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Milton C. Alexander was born on February 26, 1847, in Cass County, Illinois.[1] As to the identity of Milton's parents, evidence indicates that there was a misattributed parentage event in Milton's line. U.S. federal census records for 1850[2] and 1860[3] imply that Milton's parents were Joshua C. Alexander, Jr. and Nancy Black Alexander, because he was listed as living with them. This parentage relationship agrees with a document in the probate record for Joshua C. Alexander, Jr., dated February 2, 1852, and signed by Nancy Alexander, which lists Milton among the minor heirs of Joshua Alexander.[4] However, a published analysis of both autosomal DNA and Y-DNA inheritance patterns[5] indicates that Milton's father was actually Charles Forsyth and that his mother was Martha Jane Alexander, the oldest daughter of Joshua and Nancy Alexander.
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Evidence of a non-parental event in the line of Milton C. Alexander. |
At the time of Milton's birth, Martha Jane was about 15 years old[6] and unmarried, so it seems appropriate that Milton would have been raised by his grandparents, Joshua and Nancy Alexander, and given the surname "Alexander, "as the census records indicate. It is apparent, though, that Charles Forsyth and Martha Jane Alexander continued to maintain their close relationship. A little more than a year after Milton's birth, they were married by a justice of the peace in Clark County, Missouri.[7] They were evidently taking advantage of the less stringent marriage laws in that state.[8]
The autosomal DNA matches between descendants of Milton Alexander and descendants of Charles Forsyth[5] are consistent with the conclusion that Milton's full siblings were Willis Henry Forsyth and Reuben A. Forsyth, who were sons of Charles Forsyth and Martha Jane Alexander. Milton also had several half siblings who were the children of Charles Forsyth and his second wife, Salinda Sarah Shurtz, whom Charles had married in 1858[9] after the death of Martha Jane in 1852.[4] Milton's half-siblings were George Franklin Forsythe, Nevada Forsythe, Cora Bell Forsythe, Mary Emily Forsythe, and Richard Valett Forsythe.
Milton Alexander married Francis Caroline Ross, a daughter of Ossian M. Ross and Amanda C. Hammer, in Cass County, Illinois, on December 8, 1867.[10] Milton was 20 years old and Francis was 18. The two seem to have been well acquainted. Both had been living in Beardstown, Illinois, prior to their marriage and both had attended school there.[3][11] Moreover, in 1865, two years prior to their marriage, Milton and Francis were living next door to each other with their respective families.[12]
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Marriage license for Milton and Francis Alexander. |
Milton and Francis had five children, the youngest of whom died in infancy. In order of birth, the children were Hattie Jennie Alexander, Charles Newton Alexander, Nancy May Alexander, Kathryn Ethel Alexander, and Nellie A. Alexander. All were born in Missouri. Hattie Jennie was born in Cass County,[13] and the other children were born in Atchison County.[14][15][16][17]
Milton and Francis Alexander moved from Illinois to western Missouri sometime between their marriage date (December 8, 1867) and the date of the birth of their first child (October 2, 1868). Milton and Francis do not appear in any of the U.S. federal census records for 1870, but the Missouri state census of 1876 lists the couple as living in Atchison County, Missouri, along with four children (Hattie, Charles, Nancy, and Kathryn).[18] Living nearby to Milton and family in the 1876 Missouri state census was Francis' father, Ossian M. Ross, together with Ossian's second wife, Amanda Lee and five of their eight children (Ossian's first wife, Amanda Hammer [Francis' mother], had died on March 8, 1854).[19]
Ossian and his family had moved from Beardstown to Atchison County sometime between the 1865 Illinois state census[12] and the 1870 U.S. federal census,[20] so it seems likely that Milton and his family had moved there within the same time frame. The 1880 U.S. federal census record for Nishnabotna Township in Atchison County includes both Milton Alexander and his family[21] and Ossian Ross and his family.[22] Like the majority of their neighbors, Milton and Ossian were both listed as farmers in the census record.
