Raymond Pace Alexander (1897 - 1974)

Born 13 Oct 1897 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

Died 23 Nov 1974 at age 77 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Raymond Alexander is Notable.

Raymond Pace Alexander, lawyer, judge and civil rights leader in Philadelphia, argued several high-profile anti-discrimination and desegregation cases before becoming the first African-American judge appointed to the Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas (the trial courts of Pennsylvania). He was the first Black graduate of the Wharton School of Business, and a professorship for the studies of Civil Rights and race relations was established in his honor at the University of Pennsylvania.

Raymond Alexander was born in 1897 in Philadelphia. His parents were Hillard Boone Alexander and Virginia Pace,^[1] both formerly enslaved in Virginia.^[2] He married Sadie Tanner Mossell in Philadelphia in 1923;^[3] she was the first Black woman to earn a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and granddaughter of a well-known Bishop of the A.M.E. church, Benjamin Tanner. They had two daughters who lived to adulthood, and at least one child that died in infancy.^[4][5][6]

Raymond graduated from Harvard Law School in 1924. Among his many cases, he took two county school districts to court for trying to establish segregated school systems. He also initiated action that led to a U.S. Supreme Court order to admit Blacks to Girard College.

Raymond was also involved politically; he served on the Philadelphia City Council and was later appointed to the Common Pleas Court in 1959. In 1963, Ebony magazine cited him as one of the most influential Blacks in the United States.^[4]

He died in 1974 in Philadelphia and is buried in West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania.^[7][8] He was survived by his wife Sadie and their two daughters, both of whom had married by that time.

In 2007, the University of Pennsylvania endowed the Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professorship, devoted to the study of civil rights and race relations, in honor of both Raymond and his wife Sadie. ^[9]

Sources

1. ↑ '"Pennsylvania Births and Christenings, 1709-1950", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HFCT-S16Z : 15 February 2020), Raymond Pace Alexander, 1897.
2. ↑ Raymond Pace Alexander on Wikipedia
3. ↑ 1923 Marriage:
   • "Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriage Index, 1885-1951"
     Ancestry Record 2536 #492480 (accessed 6 February 2022)
     Raymond P Alexander marriage to Sadie T Mossell in 1923 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
   • "Pennsylvania, County Marriages, 1885-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2Z4-F1JK : 22 July 2021), Raymond Pace Alexander and Sadie Tanner Mossell, 23 Nov 1923; citing Marriage, Pennsylvania, United States, multiple County Clerks, Pennsylvania.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} 1974 Obituary, The Central New Jersey Home News, (New Brunswick, NJ) 25 Nov 1974, Mon, p.4. Free View of Article Philadelphia; "Raymond Pace Alexander, judge led civil rights battle," Grad Harvard Law School 1924. Survived by widow Sadie Tanner Mossell, 2 daughters: Mrs Melvin Brown, Mrs. Rae Alexander Minter.
5. ↑ 1940 Census:
   • "1940 United States Federal Census"
     Year: 1940; Census Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: m-t0627-03750; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 51-2028A
     Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 2442 #23801403 (accessed 6 February 2022)
     Raymond P Alexander (41), married, Attorney Of Law, head of household in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in Pennsylvania. With wife Sadie, 2 children.
   • "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KQJJ-VXT : 9 February 2020), Raymond P Alexander, Ward 47, Philadelphia, Philadelphia City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 51-2028A, sheet 6A, line 1, family 137, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 3750.

   Raymond P Alexander Head Male 41 Pennsylvania

   Sadie T M Alexander Wife Female 40 Pennsylvania

   Mary E Alexander Daughter Female 5 Pennsylvania

   Rae Pace Alexander Daughter Female 3 Pennsylvania

6. ↑ Child Death: "Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1968"
   Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission; Harrisburg, PA; Pennsylvania (State). Death Certificates, 1906-1968; Certificate Number Range: 076501-079500
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 5164 #603284747 (accessed 6 February 2022)
   Raymond Alexander in death record for child Baby Alexander.
7. ↑ Death:
   • "U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014"
     Social Security Administration; Washington D.C., USA; Social Security Death Index, Master File
     Ancestry Record 3693 #632084 (accessed 6 February 2022)
     Raymond Alexander death Nov 1974.
   • "United States Social Security Death Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J2W9-YQ9 : 8 January 2021), Raymond Alexander, Nov 1974; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing).
8. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16784322/raymond-pace-alexander : accessed 28 February 2022), memorial page for Judge Raymond Pace Alexander (13 Oct 1897–23 Nov 1974), Find A Grave: Memorial #16784322, citing West Laurel Hill Cemetery, Bala Cynwyd, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, USA; Maintained by contributor 48494116.
9. ↑ penntoday.upenn.edu, website, "Penn Law School Establishes Civil Rights Chair With Help Of $1 Million Grant From Commonwealth of Pennsylvania"

• 1900 Census:
  • "United States Census, 1900", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M37B-B24 : 13 January 2022), James R Alexander in entry for Hillard Alexander, 1900.
    
  • "1900 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1900; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 30, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Page: 7; Enumeration District: 0764; FHL microfilm: 1241472
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7602 #58725659 (accessed 6 February 2022)
    James R Alexander (2), single son, in household of Hillard Alexander (42) in Philadelphia Ward 30, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in Pennsylvania, USA.

• 1910 Census: "United States Census, 1910," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MGD5-3S6 : accessed 28 February 2022), James R Alexander in household of John S Pace, Philadelphia Ward 14, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 209, sheet 4A, family 79, NARA microfilm publication T624 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1982), roll 1391; FHL microfilm 1,375,404.

• 1917 WWI Draft:
  • "U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918"
    Registration State: Pennsylvania; Registration County: Philadelphia
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6482 #25338831 (accessed 6 February 2022)
    Name: Raymond Pace Alexander; Race: Black; Birth Date: 13 Oct 1897; Residence Date: 1917-1918; Street Address: 2026 N Marvine St; Residence Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Draft Board: 29; Physical Build: Slender; Height: Tall; Hair Color: Black; Eye Color: Brown; Father: Hillard B. Alexander.
  • "United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6KH-3VH : 25 December 2021), Raymond Pace Alexander, 1917-1918.

• WWI Military Service: "Pennsylvania, U.S., World War I Veterans Service and Compensation Files, 1917-1919, 1934-1948"
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 60884 #1187479 (accessed 6 February 2022)
  Name: Raymond Pace Alexander; Residence Age: 37; Birth Date: 13 Oct 1897; Birth Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Residence Date: 7 Aug 1935; Residence Place: Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Military Branch: Army; Record Type: Service Card. Training; Oct-Dec 1918

• 1920 Census: "1920 United States Federal Census"
  Year: 1920; Census Place: Philadelphia Ward 30, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Roll: T625_1634; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 976
  Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6061 #69010534 (accessed 6 February 2022)
  Raymond Alexander (22), single nephew, None, in household of Ben Johnson (41) in Philadelphia Ward 30, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Born in Pennsylvania.

• Wikidata: Item Q16007700, en:Wikipedia