Armstead Milton Alexander

Armstead Milton Alexander (May 26, 1834 – November 7, 1892) was an American attorney and Democratic politician from Missouri who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1883 to 1885. He was born in Winchester, Clark County, Kentucky, on May 26, 1834, the son of John Alexander and Elizabeth Jane (Ragland) Alexander. In 1841, when he was seven years old, his family moved to Paris, Monroe County, Missouri. His father died in 1844, and Alexander attended local schools in Paris before being apprenticed as a blacksmith. In 1849 he joined the California gold rush, spending a period in California before returning to Missouri, where he became involved in several business ventures in the Paris area.

After his return from California, Alexander pursued higher education and professional training. He attended the University of Virginia from 1856 to 1857, after which he studied law. Upon completing his legal studies, he was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Paris, Missouri. In addition to his legal work, he engaged in farming and took an active interest in regional economic development. By the time of the 1860 census, Alexander owned four slaves. At the outset of the American Civil War, he was initially sympathetic to the Confederacy, reflecting both his status as a slaveowner and the divided loyalties of Missouri. However, in 1862 he was among the attorneys in Paris reported to have taken the oath of loyalty to the United States. In 1864, he served on a Monroe County committee that wrote to Clinton B. Fisk, the Union Army commander of the Department of North Missouri, reporting that criminal and Confederate guerrilla activity in the area had been curtailed and that the county had met its most recent conscription levy.

Alexander’s career in public life developed alongside his legal and agricultural pursuits. He was an active member of the Northeast Missouri Agricultural Society and remained involved in business, including service on the board of directors of the Hannibal and Central Missouri Railroad. A Democrat, he became a prominent figure in party affairs. He served as a delegate to numerous local and state Democratic conventions, including the 1868 Democratic state convention, and was widely regarded as a skilled and sought-after orator. He was frequently called upon to deliver nomination speeches, keynote addresses, and speeches at campaign events and holiday gatherings. In 1869 he was appointed secretary of the annual Monroe County Fair. In 1870 he was elected Paris town attorney, and in 1871 he was considered for a vacant judgeship on the Missouri Circuit Courts, though he was not appointed. Also beginning in 1871, he served the first of several terms as president of the Paris school board, reflecting his interest in local education.

From 1872 through 1876 Alexander served as prosecuting attorney of Monroe County. He was a delegate to the 1875 Missouri Constitutional Convention, participating in the revision of the state’s fundamental law during the post–Civil War era. Long active in fraternal organizations, he was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and in 1873 was elected head of the Missouri lodge. In August 1874 he was elected temporary chairman of the state Democratic convention. In September 1875 he was appointed to the board of regents of the First District Normal School at Kirksville, now Truman State University, a position he held until 1882. In that role he took part in overseeing the institution’s development and, in June 1877, delivered the commencement address and presented diplomas to graduates. During this period he was again considered for judicial office, applying in April 1876 for another vacant judgeship without success.

Alexander’s ambitions for higher office emerged in the 1870s. In May 1876 he was mentioned as a potential candidate for governor of Missouri, though he did not enter the race. That same year he sought the Democratic nomination for the United States House of Representatives but was not nominated. He served as a delegate to the 1876 Democratic National Convention, further cementing his standing in party circles. In 1880 he was again a candidate for the Democratic nomination in Missouri’s 13th congressional district, losing to incumbent Aylett H. Buckner. Following redistricting after the 1880 census, he became a candidate in the newly configured 2nd congressional district. At the 1882 Democratic nominating convention he secured the nomination only after an extended contest, prevailing over several rivals on the 341st ballot. He then won the general election and took his seat in the Forty-eighth Congress, serving from March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885.

During his term in Congress, Alexander served on the Committee on Territories and the Committee on Mines and Mining. He achieved a notable legislative success by securing passage of an amendment to the Edmunds Act, aimed at preventing secret, polygamous marriages after Utah’s anticipated admission as a state. He also worked closely with Representative Alexander Graves to defeat a proposal advanced by Representatives William H. Hatch and James N. Burnes that would have divided Missouri’s federal judicial districts to create additional courts in Hannibal and St. Joseph, a measure he and his allies opposed. Despite his active engagement in legislative matters, Alexander was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1884 and left Congress at the close of his term.

After leaving the House of Representatives, Alexander resumed the practice of law in Paris while remaining a visible figure in Democratic politics and civic affairs. In August 1886 he served as a delegate to the state Democratic convention. In June 1888 he was a delegate to the convention that nominated the Democratic candidate for the Missouri Senate from the district including Monroe County, and in August of that year he was a delegate to the party’s congressional district nominating convention, where he was chosen as temporary chairman. In 1889 Governor David R. Francis appointed him to a committee organized to advocate and plan for a world’s fair in St. Louis, an effort that ultimately culminated in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. In January 1890 he was appointed to the board of trustees of the Female Orphan School in Fulton, Missouri, now William Woods University. He continued to play a role in party and public affairs, serving in June 1890 as a delegate to the Democratic nominating convention that selected James Brinton Gantt as a candidate for the Supreme Court of Missouri. In October 1891 Governor Francis appointed him as his congressional district’s delegate to the National Farmers’ Congress held at Sedalia, Missouri, which proposed legislation to improve American agriculture. In July 1892 Alexander was again chosen as a delegate to the state Democratic convention.

Armstead Milton Alexander died in Paris, Missouri, on November 7, 1892. He was interred at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Paris.