David W. Alexander (June 22, 1812 – April 29, 1886) was an early California politician and pioneer in

Los Angeles County, California Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles, and sometimes abbreviated as L.A. County, is the List of the most populous counties in the United States, most populous county in the United States and in the U.S. state of California, ...

. He was on the Board of Supervisors in 1853 and 1854, and in 1855 he was elected the third sheriff for the county.

Biography

Early life

David W. Alexander was born on June 22, 1812 in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He moved to the United States with one of his brothers in 1832. He resided in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

for three or four years, and from there he went to

Rocheport, Missouri Rocheport is a city in Boone County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 239 at the 2010 census. Rocheport includes the Rocheport Historic District, an area with buildi ...

. Some say he spent much of his youth in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

.Clare Wallace, Los Angeles Public Library Reference File, April 26, 1939, with sources as listed there
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Career

He operated a trading company to

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...

in 1837. In 1841 Alexander, he arrived in California, with the Rowland-Workman Party and lived for some time on Rancho El Rincon, in

San Bernardino County, California San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the ...

. He then went to the port of San Pedro, where he and John Temple carried on a trading business and general-merchandise store from 1844 till 1849. They also handled the salting and trading of hides, which were "practically the only form of money in the county."

Temple and Alexander created a sensation . . . by bringing in a four-wheel vehicle into the pueblo f Los Angelesin January, 1849. Except for a local-made cart belonging to mission priests it was the first carriage seen in
southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. The importation was a rockaway, costing $1000, along with two American horses, all coming from
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
around the Horn on the customary
windjammer A windjammer is a commercial sailing ship with multiple masts that may be square rigged, or fore-and-aft rigged, or a combination of the two. The informal term "windjammer" arose during the transition from the Age of Sail to the Age of Steam ...
.

He then formed the Alexander and Mellus Company, a mercantile business in Los Angeles, with

Francis Mellus Francis Mellus (February 3, 1824 – September 14, 1864), brother of Henry Mellus, was a Los Angeles County Supervisor and a successful California business man. Francis Mellus, born in Salem, Massachusetts, was a younger brother of Henry Mellu ...

(1824–1863). During this time he also formed a partnership with

Phineas Banning Phineas Banning (August 19, 1830 – March 8, 1885) was an American businessman, financier and entrepreneur. Known as "The Father of the Port of Los Angeles," he was one of the founders of the town of Wilmington, in Los Angeles County, Californ ...

in San Pedro, until 1855, when he sold his interest.H. D. Barrows, 1898, ''Don David W. Alexander'', Annual publication of the Historical Society of Southern California and Pioneer register, Los Angeles, Published by the Society He also became involved in Southern California real estate. In 1851, landowner Vicente de la Osa sold

Rancho Providencia Rancho La Providencia was a Mexican land grant in present-day Los Angeles County, California given by governor Juan B. Alvarado in 1843 to Vincente de la Osa. The majority of Rancho Providencia land north of the modern channel of the Los Angeles ...

to Alexander and Mellus Company. In 1867, he sold Rancho Providencia to

David Burbank David Burbank (December 17, 1821 – January 21, 1895) was an American dentist and real estate investor. He became a founder and the namesake of Burbank, California. Early life Burbank was born on December 17, 1821, in Effingham, New Hampshire. ...

. The

Rancho Tujunga Rancho Tujunga was a Mexican land grant in the western Crescenta Valley and northeastern San Fernando Valley, in present-day Los Angeles County, California. It was granted in 1840 by Mexican governor Juan Alvarado to Francisco Lopez and Pedro ...

Rancho Cahuenga Rancho Cahuenga was a Mexican land grant in the San Fernando Valley, in present-day Los Angeles County, California given in 1843 by governor Manuel Micheltorena to José Miguel Triunfo. Rancho Cahuenga is now a part of the city of Burbank, with ...

and Rancho Providencia were patented to Alexander by the United States courts in 1872. His brother, George C. Alexander, and

operated Alexander & Banning as a successful freight and stage line, and in 1851 they:

brought in from
Salt Lake A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per litre). ...
ten heavy freight wagons, the first seen in this part of the country, and supplemented them later with the purchase of a whole train of 16 wagons and 168
mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two pos ...
s from Chihuahua, at a cost of about $30,000. . . . ater, in February 1855, hewas known to be an experienced
frontiersman A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a Border, boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that ...
, and though they had a terrible time of it—they were three days going one mile in
San Francisquito Canyon San Francisquito Canyon is a canyon created through erosion of the Sierra Pelona Mountains by the San Francisquito Creek, in Los Angeles County, Southern California. Geography The canyon cuts through the Sierra Pelona Mountains, which are centr ...
, building the road as they advanced—the train reached
Fort Tejon Fort Tejon in California is a former United States Army outpost which was intermittently active from June 24, 1854, until September 11, 1864. It is located in the Grapevine Canyon (''La Cañada de las Uvas'') between the San Emigdio Mountains and ...
with cargo intact.

During the Mexican War of 1846–47, he favored the Americans and was made a prisoner by the

Californios Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californians, Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish language, Spanish-s ...

at the

Rancho Santa Ana del Chino Rancho Santa Ana del Chino was a Mexican land grant in the Chino Hills and southwestern Pomona Valley, in present-day San Bernardino County, California. It was granted to Antonio Maria Lugo in 1841 by Mexican Alta California Governor Juan Bauti ...

Isaac Williams The Reverend Isaac Williams (1802–1865) was a prominent member of the Oxford Movement (or "Tractarians"), a student and disciple of John Keble and, like the other members of the movement, associated with Oxford University. A prolific writ ...

, but he was released on parole. When hostilities ceased, he became ''regidore'' from January 2 to June 29, 1850, in the ''ayumiento.'' He was the first President of the

Los Angeles Common Council The Los Angeles Common Council was the predecessor of the Los Angeles, California, City Council. It was formed in 1850 under state law, when the city had only 1,610 residents, and it existed until 1889, when the city had about 50,400 residents and ...

, the governing body of the city, in 1850–51, resigning on September 25, 1851. He traveled to Europe in 1852. He was elected a member of the

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (LACBOS) is the five-member governing body of Los Angeles County, California, United States. History On April 1, 1850 the citizens of Los Angeles elected a three-man Court of Sessions as their first ...

in 1853 and 1854. As a supervisor he "led the movement to lay the first road over the San Fernando Mountains." He was then elected Sheriff of Los Angeles county for the terms of 1855–1856 and 1876–1877.

Personal life

He married Adelaida Johnson Mellus of

Guaymas, Mexico Guaymas () is a city in Guaymas Municipality, in the southwest part of the state of Sonora, in northwestern Mexico. The city is south of the state capital of Hermosillo, and from the U.S. border. The municipality is located on the Gulf of Calif ...

, widow of his former partner, Francis Mellus, on November 7, 1864. Their children were Martha, Elizabeth, Ynez, Joseph W. and Samuel.

Death

He died in Wilmington on April 29, 1886.Death notice, ''Los Angeles Herald,'' April 30, 1886, page 6
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, David W. California pioneers Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members 19th-century American politicians Los Angeles County, California sheriffs Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 1812 births 1887 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) 19th century in Los Angeles People from Rocheport, Missouri