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 LA County, is the List of United States counties and county equivalents, most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 202 ...

. 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 (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

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

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

for three or four years, and from there he went to Rocheport, Missouri. Some say he spent much of his youth in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

.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 ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

, 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 and sometimes abbreviated as S.B. County, is a County (United States), county located in the Southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is locat ...

. 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 List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...
. The importation was a rockaway, costing $1000, along with two American horses, all coming from
New England New England is a region consisting of 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 (state), New York to the west and by the ...
around the Horn on the customary windjammer.

He then formed the Alexander and Mellus Company, a mercantile business in Los Angeles, with Francis Mellus (1824–1863). During this time he also formed a partnership with

Phineas Banning Phineas Banning (August 19, 1830 – March 8, 1885) was an American businessperson, 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, Los Angeles, Ca ...

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

to Alexander and Mellus Company. In 1867, he sold Rancho Providencia to David Burbank. The Rancho Tujunga, Rancho Cahuenga 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 liter). I ...
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 ...
s from Chihuahua, at a cost of about $30,000. . . . ater, in February 1855, hewas known to be an experienced frontiersman, and though they had a terrible time of it—they were three days going one mile in San Francisquito Canyon, building the road as they advanced—the train reached Fort Tejon with cargo intact.

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

Californios Californios (singular Californio) are Californians of Spaniards, Spanish descent, especially those descended from settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries before California was annexed by the United States. California's Spanish language in C ...

at the Rancho Santa Ana del Chino of Isaac Williams, 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 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 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, 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

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, David W. Los Angeles Common Council (1850–1889) members 19th-century California politicians Los Angeles County, California, sheriffs Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors 1812 births 1886 deaths Irish emigrants to the United States 19th century in Los Angeles People from Rocheport, Missouri