Collection ID: C623
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Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Alexander, John D. (John David), 1839-1931
Abstract:
John D. Alexander was born on February 6, 1839 in Bloomington, Indiana. He graduated from Indiana University in 1861 and served in the Union Army from 1862-1865. He practiced law in Bedford and Bloomfield, Indiana between 1867 and 1911. He also served as the Prosecuting Attorney of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Judicial Circuits as well as the Greene County Representative in the Indiana General Assembly. The collection consists of letters from the battlefield, family photographs, news clippings, a scrapbook, military artifacts, and notes pertaining to the Dunn and Alexander family history.
Extent:
2.6 cubic feet (4 boxes)
Language:
Materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Item], John D. Alexander papers, Collection C623, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Born in Bloomington, Indiana on February 6, 1839, John D. Alexander earned A. B. and A.M. degrees from Indiana University studying Greek, Latin and higher mathematics. He graduated in 1861. While at IU, he was highly involved in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Following graduation, he taught school for one year and then enlisted as a private in Company E 97th Regiment of the Indiana Volunteers in August 1862. In March 1864, he was placed in command of Company D of the same regiment until he was wounded in his right hip at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain in Georgia on June 27, 1864. He recovered and returned to his company in October in time to march with Sherman's army to the sea. In December 1864, he received a commission of Captain of Company D and in April 1865 he was appointed Acting Assistant Inspector General of the Second Brigade by General John A. Logan in Goldsboro, North Carolina. He was engaged in battles at Vicksburg, Resaca, Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, New Hope Church, Lost Mountain, Jonesboro, Kennesaw Mountain, Griswoldville, Savannah, Columbia, and Bentonville. He published a "History of the Ninety-seventh Regiment of Indiana Volunteer Infantry " in 1891.

Following the war, Alexander initially returned to Indiana but then enrolled in law school at the University of Michigan in the fall and winter of 1865 and 1866. Following graduation, he formed a law practice with Moses F. Dunn in Bedford, Indiana but in 1867 he moved to Bloomfield, Indiana to practice. In September 1880, he was elected a ruling elder in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and in 1886 he was chosen as a Trustee of Lincoln University in Illinois, which fell under control of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He was elected to serve as the Prosecuting Attorney of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Judicial Circuits in 1880 and was reelected in 1882. In October 1886, Alexander was elected to represent Greene County in the lower house of the legislature.

Alexander married Mary M. Rogers of Bloomington, Indiana on December 8, 1886 and in 1892 he rejoined the Hon. Moses F. Dunn in Bedford to practice law. In 1883, he became a member of Lovell H. Rousseau Post No. 326, of Bloomfield, Department of Indiana Grand Army of the Republic. He was transferred from his Grand Army Post at Bloomfield to E. C. Newland Post, No. 247, a membership he maintained until his death.

John D. Alexander retired from law in 1911 and was the oldest living graduate of Indiana University prior to his death on February 27, 1931.

Scope and Content:

The John D. Alexander papers are organized into three series: Papers and Correspondence, 1863-1959, Scrapbook, 1907-1931, and Military artifacts, circa 1862-1970s.

The Papers and Correspondence, 1863-1865 series contains personal correspondence, news clippings, and family history materials. The highlight of the series is letters Alexander sent home to his parents while serving in the 97th Regiment, Indiana Infantry during the Civil War between 1862 and 1865. The letters include firsthand accounts of Sherman's March to the Sea from November to December 1865 as well as the Carolina Campaign from February to April 1865. The letters contain details of Alexander's promotions, daily life in the field, his responsibilities as Captain, and movements of the 97th Regiment, as well as descriptions of General Joseph E. Johnston's surrender in North Carolina, the Battle of Griswoldville, and the Battle of Bentonville, N.C. The series also contains "Recollections of Indiana University, 1856-1861," a letter addressed to Frank H. Levell, Editor of the "Indiana Alumnus" in 1921. In this typewritten letter, Alexander describes university buildings, campus life during the Civil War, and campus pranks. The letter also includes details about fraternities and literary societies, the Alumni Banquet, commencement, and information about the class of 1861. Alexander's family photographs, taken between 1883 and 1930, are also in the collection. Additionally, this series has several news clippings related to the life of John D. Alexander from the 1920s. There is also a typewritten transcription of various newspaper articles that feature Alexander. These articles appeared in The Bloomfield News as well as The Indianapolis Star in 1931. Alexander's detailed obituary is included in this typewritten transcription. The collection also contains notes describing the history of the Alexander and Dunn families.

Alexander's scrapbook (1907-1931) contains newspaper clippings related to Alexander's life, the Grand Army of the Republic, and Civil War veterans and commemorations. The scrapbook also contained loose biographical materials that have been transferred to separate folders for preservation purposes. These documents are mainly biographical in nature, including short, autobiographical accounts and family history documents.

The Military artifacts series contains Chevalier Paris binoculars, Alexander's Union Army Captain sword, and his post-Civil War infantry captain's shoulder insignia.

Acquisition information:

Accession Information: 2015/109, 2017/059

2015/109

Custodial history:

Materials in the Papers and Correspondence series were transferred by Cora Thomas in August 2015.

Scrapbook and military artifacts donated by Dennis and Patricia Wright in April 2017.

Processing information:

Processed by Katie Martin.

Completed in 2016

Updated in 2017

Arrangement:

Collection is organized into three series: Papers and Correspondence, 1863-1959; Scrapbook, 1907-1931; and Military artifacts, circa 1862-1870s.

Online content

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Collection is open for research. Advance notice required.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

This collection contains materials both in copyright and in the public domain.

The donor(s) of this collection have transferred their copyrights for the materials to the Trustees of Indiana University through a Deed of Gift. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.

The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.

Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], John D. Alexander papers, Collection C623, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
Herman B Wells Library E460
1320 East Tenth Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-7000, United States
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
812-855-1127
archives@indiana.edu