Alexander Hodge

DAR Ancestor #: A056097. Red Flagged: "FUTURE APPLICANTS MUST PROVE CORRECT SERVICE". He is listed as being in the service of South Carolina during the American Revolution. If you have questions, let me know. (Faustine Darsey)

Alexander was born in 1760, and is of record as of having fought in the Revolutionary War as a member of the brigade of Francis Marion, who was known as the "Swamp Fox". Alexander seemed to hare been in the Carolina/Georgia section long before William moved there. At any rate, soon after William moved to Georgia, Alexander bought land on Fork Creek, and in 1788 married Ruth Hodge. Ruth was the daughter of Archibald Hodge. Archibald was an Englishman, and was of no kin to the family of William Hodge. Alexander and Ruth lived in this section of Georgia until most of their children were born. These children were Archie, William, Nancy, Ruth, Alexander Elliot, Mary, James, Cynthia, Robin, and Lucinda. John, considered by some researchers to be another son, was probably the son of Francis~, Alexander's deceased brother. Alexander never claimed him as a son.

After about 1808, we find Alexander and Ruth in Christian County, Kentucky. There their youngest child was born, and their oldest son, and their oldest daughter married. When the Missouri Territory was opened for settlement, the family, in-laws included, moved there, crossing southern Illinois on the way. Tradition has it, they heard the news of the battle of New Orleans as they were crossing the Mississippi River. This battle was fought January 8th 1815, so it would appear they moved in the spring of 1815.

Arriving in the Missouri Territory, Alexander settled on Spring River, in what today is Randolph County Arkansas. Here he was appointed Justice of the Peace by William Clark, Governor of the Territory. Alexander also became acquainted with Moses Austin and his son Stephen F. Austin, who was later to be called "The Father of Texas". Austin, at that time, was negotiating with the Mexican government, attempting to get permission to establish a colony in Texas. These negotiations succeeded, and Austin was authorized to settle 300 families in Texas. For this, he was to receive a land grant of approximately 22000 acres for himself. He picked this land on the Brazos River, about 20 miles from present-day Houston, and this land was not open to settlement by the colonists.

Then the colonists started arriving in Texas, the first one to arrive, was Alexander's sister Nancy and her husband Elijah Allcorn. Alexander himself arrived later, after stopping at the Red River to make a crop. He was accompanied by various sons and sons-in~laws and others. It is said he left 3 cases untried when he left Arkansas. He arrived at the site of Austin's colony in December, 1825.

Complications had developed between Austin and the Mexican government, and Austin was away on a trip to Mexico, where he was detained for over a year under arrest. In the archives in the capitol at Austin, there is a letter Alexander wrote Austin, in which he expresses his displeasure at not being able able to contact him to find where he could procure land. This matter was ironed out, and Alexander wound up with 4528 acres of the land Austin had reserved for himself. At that time, this land was rated as the 3rd richest land in the world. Three of Alexander's sons, and a son-in-law also got land grants. Austin also appointed Alexander as Judge for the colony.

During the time in Arkansas, Alexander's son William had lost his wife, the former Margaret Welch. This left William with two little girls, aged 8 and 6. These girls were named Mary (Polly) and Ruth. William remarried to a widow named Rachel Marshall Houghes. William and Rachel came to Texas with the rest of the Hodge's, and William, while building a cabin in Brazoria County, was killed by a falling tree, in 1826. Rachel gave birth to William's son within a month of William's death. Rachel named the baby William Jr. After about a year Rachel married David Shelby, and William Jr. grew to manhood in the David Shelby household, Alexander and Ruth took the two little girls to raise.

Ruth died in 1831, and was buried on the land grant, which was known as "Hodge's Bend Plantation". Alexander sent to Bastrop, where the nearest cedar grew, and planted one on her grave. It is still there, although it has been struck by lightning.

When the Texas War of Independence came, Mexican army under Santa Ana invaded Texas with orders to shoot anyone who possessed a gun. A gun being a necessity on the frontier, this order really meant death to all the settlers. The Alamo fell, and the massacre at Goliad, where 350 Texans, who had surrendered as prisoners of war, were taken out and shot, aroused the country to the fact they were at war. Alexander's daughter Ruth lost her husband at Goliad.

