Nathaniel Alexander (governor)
 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2009) |
Nathaniel Alexander | |
|---|---|
| 13th Governor of North Carolina | |
| In office December 10, 1805 – December 1, 1807 | |
| Preceded by | James Turner |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin Williams |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 10th district | |
| In office March 4, 1803 – November 1805 | |
| Preceded by | John Stanly |
| Succeeded by | Evan S. Alexander |
| Member of the North Carolina House of Commons | |
| In office 1797 | |
| Member of the North Carolina State Senate | |
| In office 1801–1802 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 5, 1756 Anson County, Province of North Carolina, British America (near modern-day Concord, North Carolina) |
| Died | March 7, 1808 (aged 52) Salisbury, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Nathaniel Alexander (March 5, 1756 – March 7, 1808) was a slave owner,[1] physician and the 13th Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1805 to 1807.[2]
Biography
Alexander was born in 1756, in what was at the time known as Anson County in the Province of North Carolina (his birthplace is located near the modern city of Concord). He was the son of a local sheriff. He earned a bachelor's degree from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) in 1776 and was commissioned as a surgeon in the North Carolina Line in 1779. He served through the American Revolutionary War until 1782, and then practiced medicine for a time near Santee, South Carolina. He was distinguished as a politician but also as a physician, with Toner stating that he was a "physician of eminence in Mecklenburg."[3]
Returning to his native North Carolina, Alexander was elected to the North Carolina House of Commons in 1797, to the North Carolina Senate in 1801, and to the United States House of Representatives in 1803.
On November 25, 1805, Alexander was elected governor by the North Carolina General Assembly and served two one-year terms in that office, declining to run for a third. Although a Democratic-Republican, he enjoyed support from the Federalists as well. As governor, he oversaw the resolution of a boundary dispute with Georgia, the expansion of the state's district courts, and the growth of the state's educational system. While governor, he was also president of The University of North Carolina Board of Trustees. Only a few months after stepping down as governor, Alexander died in Salisbury, North Carolina; he is buried in Old Settlers' Cemetery in Charlotte, North Carolina.[2]
He married a daughter of a Colonel Thomas Polk, but the couple was apparently childless.[4]
Notes
- ^ "Congress slaveowners", The Washington Post, January 13, 2022, retrieved January 14, 2022
- ^ a b Kelly, Howard A.; Burrage, Walter L. (eds.). . . Baltimore: The Norman, Remington Company.
- ^ Toner, Joseph Meredith (1876). Medical Men of the Revolution. Philadelphia: Collins, Printer.
- ^ "The history of Mecklenburg County from 1740 to 1900" (PDF). Retrieved January 14, 2022.
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References
- Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978, Robert Sobel and John Raimo, eds. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. (ISBN 0-930466-00-4)
- United States Congress. "Nathaniel Alexander (id: A000100)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
External links
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| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
- 1756 births
- 1808 deaths
- People from Concord, North Carolina
- Governors of North Carolina
- Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
- North Carolina state senators
- Continental Army officers from North Carolina
- Princeton University alumni
- Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina
- Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States
- People of colonial North Carolina
- 18th-century American physicians
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill people