William Cowper Alexander (May 20, 1806 – August 23, 1874) was an American lawyer, politician, and insurance executive. He served as President of the

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

and as President of the Equitable Life Assurance Society.

Early life

Alexander was born in 1806 in

Prince Edward County, Virginia Prince Edward County is located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,849. Its county seat is Farmville. History Formation and county seats Prince Edward County was formed in the Virginia Colony in ...

, the second son of noted

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

theologian

Archibald Alexander Archibald Alexander (April 17, 1772 – October 22, 1851) was an American Presbyterian theologian and professor at the Princeton Theological Seminary. He served for 9 years as the President of Hampden–Sydney College in Virginia and for 39 yea ...

and his wife Janetta Waddel. His elder brother James Waddel Alexander (1804–1859) would also become a Presbyterian theologian and minister. Another brother, Joseph Addison Alexander (1809–1860), would become a biblical scholar. Alexander's father was president of

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all- ...

in Virginia before being called to serve as minister of the Third Presbyterian Church in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1807. The family then moved to

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

when Archibald Alexander was named the first professor of the

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of t ...

in 1812. Alexander graduated from the College of New Jersey (now

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

) in 1824 and was admitted to the bar of New Jersey as an attorney in 1828. He opened an office in Princeton and attended to his professional business there for about thirty years. He also joined the militia company known as the Princeton Blues and achieved the rank of colonel.

Political career

Alexander never obtained his license as counsellor and took a greater interest in politics than law. He entered the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

in 1836 as a Democrat from Middlesex County (before the formation of Mercer County). In 1851 he succeeded

Charles Smith Olden Charles Smith Olden (February 19, 1799April 7, 1876) was an American merchant, banker, and politician who served as the 19th governor of New Jersey from 1860 to 1863 during the first part of the American Civil War. As Governor, Olden supported P ...

as a member of the New Jersey Senate from Mercer County, serving as president of that body for four terms. In 1856 he was drafted to run as the Democratic candidate for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

. He lost to the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate William A. Newell by less than 3,000 votes. Alexander was a delegate to the 1860 Democratic National Convention and at the second Convention in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

he received one vote for the Vice Presidency. He was a delegate to the

Peace Conference of 1861 The Peace Conference of 1861 was a meeting of 131 leading American politicians in February 1861, at the Willard's Hotel in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the American Civil War. The purpose of the conference was to avoid, if possible, the seces ...

, after which time he withdrew from political life and devoted himself to a career as a life insurance executive.

Business career

Alexander was chosen President of the Equitable Life Assurance Society when it was organized in 1859. His brother, Presbyterian minister James Waddel Alexander, had become the patron of Equitable founder Henry Baldwin Hyde, and many of the company's original directors were members of Rev. Alexander's Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. Alexander did not assume an active role in management of Equitable business, leaving that to the much younger Hyde, who was named vice president and manager. Alexander served as president until his death at his New York City residence in 1874 at the age of 68. He was succeeded by Hyde and then by his nephew James Waddell Alexander (1839-1915) after Hyde's death in 1899. Alexander never married. He was buried in the family plot at

Princeton Cemetery Princeton Cemetery is located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. John F. Hageman in his 1878 history of Princeton, New Jersey refers to the cemetery as "The Westminster Abbey of the United Stat ...

References

External links

William C. Alexander
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alexander, William Cowper 1806 births 1874 deaths People from Prince Edward County, Virginia People from Princeton, New Jersey Princeton University alumni New Jersey lawyers Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Democratic Party New Jersey state senators Presidents of the New Jersey Senate American chief executives of financial services companies Burials at Princeton Cemetery 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American businesspeople