John William Alexander or "J.W." , as he preferred to be called, was born April 25, 1846 in Bellevue, (Jackson County), Iowa. He was the eldest son of Hugh and Charlotte (Lambertson) Alexander. There were seven brothers and three sisters in his family. About 1856, his family moved to Southern Iowa, numbering among the early settlers of the place.

When John was15 years of age, he ran away from home and joined the Union Army, serving as a private for 3 years in the Civil War. He's reported to have fought at the Battle of Shiloh and was discharged in Savannah, Georgia, in 1864. For the next 5 years, he reportedly traveled over the Eastern states.

Around 1869, J.W. Alexander came to Texas. He stopped at Fredericksburg where his career as a 'cowpuncher' started. He worked for Creed Taylor on South Llano. 

On June 15, 1873 he married Ruth Lillie Lacy.  In 1896, the family settled in Hext, Menard County, Tx. where he farmed. 

Ruth Lillie died January 3, 1917 in Mason County and  J.W. made his home with a widowed daughter, Mrs. Soules, and helped to rear a second family of four children.

J.W. Alexander died at 100 years and 6 mths old on October 27, 1946. He was laid to rest in the Hext Cemetery in the Soules' family plot.  Alicia Brown