey, d. about 1565. His wife was Elizabeth Forbes. His son, William Alexander, had two sons, Alexander
Alexander, Baron of Menstrey, who was the father of William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, and Thomas Alexander, b. in Scotland 1630, but removed to Ireland 1652 for distaste of the Rump parliament of Cromwell. An Intense presbyterian,
but loyal to the Catholic Stuarts of whom he was blood kinsman. . . A dau. of Thomas m. Joseph Parks. He occupied lands in Co. Donegal, dau. Margaret and a son William (fat William) who had: Archibald, Peter, Robert, and William. . .”
According to the Gazeteer for Scotland, University of Edinburgh, and other publications, William, 1st Earl of Stirling, was b. 1567 at Menstrie Castle in the village of Menstrie, Clackmannanshire. He was reared in nearby Stirling, educated at the universities of Glasgow and Leiden and d. 1640 in London, England. In addition to a series of “tragedies,” he was author of the extensive Doomesday. He served in the court of King James VI (b. 1566 & d. 1625, s/o Mary of Scots, crowned James I of England in 1604), from whom he received a grant of lands in Canada in 1621, which he named Nova Scotia (New Scotland). His illustrious career also included being knighted in 1609; named Secretary of State for Scotland from 1626 to his death; created a Viscount in 1633; and, awarded the title Earl of Stirling in 1639. He suffered bankruptcy in his later years and d. in poverty.
Sir William was b. 1567 and Thomas was b. 1630, nearly 3 generations apart. Therefore, they could not have been brothers.
Sources: (1) Mackenzie’s Colonial Families of the United States of America, Vol. 3; (2) Arnold’s The Alexander Family in Scotland, Ireland and America, p. 1; (3) Charles Rogers’ Memorials of the Earl of Stirling, House of Alexander, Vol. I; (4) Frederick A. Virkus’ The Abridged Compendium of American Genealogy, Vol. III, p. 490; (5) Gazeteer for Scotland, niversity of Edinburgh, 1995-2002; (6) Duncan Campbell Lyle, comp., manuscript, Alexander Family Genealogy, Rockbridge Historical Society, Lexington, VA.
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