John Alexander

An 1852 honors graduate of Davidson College, this Mecklenburg native came from one of Charlotte's most prominent families. He was descended from Rev. Alexander Craighead and Mecklenburg patriot John McKnitt Alexander. John Brevard Alexander (1834-1911) graduated from the Medical College of South Carolina at the top of his class in 1855. He was a Civil War surgeon with Company C, NC 37th Infantry. He returned to Charlotte after the war and in 1890 moved to North Tryon Street. Until ill health befell him in 1898 he managed a Charlotte drug store. Also a historian, Dr. Alexander wrote three books about the history of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. He decried passionately the indignity of Reconstruction, and expressed regret for the loss of the old ways, even while making a career in the New South. He and his wife, Annie Wall Lowrie, had six children. Their daughter, Annie Lowrie Alexander, became one of the first female physicians in the South. John Brevard Alexander died in Charlotte and is buried in Elmwood Cemetery.