Sadly, Francis died on March 5, 1881, at the age of 32. Her death occurred at her home near Watson, Atchison County, following surgery for an ovarian tumor.[23] She was interred in High Creek Cemetery in Rock Port, Missouri.[24] Her grave is next to that of her daughter, Nellie, who had died not quite two years earlier, at the age of 10 months.[17]
In the spring of 1889, Milton left Missouri and headed to northwest Nebraska,[25] where he leased educational land south of Chadron in Dawes County.[26] The land that Milton leased was public land that had been set aside by Nebraska's Board of Educational Lands and Funds to be leased for agricultural and other purposes in order to support public education.[27] It seems possible that Milton was drawn to Nebraska because of family connections. Francis' sister Harriet Ross and her husband, Isaac N. Broyles, as well as Francis' half-brother, Leonard Ross, had moved to nearby Kimball County in 1886.[28] Further information about Milton's life in Nebraska during this time is scarce, due in large part to the unavailability of U.S. census records for 1890.[29]
Nevertheless, Nebraska marriage records indicate that Milton's three surviving daughters, Hattie, Nancy, and Kathryn, traveled with Milton to Dawes County. The wedding of Hattie to William L. Roberts was held at Milton's house in Dawes County on December 24, 1890, with Nancy Alexander, Hattie's younger sister, as a witness.[30] On August 5, 1893, Kathryn married Enoch Evan Wilson in Kimball County, where her aunt, Harriett Broyles, was living.[31] Nancy married Joseph L. Vandeveer in Dawes County on October 22, 1894.[32] Milton's son, Charles, did not join Milton and his daughters in Nebraska, however, but instead he traveled to Custer, South Dakota in the late 1880s, where he worked as a teamster, hauling lumber for a sawmill.[33]
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Seth Bullock, 1893. |
In 1892, Milton left Nebraska and joined his son, Charles, in Custer. In 1895, Charles married Eva Melissa Crofford in Custer,[34] and over the next few years, Milton lived with Charles and his family, which ultimately included five children. In Custer, Milton worked variously as a day laborer,[35] a teamster,[36] and a farmer.[37]
By 1910, Milton had moved with Charles and his family to Belle Fourche, South Dakota.[37] Here, Charles leased property on a ranch that was owned by Seth Bullock,[38] who is well-known for serving as sheriff of Deadwood, South Dakota.[39] Bullock was also a prominent businessman and rancher, and the land leased by Charles Alexander was located on Bullock's Redwater Ranch.[38] The crop cultivated by the Alexanders was alfalfa,[40] which had been introduced to South Dakota by Seth Bullock in 1881.[39]
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An alfalfa field in South Dakota circa 1912. |
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Grave marker for Milton C. Alexander. |
Milton Alexander died on the Bullock ranch on July 8, 1914, at the age of 67 years.[1] He lost his life as a result of a rather grisly farming accident. According to newspaper accounts,[40][38] Milton was driving a hay rake in an alfalfa field on the Redwater Ranch when the horses bolted. He fell from his seat and was thrown in front of the teeth of the rake, which impaled him. The official cause of death was a "fract[ure] at base of brain."[1] The accident, which was witnessed by Milton's grandson, Clarence Alexander, among others, happened at about 3 P.M. on July 7, and Milton died at about 1:30 A.M. on July 8, never having regained consciousness. He was interred in Pine Slope Cemetery in Belle Fourche.[41] According to the funeral record, Seth Bullock paid Milton's funeral expenses, which totalled $133.[42]
The information on Milton's death certificate was provided by his son, Charles, but there are errors and omissions on the form. The entry for "mother" on the death certificate is "Francis Ross," but Francis Ross was Milton's wife, not his mother. Presumably, Charles was confused and entered his own mother's name. The "name of father" and "birthplace of father" are marked as "unknown" on the form. Apparently, Charles did not know the identity of his paternal grandfather. It is not clear whether Milton himself knew that his biological father was Charles Forsyth. It is worth noting. however, that "Milton" was the middle name of Charles Forsyth's older brother John Milton Forsyth. Moreover, Milton Alexander named his only son "Charles." So, perhaps Milton did know his paternal lineage, after all.
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Categories: Pine Slope Cemetery, Belle Fourche, South Dakota | Forsyth Name Study