House of Alexander

As a recent guest of Saint John CBC Radio’s “That’s a Good Question,” I suggested, largely in jest at the time, that the longest lines of genealogical succession are to Adam and Eve, and that the Devlin family is among those who claim direct lineage. Perhaps, my tongue was less firmly planted in my cheek than I thought. By coincidence, shortly after the radio broadcast, I received a newly published genealogy of the surname Alexander which literally begins with one other than the famous Garden of Eden couple.

A Documentary of Scotch-Irish Alexander Family History by Dr. Sarah Alexander-Culton of Washington is a fascinating 6,000-year journey through time which begins in Mesopotamia, now known as Iraq. Make no mistake, this is a serious chronology written by a highly qualified researcher who is a retired college professor with a masters in education and a doctorate in psychology.

“My Scotch-Irish Alexander family, who are connected to the MacDonald, MacAlister and Campbell Clans of Scotland, most certainly have connections in Atlantic Canada. The early Alexanders settled all along the east coast of our continent, including Canada,” Sarah says. So while the 235-page, 9×11″ coil-bound self-publication does not mention specific connections to New Brunswick, it will be of keen general interest to anyone with Alexander, Campbell, MacDonald, McAlister families and septs in their family tree.

It fascinates me as an Irish descendant to read Sarah’s account of the Cromwell massacres of the mid-1600s, William of Orange’s influence in the late 1600s and so on through the 18th and 19th centuries. Cost $49.99 (US). Order through Alexander family history website www.houseofalexander.com

(Sandra Devlin is a syndicated genealogy columnist, a member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, and holds many Distinguished Awards. Her column Missing Links appears weekly in more than a dozen newspapers in Atlantic Canada.)