William R. ALEXANDER was born on 12 May 1803 in Pennsylvania. He appeared on the census in 1830 in Coshocton Co., Ohio (Keene Twp.). He appeared on the census in 1840 in Hancock Co., Ohio (Portage Twp.). He appeared on the census in 1850 in Huron Co., Ohio (Lyme Twp.).

Will of William Alexander
I William R. Alexander of Lewisville Seneca County and State of Ohio knowing the uncertinty of life and wishing while of sound mind and memory as I now think of my self posised to make disposition of all my worldly astate do hereby make this my last will and testament in words and figuers following Item 1st I give and bequeth to my beloved wife Rachel Alexander all of my astate both real and pursonal to have to dispose of and to do with as she may think best including everything of what soever I may be the owner of at my deth excepting as follows. Item 2 of this my astate my children are to have as follows to my daughter Mrs Mary Ann Clemens five dollars.. To my son Ambrose Alexander five dollars.. To my son Erastus Alexander five dollars.. To my daughter Justina O Gardner five dollars.. To my son Urias Alexander five dollars.. To my daughter Rosana B Mccord five dollars..& to my son Russel B. Alexander five dollars. Item 3 I also apoint Theophules E. Gardner of York Township Sandusky County and State of Ohio as administrator of this my astate giveing him full power to act as the law may direct in witness whare of I signed sealed and published and delivered this instrement as my last will and testament at Lewisville Seneca County Ohio on this 5 day of July A.D. 1877. William R. Alexander

Obituary: William R. ALEXANDER
Bellevue Gazette - Tiffin Seneca Public Library

Mr. Wm. R. Alexander, of Flat Rock, died at his residence on Monday Sept. 1st, 1879, at the age of 76 years, 3 months and 20 days. Mr. Alexander came to this section of the country upwards of thirty years ago and has lived in this vicinity ever since. For the past twelve years his home has been on his farm at Flat Rock. He was a quiet and good citizen and much thought of by all who knew him. He was also a member of the M.E. church in this place, and as such highly respected. He leaves a large number of children and grand-children, many of whom are living in this vicinity, and are honored and respected citizens. The funeral took place at the M.E. church on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and was attended by a large number of relatives and friends. He was buried in Bellevue City Cemetery. He was married to Rachel DUSTHAMMER, daughter of Charles Philip DUSTHIMER and Catherine KAST, on December 21, 1824 in Coshocton Co., Ohio. Rachel DUSTHAMMER was born on 13 Dec 1804 in Rockingham Co., Virginia.

Will of Rachel Alexander
I Rachel Alexander of Flat Rock Seneca County Ohio do make and publish this my last will and testament Item one, I give, devise and bequeath all my estate, real, personal and mixed estate. To my six children.. Mary A Clemens, Ambrose Alexander, Erastus Alexander, Urias Alexander,Roseanna McCord and Russell Alexander.. To each of them one full one-sixth part thereof to them and their heirs and assigns forever. I hold a note for $200.00 against my said son Erastus Alexander, and my will is in relation thereto that the amount of said note at the time of my decease be deducted by my executer herein after named from my said son Erastus Alexander's distributive share of my estate thereby paying said note. My son-in-law T.E. Gardner also is indebted to me in the sum of somewhere about $1000.00 the exact amount I cannot now state. I hereby bequeath said sum owing to me by T.E. Gardner to my daughter, his wife Justine Gardner and make no other of further provision for her out of my estate by reason of said debt of her husband to me. She will find a record of said indebtedness in the court records of Sandusky County Ohio. Item 2 I hereby nominate and appoint my said son Urias Alexander executor of this my last will and testament and hereby direct that he convert my entire estate real, personal and mixed into money and divide the same equally amongst my said six children to whom I have given, devised and bequeathed it except that he shall treat said 200.00 note of Erastus as I have directed in Item one hereof, and as to the amount owing to me by T.E. Gardner wilh that he will have nothing to do, as my will is that the same go directly to my daughter his wife. I hereby revoke all former wills by me made. In testimony hereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 27th day of August A.D. 1887. Rachel Alexander

