Alexander was born in Muthill in Perthshire, Scotland on May 27, 1691, to David Alexander. He was a distant relation of the Earl of Stirling and may have received his formal education at the High School of Stirling. He joined the navy, serving on HMS Arundell in 1712–13, where he learned navigation, mathematics, and astronomy. But in 1714–15, he joined the uprising in support of James Francis Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, and fled to America in 1715 when it failed.
Life in America
In November 1715, he was appointed surveyor general of New Jersey. He personally made surveys, using instruments he had brought from Scotland and resolved disputed titles. Alexander settled in New York, and in January 1721 after marrying, he was appointed deputy-secretary of New York.
Legal career
Alexander read law in New York and was admitted to the provincial bar of New Jersey in 1720. He served as attorney general for the colony of New York from 1721 to 1723. Alexander sought membership of Gray's Inn on February 1, 1725, and returned from London with a large legal library that enabled him to cite legal precedent in court. This was a distinct advantage for a colonial lawyer. James Duane, ward and later son-in-law of Robert Livingston, third Lord of Livingston Manor, read law as a clerk in Alexander's office and became proficient in the area of rights and jurisdiction in land disputes. Alexander practiced law, engaged in mercantile pursuits, and built a considerable fortune. He built a large brick mansion at Broad and Beaver Streets.
Politics
In 1721, Alexander was appointed to the Governor's Council in New York. In 1723, he was added to the Council in New Jersey and that same year made Attorney General of New Jersey. He frequently opposed the policies of New York GovernorWilliam Cosby and in 1732, Cosby succeeded in having Alexander removed from the council. In 1733, Alexander started an anti-Cosby newspaper, the New York Weekly Journal, with Peter Zenger as publisher. Alexander was the principal author of pieces critical of Governor Cosby. The following year, Zenger was arrested on sedition charges, but eventually a jury acquitted Zenger in one of the first instances of jury nullification. Alexander and William Smith served as Zenger's attorneys until both were disbarred after they challenged the commissions of the judges hearing the case. In 1730, Alexander was chairman of the committee to revise the New York City charter; he was given the freedom of the city the following year. When Lord De La Warr was appointed governor in 1737, Alexander was reinstated to the bar and reappointed to the governor's Council of New York. His removal from the Council of New Jersey was disregarded. Alexander became a vocal proponent of the emerging Whig political views, and engaged in various civic efforts as well. In 1751, he raised funds to establish King's College.
On June 5, 1721, Alexander married the wealthy widow Mary Spratt Provoost. She was the daughter of John Spratt and Maria de Peyster. Her DePuyster uncles drafted the prenuptial agreements. Mary was the widow of Samuel Provoost, the younger brother of David Proovost, the 24th mayor of New York City, with whom she had three children. Together, James and Mary had seven children:
In 1756, while on a trip to Albany to confer with other Whig leaders, he suffered a flare up of his gout which led to a deterioration of his health. He returned home ill as a result and died in Albany or New York City on April 2, 1756.
Descendants
Through his daughter Mary, he was the grandmother of 12 grandchildren, including Philip Peter Livingston. Through his son William, he was the grandfather of three, William Alexander, Mary Alexander, who married a wealthy merchant named Robert Watts of New York, and Catherine Alexander, who married Congressman William Duer. Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was the grandfather of John Stevens III, a lawyer, engineer, and inventor who constructed the first U.S. steam locomotive and first steam-powered ferry, and Mary Stevens, who married Chancellor Robert Livingston, negotiator of the Louisiana Purchase. Through his daughter Catherine, he was the grandfather of John Rutherfurd, a Federalist member of the United States Senate from New Jersey who served from 1791 to 1798, who married Helena Magdalena Morris, daughter of Congressman Lewis Morris of Morrisania.
