52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #51 Thomas Jefferson Alexander of Weakley County, Tennessee

The birthplace of my great-great-grandfather is a puzzle. His death certificate shows that he was born on January 29, 1829, to Sampson Alexander and Beulah Ann Nix. Following the census records over time, his birthplace is stated as both South Carolina and Tennessee. Consistently, his parents are listed as having been born in South Carolina, except on his death record.

The whereabouts of the family in 1830 would appear to be Union County, South Carolina, except that the count of three young boys doesn't match the anticipated four sons. It's one short, which would be our subject. Additionally Sampson's age is too high, so it may be the wrong family. What is known is that the Alexander family tended to have a lot of twins and the related men who lived in Weakley County, Tennessee, came from Union County, South Carolina.

Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Alexander was the fourth of five known children born to Sampson Alexander. Jeff was a farmer and was a son of a farmer. Sampson had arrived in Weakley County by 1838 and had purchased 195 acres in that county in 1848.

On February 20, 1855, Jeff married the fifteen-year-old Rebecca Ann Maynard in Weakley County. By 1870, he was growing corn on his 36 acres of land. Rebecca bore two sets of twins, along with eight other children, for an even dozen.

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Jeff continued to acquire land throughout his life. He lived on and ran his farm, with help, until at least 1920. He died on September 10, 1922, and is buried with his wife in Jolley Springs Cemetery in Weakley County. His widow, Rebecca, was the informant on his death certificate and was inaccurate in her answers. Unpuzzling this man truly requires collecting and assessing records.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #36 Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander

Finding the parents of Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander provided a gateway to the storied past of the Ragland family of the United States, England and Wales. Her mother, Judith Ragland, was the gateway ancestor.

Rebecca was born in Virginia to Judith and Evan Maynard of Halifax County. Her tombstone states her birth as February 13, 1840, while her death certificate says April 5, 1840. Her mother's birthday was April 5, so I believe the February 13 date is the accurate one.

Rebecca was the eighth of nine children born to the Maynard family. Sometime between 1848 and 1850, the family moved from Virginia to Weakley County, Tennessee. It was there that Rebecca married Thomas Jefferson Alexander on February 20, 1855, just a week after her 15th birthday.

The Alexander family had a legacy of twins. Rebecca bore two sets of twins, along with eight other children, for an even dozen.

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Rebecca Ann Maynard Alexander was widowed in 1922. She died in Dresden, Tennessee, on August 9, 1931. She was buried with her husband in the Jolley Springs cemetery in Weakley County.

Rebecca and the entire Maynard family were mentioned in the Goodspeed's biography of her eldest brother, John Maynard, who founded the town of Maynard, Arkansas. That 1891 biography is an important piece of information for all descendants of Judith Ragland and Evan Maynard.

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #15 Mollydine Alexander Cole and Twin

We don't talk much about the family of my maternal grandfather. Most of what I know has been gleaned from records, newspapers and very distant cousins. But I do recall one conversation about my great-grandmother, Mollydine Alexander Cole.

My Mom was telling me that only her mother's stubbornness stood between herself and the name Mollydine. She  was grateful that she had been named Molly, rather than Mollydine after her grandmother. I didn't ask about the spelling. Instead I wrote the name down as Molly Dean, thinking it was a clue to another ancestral line.

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for Digital Scrapper, March, 2012

When I saw the 1880 census for Weakley County, Tennessee, I figured out how the unusual name came to be. Mollydine had a twin, Josephine. Can't you just see their parents trying to rhyme a name with Josephine? Give it a try -- I did!

The exact date of the twins' birth is fuzzy. Mollydine and Josephine were born on January 31, 1873, according to Molly's obituary. Josephine's typed death record gives a birth date of January 13, 1873, but I suspect that is a typographical error. Josephine Alexander Stacks showed a birthdate of February, 1875, in the 1900 Weakley County census. Molly showed January, 1874, for her birthdate in the 1900 census taken in Clay County, Arkansas. The twins never had identical ages in any census after 1880. Based on all the evidence, I believe that their most likely birthdate is January 31, 1873.

The twins were born to Thomas Jefferson "Jeff" Alexander and Rebecca Ann Maynard. Josephine's death certificate says that they were born in Weakley County.  They grew to womanhood there and were also married there. Mollydine married William J. Cole on December 6, 1891. Josephine married William Edward Stacks on January 19, 1899. Their lives diverged when Mollydine and her family moved to Clay County, Arkansas, leaving her twin behind in Tennessee.

Mollydine gave birth to four sons: Carlos, Noble, Clifford and Seborn. She and William apparently had marital problems. In the 1930 census, "widowed" Molly and son Seborn were living in Michigan, near her sons Noble and Clifford, while "widowed" William was living in Arkansas with son Carlos.

Mollydine Alexander Cole died in Arkansas on January 24, 1956, and was buried in Piggott Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Piggott, Arkansas. She was buried in a different cemetery and even a different town from William J. Cole, who had predeceased her.

Josephine Alexander Stacks died on July 19, 1948, in Hardeman County, Tennessee. Her place of burial was not given on her death certificate.