Life History

Notes

• Millennium Files, Ancestry.com
  Alexander Sr. Strange
  Birth 1665 Bideford, Devonshire County, England
  Death 2 Sep 1725 New Kent County, Virginia, USA
  Parents: John Strange, Phebe Mitchell
  Spouse Anne
  Children: Thomas Strange
  
  The address here reported for Alexander Strange Sr differs from theaddress reported by Christ Church, New Kent County, Virginia, whichappears to be the same Alexander Strange.
  
  Christ Church Parish, Virginia Records, 1653-1812
  Alex. Strange
  Death Date 2 Nov 1725
  
  Some genealogies have confused Alexander's children with the childrenof his son Alexander, Jr.  I have tried to sort this out.  Basicallyall the children with birth dates later than 1712 are the sons ofAlexander Jr and his wife Sarah.
  
  Alexander and his family are associated with St Peter's Parish (Churchof England/Episcopalian) for about 150 years.  Elisa J Strange-vonRice of Phoenix, Arizona, has some extensive interesting history fromher investigation of the church's vestry information (edited):
  
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  I have been curious since reading that the Strange Family -- AlexanderStrange and descendants -- stayed in Virginia so long ( about acentury and a half) and each of them seemed to be Christened or buriedat New Kent County (formerly Bisland), St. Peters Parish(Episcopalian).  I found the index to the Vestry records via a Googlesearch and located Alexander Strange and family; more than thirtyentries; mostly christenings & births & deaths.  The deaths ofAlexander and wife Anne are included.
  
  I found that the monetary system was all in pounds of tobacco; I saw ashilling mentioned only once.  It seems that the congregation startedin the late 1600's and they built the church 1701-1703.  The ministerwas very proud it was a brick church; it is mentioned many times.  Ittells how many pounds of tobacco were bartered for its construction.They later added a steeple and accessed the members again for poundsof tobacco.  Apparently the Episcopalians tell you how much your titheis going to be; in this case so many pounds of tobacco.  If it was notpaid they reminded you it was due, and how delinquent.
  
  I then went back and pulled up all the vestry records and read them;what a history lesson in the Colonies!  Martha Dandridge was a memberof St. Peters Parish.  She and George Washington were married in thisvery church in 1757.  The Stranges were here 50 years before Marthaand George.
  
  They sometimes refer to the church as the "Church of the First Lady."Another interesting fact:  the De La Warr (became "Delaware") familycame to Virginia from England.  The oldest son of De La Warr becamethe first governor of Virginia and one of their other son's became thesecond governor of Virginia.  Their Youngest son, Nathaniel, is in thevestry records as Colonel DeLaWarr.  The DelaWarr wife & Mother wasELIZABETH STRANGE.
  
  The Stanley, DelaWarr, and a couple of other families of the VirginiaCompany were directly related to the Stranges.  These were notfarmers; it is evidenced by the excavations of the colony.  There wasno farm equipment whatsoever, and there were things like gold jewelryand other items ordinary working class people would not have possessedback in those days. In one place it even refers to one as "LordStrange."
  
  In the Amos Strange writings it said he left his very large estate andthe church of his forefathers in Virginia to move to South Carolina tomarry the Irish lass Frances Bailey.  Also in St Peter's vestryrecords it mentions a L'Estrange.  Amos was supposed to beinstrumental in the establishment of a church in Spartanburg, SouthCarolina.
  
  He is supposed to be buried in the Camp Meeting Grounds -- what wasthis church?  I will be trying to find these records.  Since Amos wasin the Revolutionary War was he acquainted with the de la Warr (Strange ) and the Colonel Nathaniel De La Warr and George Washington?
  
  -- "STRANGE" AND DERIVATIVES, USA,http://www.yourtotalevent.com/people/STRANGE%20in%20USA.htm26-Apr-2007
  ========================
  
  There seems to be some uncertainty whether the father of AlexanderStrange was a John Strange from Devon, reported by some as John HenryStrange of Devon, whose name is reflected in Alexander's son HenryStrnage.  Others have reported a London connection, from Hunstanton,but this also is disputed.
  
  The late John Mayer, cited by several sources, wrote a huge compendiumof several volumes on the various Strange and related lines in allcountries.  He has said there is no primary source informationsupporting the commonly reported parentage of Alexander Strange (bornBideford, Devon, and Died New Kent County, Virginia) as John Strangeand Phoebe Chandler Mitchell.
  
  John Mayer suggests that the Devon Stranges (Le Stranges) descendedfrom an Irish line that had earlier developed from the Hunstantonline.  Such a connection has not been established.  Even if this isthe case, the longer-term connection is still there.  The IrishStranges came from the Hunstanton-Shropshire line.
  
  The Family Data Collection had a middle name for Alexander and hisfather, but it was the same as their last name:  John Strange Strange,Alexander Strange Strange.  It is not clear if this was intentional,but it appears to be.  This makes me wonder if the S in son Henry'sname is also for Strange.  I have known families where this was thecase.
  
  Most genealogies indicate that Alexander was married twice, but giveno name.  In September 2007, I found three genealogies showing a wifenamed Sarah (no last name) married in 1712.  This appears to be thewife of Alexander Strange, Jr.  I still have seen no firm evidencethat Alexander had two wives.  I will show only one wife, until I havefound additional information indicating otherwise.
  
  One genealogy by Dixie Oakley has only one wife. Since I have seen noinformation, explanation or documentation,  I am reporting Alexanderas having only one wife until I can find documentation justifyinganother marriage.
  
  I find it frustrating that most people are not careful to tell howthey find their data.  You don't know where they get their material,or how they know what they report.  Thus there is little by which tojudge the validity or credibility of the data in many cases.  Further,Ancestry.com collects submitted trees into an anonymous collection ofthe One World Tree.
  
  Dates vary on the marriages, but several genealogies that report twowives date the first marriage to the nameless wife about 1684.  Theydate the marriage to the second wife, Ann (Sammis), about 1690.  Oneof the first sources I was analyzing early had two wives, with 4children of the second wife.
  
  However, the fourth child, Elizabeth, under the first wife was bornafter the date of the marriage to the second wife.   Likewise, twoother children under the second wife, Anne (whose maiden name Sammiswas provided by another source) were born at dates earlier than thefourth child under the first wife, though after the date of marriageto Anne.
  
  Then Elizabeth is repeated under Anne, though with the same date asthe first listing.  This mess is comparatively is quite neat.  I sawseveral on Ancestry's One World Tree that were a great mish mash.  Itseems most likely that Alexander had one wife, married at the originaldate, which is one year before the date of the fist child Henry S.
  
  Another source has a more ordered statement of the birth of thechildren with two wives.  The unknown wife in this scenario was themother of Henry and Thomas.  The second wife, Anne (no last name) isthe mother of Alexander, born in 1691, and the rest of the children.

Sources

• 1. Millennium Files, Ancestry.com
• 2. Family Data Collection - Births
• 3. Ancestry Trees
  • http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=31287469&st=1
• 4. One World Tree (sm)
  • http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=41290299&st=1
• 5. Family Data Collection - Individual Records
• 6. Ancestry Trees
  • Ron Coleman,
• 7. Ancestry Trees
  • Gwen Goff Hobbs,
• 8. St Peter's Parish Vestry Book and Register, 1684-1786, New KentCounty, Virginia
• 9. Ancestry Trees
  • http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm-cgi?op=GET&db=*v133t0575&id=I1176
• 10. Christ Church Parish, Virginia Records, 1653-1812
• 11. One World Tree (sm)
  • 2 sources for this date in One World Tree, which had an earlier wife.