Samuel Logan & Anna Mae (Carroll) Alexander

          Samuel Logan Pinckney Alexander was born of James Thomas and Susan Jane (Keith) Alexander on July 24, 1887 . He was one of 12 siblings born in the Bakewell/Soddy area of Tennessee . Logan , as he was called, married Anna Mae Carroll in Dayton ( Rhea County ), Tennessee on Jan 11, 1909 . The Marriage Record Book 1908-1910, (p. 200) specifies Logan Alexander to May (Mae) Carroll. Witnessed by his brother William Alexander, whose “X” was noted by the clerk. Logan ’s responsibility for a bond of $1250.00 was part of the action recorded.)

           Their children are as follows: Pearcey and Pearl were still-born in 1909. Clarice Gladys 1910-1989 married Harry Fuller. Hershel Wilson (1912-1977) married Esther Elizabeth Edmondson. Cornelius Gentry (he changed it to “George”) (1916-1990) married Eva Mae Edens. Mark David (1919-    )­ married Anna Roselyn Gann. Jessie Anna Mae (1921-   ) married (1) R.D. Crisp (changed name to Cecil Taylor) and (2) Odus Underwood. Harold Logan (1926-)  married (1) Florence (Flo) (2) Charlotte ?.

       Logan was a hard working man but managed to make it look easy. It was said that he appeared to be doing little but could do more work than anyone around. He worked in the coal mines, logging industry, farming, and was the minister of the Sale Creek Church of God. No matter what he earned, Reverend Alexander firmly believed in giving back one tenth of his earnings to the Lord. Logan once worked for a week and earned only $5.70 but when he gave the money to Mae for food, he said, “Don’t forget to bring back .57 cents for tithes”). If there was no work he would travel by foot, horse and wagon or by train to church services. His interest in religion and following Christ led him to attend the famous 1925 "Scope's Trial" in Dayton , Tennessee . He was there when history was made in “ Monkey Town ” as Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan fought the court case of evolution and creation.

       He and Mae lived in several houses in the Hodgetown and Slabtown areas. He never owned a home; times were extremely hard. Everything, including food, was scarce. It may be only cornbread but the family ate; even if it was only a couple of ears of corn, the mule or horse was fed. Raising corn required hoeing many, many acres and this was usually accomplished by Mark and Cornelius. Hard work was essential to feeding the family. One night a week, the family shelled corn-by hand. It was bagged and taken to the mill to be ground into corn meal. The owner of the mill received a portion of the product as payment. Logan spent many weeks in the local mountains logging or mining coal.

       During the Depression, in 1930, Logan went to Fleming , Kentucky to find work in the coal mines. In June of 2004, Mickey Alexander attended a party at his daughter’s home. Her husband’s grandmother was there and had brought a 1930 census of Fleming. The document revealed that Logan was boarding on Front Street and another Sale Creek man, Sheridan Shipley, lived in a boarding house operated by Monroe Shipley. Monroe Shipley was the husband of Annie Gann Shipley, sister of my grandfather Charlie Gann. Small world, huh?          

       His zeal, dedication, and love for the church and God were evident in the community and to all who knew him. He held the early Church of God together until his death. While replacing wooden shingles atop the church roof, he fell and a broken rib punctured a lung. He suffered for 3 months; on October 2, 1936 , at the age of 49, he passed away. He is buried in the Welsh Cemetery in Sale Creek , Tennessee along with Mae.  He was “the glue that had held the church together” . 

Read “Reverend Samuel Logan Alexander, His Legacy: God! Family! Church!”  by this author.

Compiled and Submitted by Rexford C. Alexander
rexcalex@bellsouth.net