Obituary: Rachel Dustimor Alexander
Bellevue News 6/14/1892, pg.3, col.5
DIED - ALEXANDER At the residence of her daughter, Mrs. Theophilus Gardner, Saturday, May 28, 1892, Mrs. Rachel Alexander, aged 87 years, 5 months and 15 days. Rachel Dustimor was born in Rockingham County, VA., Dec. 13, 1804. In 1810 she came with her parents to Ohio and settled in Coshocton county. She afterwards removed to Tuscarawas county, where she became acquainted with Wm. R. Alexander, with whom she was united in marriage Oct. 21, 1824. With her husband she removed to a farm in Hancock county, where she resided until 1849, when she came to Huron county and settled on a farm near the Columbus pike. In 1869 she left the farm and settled in Flat Rock. Here she was widowed, the death of her husband occurring Sept. 1, 1879. After Mr. Alexander's death she continued to live in Flat Rock until nearly four months ago, when she came to Bellevue to the home of her daughter, Mrs. Theophilus Gardner, where she remained up to the time of her death, May 28, 1892, being 87 years, 5 months, and 15 days old. Her life was one of toil and constant activity. In her youth the primeval forests stood, and the dusky Indian roamed the plain. The land was to be cleared before seed could be sown. In this heroic age her zeal did not falter, but she stood as a helpmeet indeed to her husband, aiding him in his work besides discharging the onerous duties which pertained at that day to a wife and mother. She clothed her family with the products of her own loom, weaving as high as eight yards of linen a day in addition to her usual household duties. She was the mother of eleven children, five of whom have died, viz,: Charles, Samuel, Julia A., John H. and Rose B. The six surviving children are, Ambrose, of Bryan, Erastus, of Kansas, Urias, of Milan, and Russel B., Mrs. Mary Clemens and Mrs. Justina Gardner, of Bellevue. She has 20 living grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren. One sister survives, Mrs. Margaret Courtwright, who lives in Coshocton county. Mrs. Alexander was converted about 68 years ago and united with the Methodist church and has always retained her membership therein. She was a devout and sincere Christian. Her faith was simple, yet strong enough to afford support in life's strongest trials. She manifested the greatest patience in suffering and endured uncomplainingly the Divine will. Her strong tower was the Word of God. Her well worn Bible shows constant use, as well it might, for she had read it through many times and much of it was committed to memory. The blessed book was her companion to the very last. She was ministered to in her old age by her children, all of whom were devoted to her. She was made to rejoice in the consciousness that those to whom she ministered when they were babes and children, did not forget or neglect her in her old age. Her last days were attended by the presence of her children and their loving hands closed her eyes for her last sleep. Funeral services were held Tuesday afternoon from the Methodist church.

Children: Mary Ann ALEXANDER was born on 31 Mar 1829 in Coshocton Co., Ohio. She appeared on the census in 1880 in Thompson Twp., Seneca Co., Ohio. She was married to William CLEMENS (son of John CLEMENS) on 11 Nov 1849 in Seneca Co., Ohio. William CLEMENS was born on 12 Jul 1824 in Union Co., Pennsylvania. He died on 29 Dec 1876 in Ashtabula, Ohio. "History of Seneca County, Ohio" records the following: "WILLIAM CLEMENS (deceased) was born July 12, 1824, in Union County, Pennsylvania. His father, John Clemens, a soldier of the war of 1812, settled in Huron County, Ohio, near the Seneca County line, in 1831, and he and his wife finally moved to Adams Township, this county, where they remained until their death. William Clemens married, November 11, 1849, Miss Mary Ann Alexander, born March 31, 1829, in Coshocton County, Ohio. They lived in Huron County until 1862 when they settled on the present homestead in Thompson Township, this county. Here they acquired a fine farm of 340 acres of well-improved land in this and Huron Counties. This they obtained entirely by their own efforts. Their children are Lyman, Mrs. Clara Lofland, Mrs. Lucinda Thompson, Mrs. Rose A. Haywood, Charles, Mrs. Julia Higgins and Alice. Mr. Clemens was killed in the railroad disaster at Ashtabula, Ohio, December 29, 1876. He was an extensive dealer in stock during the last few years of his life. He took an active interest in the educational affairs of the country, and held the position of school director in both counties for many years."