The flight of the settlers began, as the Texas Army, under Gen. Sam Houston , and numbering about 700 men, kept retreating before the Mexican Army of about 5000 men. Alexander, then 76 years old, took the women and grandchildren and headed for the border and safety about 200 miles away. The rivers were all out of banks, and walking was the only way traveling could be done. The Trinity River was 10 miles wide at the crossing. The refugees would walk for a time and then rest, then walk again. Alexander insisted that each woman and child hold hands when on the march, so no one could become separated from the family. No one was allowed to drink water that didn't have vinegar in it. After crossing Hodge's Bend, Santa Anna had divided the Mexican Army trying to trap the Texas Army in the maze of bayous in that vicinity. Gen. Houston crossed one stream, and at the crossing left his supplies and wounded with 35 volunteers with orders to hold the crossing as long as possible, to prevent one segment of the Mexican Army from reinforcing the other. Three Hodge men were in this group. Meanwhile, Santa Anna, with his segment of the Mexican Army, crossed a bridge on another stream, trying to get to Houston. When about 1500 I,Mexicans had crossed, the Texans destroyed the bridge, isolating the Mexicans from reinforcements. The Texas Army then Attacked' When it was over, Texas was an independent nation.

When this battle was fought, Alexander and his little band of refugees were just a few miles away, resting in a grove of trees. A grand-daughter of Alexander, 12 years old at the time, told in later years, she always remembered as he was at that moment, leaning against a tree, with his hat pulled down over his face, listening to the guns at San Jacinto. One might imagine his thoughts as the battle.raged; here he was, a man 76 years old, attempting to take the women and children of his sons and grand-sons families to safety through 200 miles of flooded wilderness while the badly outnumbered Texas Army, in which there were sons, grand-sons, brothers and husbands of those present, was gambling everything on a single throw of the dice.

When the guns stopped, they were sure it was the Alamo all over again, and the flight was resumed. They were moving after dark that night, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the Mexicans, when they were overtaken by a messenger on a badly lathered horse, who called out to them as he passed, "Turn back, the Mexicans are beaten, its all over". After all this commotion, Alexander was about at the end of his rope. He made his will and died August 17th, 1836, and was buried in Hodge Bend Cemetery, on the old land grant.

In his will, he named all his children, he left one-half of the land to his son James, the other one-half was left to his son Alexander Elliot, who was also to get the house etc., also the two slaves Anne and Jim. He also charged Alexander Elliot to take charge of, and see to the raising and education of the two orphan girls, Mary (Polly) and Ruth.

In the city of Houston, in Sam Houston Park, there stands a memorial to Alexander Hodge, "One of Marion's Men, A hero of Two Republics". Also, on the San Jacinto Monument, is inscribed the names of the three Hodge volunteers.

Alexander Hodge was one of the 'Original Texas 300'.

Birth: 1757 Cumberland County Pennsylvania, USA Death: Aug. 17, 1836 Texas, USA

Veteran of the American Revolution. Fought with the "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion in South Carolina. One of the Original Old 300 Settlers brought to Texas by Stephen F Austin.

Married Ruth Fields (b. abt 1769) in circa 1788.

A FAG contributor has indicated that Alexander Hodge was born in York, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1762 and died in Hodges Bend, Texas August 17, 1835, although his headstone reads otherwise.

• ****************************************** Alexander Hodge, a member of Stephen F. Austin's Old Three Hundred, the son of William Hodge, was born in Newton Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. His mother was Mary Elliott,daughter of James Elliott who was also from Cumberland County.

Alexander and his brother William Hodge moved to Edgefield District, South Carolina, where they served with the "Swamp Fox" Francis Marion and his brigade during the American Revolution. Records indicate Alexander had not yet turned 18 years of age.

Alexander then moved to Oglethorpe County, Georgia, where records show he studied law.

1806 Shows Alexander moving into Kentucky. 1815 Alexander served as Magistrate at Spring River Township, Lawrence County, Arkansas.

After meeting Stephen F. Austin in 1824, he began his trip to TEXAS. OnApril 12, 1828, Austin granted the old Judge one of the leagues of land he had reserved for himself,which was on the Brazos River near Oyster Creek in Fort Bend.

Alexander Hodge built HODGE'S PLANTATION on this location and served as "comisario & alcalde". The Plantation hosted William B. Travis, James B. Bonham, Erastus (Deaf) Smith, and other persons of prominence in Texas history, as well as unknown travelers.

In her memoirs his granddaughter, Clarinda Pevehouse Kegans, described him as a tall, white-haired man who raised fine horses.

https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/81215/family?cfpid=700357...