The Alexanders
are a British Columbia family whose roots stretch back to the first wave of Black settlers and continues, unbroken, to current times. Our story begins with the birth of Charles Alexander in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1824, where he was born a free man, the son of a Black mother and an Indian father.
In 1849 Charles married his wife Nancy, also born free, and they spent the early years of their married life together in St. louis. Like others of the time, their desire to seek a better life led them to strike out for California. In 1857, Charles, Nancy and their two children placed their belongings in a covered wagon pulled by oxen and crossed the American prairies, heading west.
Their arrival in California was greeted by the height of anti-Black feeling and efforts to have the state declared a slave state. The Alexanders joined others around them in supporting the "Pioneer Committee" in the decision to seek out a new life in the British land to the north, where, it was rumoured, Blacks could live free and in peace.
The Alexander family joined the emigration of 1858 and became part of the group that formed the first major presence of Blacks in British Columbia. They settled in Victoria, but Charles continued into the goldfields of the Fraser, where he prospered as a miner.
In 1861, he rejoined his family and purchased some land in an area north of Victoria, at Shady Creek in the Saanich district of the Island, where he "became a prominent and respected farmer."
Finally able to settle down, the Alexanders became an integral part of their surroundings, actively involved in the Church and social affairs of the community. Charles' skills as a carpenter were much appreciated as he helped to build the Shady Creek Methodist Church on land donated by a Black neighbour named McMillan.
Besides being involved in the construction of the church, Charles Alexander also preached from the pulpit, as for years there was no regular minister.
His community-minded spirit saw him serve as a school trustee, helping to construct the "first schoolhouse in South Saanich and was a founding member of the local agriculture and temperance societies.'
When he finally retired From farming, Nancy and Charles moved to the Lake Hill Area of Vancouver Island, where they celebrated their golden anniversary on Christmas Day in 1899. This event was attended by many prominent families of the cd, both Black and white, along with eleven of their twelve children and twenty-one grandchildren.
Charles Alexander died in 1913 at the age of 89, but many of his descendants are still residents of British Columbia.