Ashtabula Train Disaster

Dispatch to the Chicago Tribune Ashtabula, Ohio, December 30, 1876 The disaster occurred shortly before eight o'clock. It was the wildest winter night of the year. Three hours behind its time, the Pacific Express, which had left New York the night before, struggled along through the drifts and the blinding storm. The eleven cars were a heavy burden to the two engines, and when the leading locomotive broke through the drifts beyond the ravine, and rolled on across the bridge, the train was moving at less than ten miles an hour. The head lamp threw but a short and dim flash of light in the front, so thick was the air with the driving snow. The train crept across the bridge, the leading engine had reached solid ground beyond, and its driver had just given it steam, when something in the undergearing of the bridge snapped. For an instant, there was a confused crackling of beams and girders, ending with a tremendous crash, as the whole train but the leading engine broke through the framework, and fell in a heap of crushed and splintered ruins at the bottom. Notwithstanding the wind and storm, the crash was heard by people within-doors half a mile away. For a moment there was silence, a stunned sensation among the survivors, who in all stages of mutilation lay piled among the dying and dead. Then arose the cries of the maimed and suffering; the few who remained unhurt hastened to escape from the shattered cars. They crawled out of windows into freezing water waist-deep. Men, women and children, with limbs bruised and broken, pinched between timbers and transfixed by jagged splinters, begged with their last breath for aid that no human power could give. Five minutes after the train fell, the fire broke out in the cars piled against the abutments at either end. A moment later, flames broke from the smoking-car and first coach piled across each other near the middle of the stream. In less than ten minutes after the catastrophe, every car in the wreck was on fire, and the flames, fed by the dry varnished work and fanned by the icy gale, licked up the ruins as though they had been tinder. The neighboring residents, startled by the crash, were lighted to the scene by the conflagration, which made even their prompt assistance too late. When morning came, all that remained of the Pacific Express was a winrow of car wheels, axles, brake-irons, truck-frames and twisted rails lying in a black pool at the bottom of the gorge. The wood had burned completely away, and the ruins were covered with white ashes.

Ambrose ALEXANDER was born on 10 Mar 1831 in Coshocton Co., Ohio. He enlisted F Co. 145th Infantry Regular - Ohio National Guard on 12 May 1864. Ambrose Alexander Enlist Date Enlist Place Enlist Rank Enlist Age 12 May 1864 Priv 32 Served Ohio Enlisted F Co. 145th Inf Reg. OH Mustered Out at Camp Chase, OH on 24 August 1864 He died on 24 Jan 1913 in Huron Co., Ohio. From "1882 History of Williams Co.", page 622 states "Ambrose Alexander, of the firm of Hood & Alexander, is one of the large number claiming Ohio for a birthplace. Coshocton County March 10, 1831, completes the record. His parents, William R. and Rachel (Dusthammer) Alexander, were of Irish and German descent. Mr. Alexandew died in Seneca County, Ohio, where Mrs. Alexander still lives." ...(referring to William and Rachel).......... "Mr. Alexander's early educational advantages were very good. After the public schools of Huron County, he was in attendance at Bellevue High School, and followed teaching for twenty-one terms, during the winter seasons, and worked on the farm summers. He disposed of his farm in Defiance County and removed to Bryan, where he dealt in Texas real estate. From Bryan he came to Montpelier, where the present partnership of Hood and Alexander were formed. They are among the leading merchants of this place; have a large trade; carry a fine stock of dry goods, boots and shoes, groceries and glassware, values at $8,000 to $10,000. Mr. Alexander and Miss Clarissa M. Mann were united in marriage November 23, 1854 in Huron Co, Ohio. Mrs. Olice C. Mann died at her daughter's home in Defiance County. Mr. Mann's home is with Mr. and Mrs. Alexander. Of the two children of the latter, but one survives--Rosa M., who is married and lives in Montpelier. Mr. Alexander is a member of Bryan Lodge, No. 215. A.F. and A.M."

He was married to Clarissa Maria MANN (daughter of Israel MANN) on 23 Nov 1854 in Seneca Co., Ohio. Clarissa Maria MANN was born about 1837 in Pennsylvania. She was also known as Maria C. Mann.

Erastus ALEXANDER was born on 10 Mar 1831 in Coshocton Co., Ohio He Enlisted G Co. 111th Inf Reg. Ohio on 20 Aug 1862. Enlist Date Enlist Place Enlist Rank Enlist Age 20 August 1862 Sergeant 31 Promoted to Full Corpl on 27 August 1862 Promoted to Full 2nd Lieut on 20 May 1864 (1st U.S. Colored Heavy Artillery) Served Ohio Enlisted G Co. 111th Inf Reg. OH Resigned on 10 June 1865 He was married to Emily M. HAYWOOD on 8 Feb 1855 in Huron Co., Ohio.

Justina ALEXANDER was born about 1833 in Ohio. She was born about 1833. She appeared on the census in 1850 in Huron Co., Ohio (Lyme Twp.). She appeared on the census in 1880 in York, Sandusky Co., Ohio. She died on 14 Dec 1901 in Bellevue, Huron/Sandusky Co., Ohio. She died on 14 Dec 1901 in Bellevue, Sandusky Co., Ohio. She was married to Theophilus E. GARDNER (son of John S. GARDNER and Ann ALEXANDER) in 1869. Theophilus E. GARDNER was born about 1838 in Bellevue, Sandusky Co., Ohio. He died on 4 Aug 1912 in Bellevue, Sandusky Co., Ohio.

