Alexander Love What We Know (or think we know)

Alexander Love is the earliest ancestor in our Love line we have found so far. He was born about 1718 which can be deduced from his grave marker which reads, in part, "Sacred to the Memory of Alexander Love A Lover of Mankind and a Friend to His Country who departed this life March 1784 aged 66 years". 

Alexander married Margaret Moore in Pennsylvania, April 6, 1743. They had 11 children that we know of, most of them born in that state: Mary, Andrew, James, Rachel, Jane, Elizabeth, Margaret, Sarah, Robert, Alexander and William.  There are no birth records that we can find.  Any records would be church records.  Margaret was a Quaker and had been  disowned from the Society when she married outside of her faith.  Alexander was most likely Presbyterian but we have been unable to find any records of him belonging to that faith there.  It is possible that they had other children who didn't survive infancy.

We have found no land records for Alexander in Pennsylvania, but he must have owned land of some kind because we find him on jury lists in York County (formed from Lancaster County in 1749), in 1749/1750 and 1763. The following court record of 1749/1750 shows Alexander Love as juror 17. Note that Hance Hamilton was the sheriff.

Clerk of Courts Quarter Session Dockets (1749-1876)
Book 1-3, January Session, 1749, p. 4.
Archives, York County, PA, yorkcountyarchives.org

In colonial Pennsylvania, coroners and sheriffs ran for election together.  Alexander was elected coroner in 1750 with Hance Hamilton as sheriff.

Clerk of Courts Quarter Session Dockets (1749-1876)
Book 1-3, October Session, 1750, p. 47.
Archives, York County, PA, yorkcountyarchives.org

Alexander applied for tavern licenses in 1751 and 1753.

Clerk of Courts Quarter Session Dockets (1749-1876)
Book 1-3, July Session, 1751, p. 81.
Archives, York County, PA, yorkcountyarchives.org

 
Alexander also, on several occasions, put up a sum of money, a "recognizance" on his own behalf (the tavern licenses) or for others as a guarantee that they would appear in court (he forfeited his money in one instance).  In all fairness we have to mention that he was charged with riot in 1750 (possibly for this election riot involving Hance Hamilton), assault in 1751 and for operating a tippling house in 1753 (unless this is an evil twin Alexander in which case our assumption that there is only one Alexander in York County goes out the window as does our research). He is also mentioned as witness to several wills while residing in York Co. He is listed in Straban Township in 1762 on the list of Assessed Inhabitants of York County.  

Sometime between 1763 (he signed a recognizance in April) and 1765 he and most of his family (their daughter, Mary married David Horner and remained in Pennsylvania) made their way down the Great Wagon Road through Maryland and Virginia to North Carolina. In December of 1765 Alexander bought 600 acres on Moses Dicky Creek on the south side of the Catawba River and 250 acres on a branch of Fishing Creek in Mecklenburg Coounty (according to abstracts published by Brent Holcomb. We don't have copies of the originals yet).  One researcher says the youngest son, William, was born in 1765 in South Carolina (at the time North Carolina) which would give credence to the family being in the Carolinas by that year. At some point, when he moved to the south, Alexander became a slave owner.

In 1772 the boundary line between North and South Carolina was finally established and the part of Mecklenburg County where the Love family lived became the New Acquisition of South Carolina. In 1775 Alexander was elected as one of the representatives from New Acquisition to the Provincial Congress that met in Charleston in November.  He also served in the First General Assembly in 1776 and the Second General Assembly from 1776 to 1778. For his service in the Provincial Congress he is considered a Patriot.  He may have contributed in other ways as well.  His homestead on Fishing Creek was very close to the skirmishes and battles in 1780.  He may have taken an active part in the fighting along with his sons.

Alexander wrote his will March 20, 1781, naming his wife, Margaret, sons, Andrew, James, Alexander and William, and daughter, Elizabeth (Miles). In an addition, dated March 21, 1781, he names daughter, Margaret (Stallings), and grandaughter, Sarah (Stallings). By this time, his son Robert and daughter Sarah had died. Perhaps he didn't mention his other married daughters because they had sufficient monies or he had already given them an inheritance. Alexander died in March of 1784 and is buried in Bethesda Presbyterian churchyard.

 
 

Will Transcript, York County (Estate Packet: Case 59, File 2660)
Will Transcipts, 1782-c.1865
South Carolina Archives online, archivesindex.sc.gov.

Ulster-Scots: Why the Loves were more Scottish than Irish.

Before we delve deeply into the life of Alexander LOVE and his descendants in America, I thought you might be interested in where he immigrated from and why.

The story of the Ulster Scots, known in America as the Scots-Irish, begins in the Scottish Lowlands, land bordering England, in the early 1600s. The Scots in this area were Presbyterians, spoke mostly Scottish Gaelic and lived in extreme poverty as subsistence farmers. For centuries, their lives were dominated by constant warfare between England and Scotland. The disruption of war created constant economic difficulties unseen in other parts of the British Isles. According to the Ulster Scots Society, "They lived with constant economic oppression because soldiers trampled their crops, rustlers stole their livestock, taxes were high, and wages were low."

Ulster refers to a Province in Northern Ireland, which was culturally and geographically similar to Scotland in many ways. This made it an attractive area for the Scots to settle. Although, Scottish people had migrated to this region for centuries, the Hamilton & Montgomery Settlement of May 1606 bolstered a huge increase of Scottish migration. Approved by King James I, who ruled over Scotland, England, and Ireland, this act allowed a private, self-financed settlement in the counties of Antrim and Down. The first settlement was so successful that the British government decided to expand its involvement.

Instead of placing the burden on private investors, the second wave of settlement included extensive planning and supervision by the English and Irish governments. The counties where these new settlements were allowed expanded to include Armagh, Tyrone, Donegal, Cavan, Fermanagh and Derry. The migrants were primarily Scottish, but some English also decided to leave for these plantations. The British government's goal was to settle loyal subjects in Northern Ireland as a buffer from the Native Irish. English and Scottish politicians also saw an opportunity to rid themselves of an undesirable population, while the impoverished Scots saw an opportunity to better their lives.

Many Scots stayed in this area over the next four generations and some are still there today. However, our family was caught up in another way of migration, this time to Pennsylvania, which began in 1717, a year before Alexander Love was born.

In the mid-late 1600s, Ulster experienced an economic boom spurred by successful wool and linen industries. Threatened by this success, the English Parliament imposed hefty trade restrictions on the manufacture, sale, and exportation of wool in Ulster. The result caused a serious economic depression in the area. At the same time, rents were increasing on leased land and a huge drought further decimated the economy. Many residents saw little opportunity in Ulster and looked for new opportunities in the New World.

For more information on Ulster Scots, click here and here.