Born 7 Sept. 1807 in Anson Co., North Carolina.[1] Son of John B. McRae and Mary.[2] Served in the U.S. Army, 1829–1834.[3] Married Eunice Fitzgerald, 2 Nov. 1834, at New Castle, Henry Co., Kentucky.[4] Baptized as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Elisha P. Davis, June 1837, in Riply Co., Indiana.[5] Elected as captain of the Twenty-Third Regiment of the Missouri militia.[6] Jailed with Joseph Smith at Liberty, Jackson Co., Missouri, 1 Dec. 1838–6 Apr. 1839.[7] Officer in the Nauvoo Legion, 1841.[8] Served a mission to North Carolina, 1844.[9] Served as sheriff of Pottawattamie Co., Iowa, 1850–1851.[10] Migrated to the Salt Lake Valley with the Allen Weeks pioneer company, arriving 12 Oct. 1852.[11] Served in the Utah territorial legislature as sergeant at arms; member of the House of Representatives, 1855–1859.[12] Served as bishop of the Salt Lake City Eleventh Ward, 1857–1891.[13] Supported the Eleventh Ward entering into a silk cooperative, 1868.[14] Served a mission to the southern U.S., Oct. 1869–May 1870.[15] Participated in plural marriage.[16] Invited EBW to dinner at his home following a fast meeting, 3 Jan. 1878.[17] Died 20 June 1891 in Salt Lake City.[18]
[1] Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL. Alexander McRae, to “My Dear Sister,” 7 Sept. 1880, in Alexander McRae, Letterpress Copybooks, 1880–1891, pp. 60–61, MS 8353, images 169, 171/628, CHL. “Family Tree,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org, accessed 4 Mar. 2020), Alexander McRae (KWJY-KD8).
[2] Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL. “Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849–1949,” pp. 52–53, images 54–55/223 (1891), Alexander McRae; Salt Lake County Management and Archives, Salt Lake City. “Alexander McRae,” Go Ye into All the World (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/missionary/, accessed 9 Mar. 2020).
[3] Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL.
[4] Annie Walker Burns, comp., Record of Marriage Bonds in Henry County, Kentucky, for the Period of Years 1798 to 1851 Inclusive (Washington DC: National Library of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1932), 36. Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL.
[5] Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL. “Alexander McRae,” Go Ye into All the World (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/missionary/, accessed 9 Mar. 2020).
[6] Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1901), 1:620.
[7] Sidney Rigdon to JS and Others, Liberty, MO, 10 Apr. 1839, in JS Letterbook 2, pp. 4–5, CHL. “Incidents in the History of Joseph Smith,” Deseret News, 9 Nov. 1854, [1]. Lyman Omer Littlefield, Reminiscences of Latter-day Saints (Logan, Utah Territory: Utah Journal, 1888), 79, 94. Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL.
[8] Nauvoo Legion Records, 1841–1845, Minutes, 1841, pp. 3, 4, MS 3430, folder 2, CHL. Andrew Jenson, Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia: A Compilation of Biographical Sketches of Prominent Men and Women in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 4 vols. (Salt Lake City: Andrew Jenson History, 1901), 1:620.
[9] Journal History of the Church, 15 Apr. 1844, CHL. Alexander McRae, to “Dear Bro.,” 29 Mar. 1880, in Alexander McRae, Letterpress Copybooks, 1880–1891, pp. 6–8, MS 8353, images 59–63/628, CHL. Alexander McRae Autobiography, in 22nd Quorum, Seventies Minutes, 1845–1860, CR 499, series 22, vol. 1, reel 72, CHL.
[10] 1850 U.S. Census, District 21, Pottawattamie Co., IA, p. 158, Alexander McRae. Homer H. Field and Joseph R. Reed, History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, from the Earliest Historic Times to 1907 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing, 1907), 10.
[11] Evan M. Greene, Diary, vol. 6, Sept. 1841–Aug. 1849, July–Nov. 1852, pp. 1, 4, MS 1442, folder 6, images 42, 45, 83/166, CHL. “Alexander McRae,” Pioneer Database (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/overlandtravel/, accessed 5 Mar. 2020). “21st Company,” Deseret News, 18 Sept. 1852, 2.
[12] “Doings at the Capitol,” Deseret News, 19 Dec. 1855, 325. “Territory of Utah: Legislative Assembly Rosters, 1851–1894,” Utah Division of Archives and Records Service (https://archives.utah.gov/research/guides/legislative-assembly-rosters.pdf , accessed 11 Mar. 2020). “The Legislative Assembly,” Deseret News, 24 Dec. 1856, 333. Esther M. Smyth Collection, 1856–1988, p. 1, Alexander McRae Papers, 1856–1871, MS 31045, box 1, folder 4, CHL.
[13] Eleventh Ward, University West Stake, Eleventh Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, pp. [20], [32], LR 2569 2, CHL. “Dangerously Ill,” Logan (UT) Journal, 20 June 1891, 1.
[14] “Correspondence,” Deseret News, 11 Nov. 1868, [2]. Eleventh Ward, Salt Lake Stake, Eleventh Ward Miscellaneous Minutes, 1859–1877, LR 2569 25, CHL.
[15] “Alexander McRae,” Go Ye into All the World (https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/missionary/, accessed 9 Mar. 2020). Eleventh Ward, University West Stake, Eleventh Ward Manuscript History and Historical Reports, p. [22], LR 2569 2, CHL.
[16] “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Endowment House, vol. H, 30 Oct. 1871–5 June 1873, p. 264, line 3348, Alexander McRae and Hollyann Murphy, 25 Sept. 1872, microfilm 183398, DGS 5270322 (restricted access), FHL. “Sealings of Couples, Living and by Proxy, 1851–1889,” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Winter Quarters, vol. A, 1846–1857, p. 745, lines 5285–5286, Alexander McRae and Eunice Fitzgerald, 23 Mar. 1846, microfilm 183374, DGS 5265582 (restricted access), FHL.
[17] EBW, Diary, 3 Jan. 1878.
[18] “Utah, Salt Lake County Death Records, 1849–1949,” pp. 52–53, images 54–55/223 (1891), Alexander McRae; Salt Lake County Management and Archives, Salt Lake City. “Died,” Sunday Herald, 21 June 1891, 7. EBW, Diary, 20 and 26 June 1891.