Minnie Alice Alexander

Mrs. Minnie A. Alexander was living alone in the Pine Log section of the Columbia area, of Tuolumne County, California, with four of her youngest sons, when one of them, Samuel, found her unresponsive in her bed on a Sunday morning.

The home was in an isolated area, and Mrs. Alexander suffered severe depression and poor physical condition. However, she was in good spirits the evening prior to her death. That evening she fed her children, Gordon, aged 12, Paul Douglas, age 11, Murphy, age 8, and Samuel, age 6, their supper. At bedtime tucked them into their beds, and then she went to bed.

The children arose the next morning at 6:00 and were surprised that their mother was not up before them, as was her habit. Not thinking too much more about it, they played for awhile until they grew hungry. Then Samuel, the youngest, opened his mother's bedroom door and called her. When he received no answer, he alerted his brothers who went to the bed and found her still and unresponsive.

Two of the boys departed to the home of their older sister, Ruth Cynthia Kress, at Yankee Hill, more than two miles away. They braved over a rough trail with snow falling heavily to alert her of their mother's condition.

When the Coroner arrived at the Alexander home, he determined that her death was caused by an overdose of strychnine crystals. A partially filled bottle with some of its contents spilled on her clothing rested upon her breast. Nearby were an empty bottle that had contained the same poison and a bottle of Lysol.

Poisons of various kinds were found throughout the home that the family used in their taxidermist business for killing wild animals and preserving their pelts.

General gossip was that Mrs. Alexander committed suicide, but no note was found, and she was very dedicated to her children. It is more likely that she accidentally took too much of the poison when she tried to medicate herself.

She was a native of Douglas, Butler County, Kansas, and age 47 years and 7 days at the time of her death. She and her family had moved to California ten years prior. Her last eight years were spent at Pine Log where she was divorced from her husband and supporting her four young boys.

Mrs. Alexander was an intelligent and friendly person, popular with the people in that section, and being a kind neighbor and friend and a loving mother. Her older children who were grown and living on their own were Mrs. Phil (Viola A.) Kahl of Tuttletown, Jobe Joseph Alexander of Columbia, David Alexander of El Portel and Robert Tony Alexander, whose whereabouts were unknown at the time. He later returned to live in Tuolumne County. She was also survived by a divorced husband, Tony Alexander, a well-known trapper who was operating in the Hetch Hetchy section of the county.

The funeral was conducted on a Wednesday afternoon from the Burden chapel in Sonora. The services were conducted by Rev. Jonh, W. Edgell, pastor, of the Methodist church. Burial was in the public cemetery in Columbia, where a large number of people gathered to say farewell and give their condolences to the grieving family.

Per the 1880 Census, Minnie was living in her birthplace of Douglas, Butler County, Kansas, as were her siblings. She was the second child of William and Cynthia E. Gordon Couch. Minnie's older sibling was Ira Lewis., and her younger siblings were Albert and Eugene Q. Her father was a stock dealer. Minnie's parents and all her grandparents were born in North Carolina. Her paternal grandparents were Meshack H. Couch and Mary Polly Bryan Couch. Her maternal grandparents were Jonathan Gordon and Irena Macy Gordon.

Minnie's former husband, Robert Hatten "Tony" Alexander, was born in Tennessee. They were married August 10, 1895, but were later divorced. Minnie's children, Jobe Joseph Alexander, Ruth Cynthia Alexander Kress, Viola Alexander Kahl and Samuel Alexander, are buried in the Columbia Public Cemetery in marked graves. Murphy is buried in Mt. Shadow Cemetery in Sonora . The graves of her other children, David W., Robert Tony, Paul and Gordan, have not been located. The family had lived in Mississippi and Arkansas before moving to California in 1911 or 1912.

Minnie's son, Paul Douglas Alexander, was born in Arkansas April 4, 1907 and passed away in Amador County on March 29, 1994, at age 86. Minnie's son, Robert Tony Alexander, Jr., was born January 10, 1905, in Michigan. He passed away in Stanislaus County, California, November 17, 1968. Minnie's son, Murphy Alexander, was born in California and was killed in an accident in the Springfield Mine, Springfield, Tuolumne County, California, on May 24, 1936, at the age of 22. He is buried in Mt. Shadow Cemetery in Sonora.

SOURCE: Find A Grave.com