Urias ALEXANDER was born about 1835 in Ohio. He appeared on the census in 1850 in Huron Co., Ohio (Lyme Twp.). He appeared on the census in 1880 in Berlin, Erie Co., Ohio. He was married to Alice A. DIMICK (daughter of Varrett) on 6 Jul 1869. Alice A. DIMICK was born about 1858 in Ohio.

Roseanna B. ALEXANDER was born about 1837 in Ohio. She appeared on the census in 1850 in Huron Co., Ohio (Lyme Twp.). She died between 1887 and 1892.

Russell B. ALEXANDER was born on 12 Oct 1841 in McComb, Hancock Co., Ohio. He appeared on the census in 1850 in Huron Co., Ohio (Lyme Twp.). He was a Farmer in 1862 in Ohio. He Military Enlist Pvt. Company G 111th Ohio Infantry on 17 Aug 1862 in Fremont, Ohio. Cathy's notes: According to stories told by Charles Alexander, Russell's family split up during the Civil War when some members fought for the North, others for the South. According to the military records of Russell Alexander, he enlisted in Company G of the 111th Regiment of Ohio Infantry as a private on August 17, 1862 at Fremont, Ohio and was mustered out on June 27, 1865 at Salisbury, North Carolina. He attained the rank of Corporal in Dec. 1862 and was promoted to Sergeant May 1, 1864. He was detailed to Brig. Headquarters in North Carolina from Feb.-June 1865. Pension: Date of Filing - July 19, 1890 Application # - 852007 Certificate # - 651687 He Military Rank Corporal in Dec 1862. He Military Rank Sergeant on 1 May 1864. He Military Disch Sgt. - Brig. Headquarters - North Carolina on 27 Jun 1865 in Salisbury, North Carolina. He was a Railroad Conductor in 1880 in Seneca Co., Ohio. He was a Railroad Employee on 25 Mar 1891 in Bellevue, Huron/Sandusky Co., Ohio. Date of Death: 11/3/1913 He was married to Cedelia D. BLOOMER (daughter of Charles Burchard BLOOMER and Caroline C. DIMICK) on 18 Dec 1866 in Bellevue, Huron/Sandusky Co., Ohio. Cedelia D. BLOOMER was born on 15 Aug 1848 in Weaver's Corners, Sherman twp., Huron Co., Ohio. She died on 30 Oct 1899 in Bellevue, Huron/Sandusky Co., Ohio.

Obituary: Cedelia Bloomer Alexander
Bellevue News - 11/3/1899, pg. 4, C. 2-3

Obituary - ALEXANDER. At her home on Kilbourne Street, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 1899, at 7:30 O'clock p.m., Mrs. Cedelia D. Alexander, aged 51 years, 2 months and 16 days, Mrs. Alexander was a daughter of Charles B. and Caroline C. (Dimick) Bloomer, and is the last of that family to pass away. She was born at Weaver's Corners, Ohio, Aug. 15, 1848. She was united in marriage with R. B. Alexander, at that place, Dec. 18, 1866. For four years after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Alexander resided at Weaver's Corners. They then removed to this city, which has been their home ever since with the exception of two or three years spent at Flat Rock. Four children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander: Charles W., Reuben Bloomer, John and Frank. Reuben Bloomer died at the age of two years and ten months. The others live in this city and are respected members of the community. Mrs. Alexander united with St. Paul's church of this city, four years ago. Her previous life had been that of a Christian in all but church membership. and she readily became an active worker in the church and a devoted communicant. To her and Mrs. George James is due the credit of starting E. O. Merry chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star. She was its first presiding officer and has devoted much time to its interests. She was also an active member of the Ladies' Auxiiliary to the O.R.C., the L.T.B.A. and the Woman's Relief Corps. In whatever society or cause she interested herself her energy and enthusiasm were freely given and aroused to action others who otherwise would have remained passive. It may be said without fear of contradiction that no more patriotic woman lived in Bellevue. Her love of country and her readiness to assist its soldiers in time of war and to honor the memory of the dead who fought in her country's cause, are worthy of emulation. In the home she was always a devoted wife and mother. The kind-heartedness and generosity which prompted her to a wider sphere of action served also to make her attachments greater to those of closer kinship. Her death is the result of a paralytic attack which she received Oct. 13th, eighteen days previous to her death. Her departure from earth leaves desolate a heretofore happy home, and the sorrowing husband and sons have sympathy of all and the sincere wish that the Almighty may temper their grief by such consolation as He alone can give. The funeral will be held this afternoon at 1:30 at the house and 2 O'clock at the Reformed church conducted by Rev. A.H. Zechiel. Interment will be made in Bellevue cemetery.