Sydenham Benoni Alexander (December 8, 1840June 14, 1921) was a Democratic

U.S. Congressman The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

between 1891 and 1895.

Early life

Alexander, born near

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...

in 1840, attended preparatory schools in Rocky River and Wadesboro and graduated from the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

in 1860. His uncle, William Graham, was

Governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Seventy-five people have held the office since the first state governor, Richard Caswell, took office in 1777. The governor serves a ...

as well as

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Career

At the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

in 1861, he enlisted in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

as a private in the First Regiment, North Carolina Volunteer Infantry. He was elected captain of Company K, Forty-second North Carolina Regiment, in June 1862. He detached from his company in 1864 and served as inspector general on the staff of Maj. Gen.

Robert F. Hoke Robert Frederick Hoke (May 27, 1837 – July 3, 1912) was a Confederate major general during the American Civil War. He was present at one of the earliest battles, the Battle of Big Bethel, where he was commended for coolness and judgment. ...

. After the Civil War, Alexander was a member of the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The Senate ...

in 1879, 1883, 1885, 1887, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (later

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

; Alexander served on its board of trustees), and was president of the

North Carolina Railroad The North Carolina Railroad is a state-owned rail corridor extending from Morehead City, North Carolina, to Charlotte. The railroad carries over 70 freight trains operated by the Norfolk Southern Railway and eight passenger trains (Amtrak's ...

. He became the first president of the North Carolina

Farmers Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economics, economic movement among United States, American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the Nati ...

around 1887. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for

in 1888. After his defeat at the state convention by

Daniel Gould Fowle Daniel Gould Fowle (March 3, 1831April 7, 1891) was the 46th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1889 until his death in 1891. He had served as a state superior court judge from 1865 to 1867. Fowle was the first governor to live ...

, Alexander was offered the nomination for

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

but declined. A Democrat, Alexander was elected to the U.S. House in 1890 and served in the 52nd and

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Congresses. He did not run for a third term in 1894, but retired to his "Enderly Plantation" estate in Mecklenburg County. He served one additional term in the North Carolina Senate in 1901.

Death and legacy

Alexander finally moved to Charlotte in 1906 and died there in 1921; he is buried in Elmwood Cemetery. His distant relatives include

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Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to: * Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...

and

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

John Sharp Williams John Sharp Williams (July 30, 1854September 27, 1932) was a prominent American politician in the Democratic Party from the 1890s through the 1920s, and served as the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1908 ...

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, Sydenham Benoni 1840 births 1921 deaths People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina state senators University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Stevenson family 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly