Welcome to Part 2 of the Presbyterian Cemetery Distinguished Stories Collection, highlighting individuals with surnames beginning H through N. These stories continue our exploration of Alexandria’s civic, cultural, and military past—from influential families and church leaders to educators, business owners, and soldiers whose lives shaped the fabric of this historic city.
Each profile offers a deeper understanding of the people interred in one of Alexandria’s most important cemeteries, where memory and legacy endure in stone.
These stories draw on published histories, court and church records, newspapers, and the research of family descendants and fellow historians. Each entry lists its sources on the sources page, and we acknowledge individual contributors within the entries they helped shape. If you have information or corrections to add, please get in touch.
Explore other sections in this series:
- Part 1: Surnames A–G
- Part 2: Surnames H–N (you are here)
- Part 3: Surnames O–Z
This H–N section begins with surnames starting with H:
H
Captain William Harper (March 14, 1761 – April 18, 1829): Multifaceted Patriot: Revolutionary War Veteran, Rope Maker, City Council Member, and Commander of Artillery at Washington’s Funeral
A native of Philadelphia, William Harper married Mary Scull (1763 – 1842) on June 14, 1781. Their son, Dr. William Harper, is profiled below.
A veteran of the Battle of Trenton and the winter at Valley Forge, Captain Harper crossed the icy Delaware River with Washington during the New Jersey campaign of December 1776 and January 1777.
After the war he became a rope maker, probably at Jones Point. In 1810, Alexandria’s three ropewalks together produced more than 400 tons of rope.
Harper was a Mason and a prominent member of the Relief Fire Company. He commanded the Alexandria Artillery at the celebration of Washington’s Birthday in 1799 and again in the procession at Washington’s funeral at Mount Vernon on December 18, 1799.
He also led the Artillery Company in welcoming President Thomas Jefferson to Alexandria. The reception took place at Gadsby’s Tavern on Saturday, March 14, 1801, with President Jefferson, the Vice President, the Secretary of War, the Attorney General, and Major General Wilkinson in attendance. (Source: T. Michael Miller, Pen Portraits of Alexandria, Virginia, 1739–1900, p. 49.)
Harper was one of President John Adams’s last-minute justices of the peace, the so-called “midnight appointments.” When his commission was withheld, he became one of the plaintiffs in Marbury v. Madison, and he never took the seat. Chief Justice John Marshall’s 1803 ruling in that case established the doctrine of judicial review, a cornerstone of the constitutional system of checks and balances.
Buried in Section 42, Row 43, Plot 8.
Dr. William Harper (April 23, 1787 – October 7, 1852): Defender in War and Faith: War of 1812 Veteran and Ruling Elder of the Second Presbyterian Church
Dr. William Harper was the son of Captain William Harper (March 14, 1761 – April 18, 1829) and Mary Scull Harper (1763 – 1842). He was active in Alexandria’s Second Presbyterian Church, a congregation that no longer exists.
He was ordained and installed as a ruling elder of Second Presbyterian Church on June 26, 1842.
Harper and Mary Thomas Newton married on October 17, 1810, near Leesburg, Virginia. They had ten children, including Wells Andrew Harper, who was born on September 2, 1818, and passed away on December 7, 1876. Wells served on the city council from 1860 to 1861. Another son, John Newton Harper (March 25, 1823 – August 3, 1907), fought for the Confederacy in Company G, 23rd Virginia Infantry.
During the War of 1812, Harper served in the 60th Regiment of the Virginia Militia and fought at the Battle of the White House.
Dr. Harper died on October 7, 1852, and is buried in 43:111. A large obelisk draped with a carved shroud marks the grave he shares with his wife and several of their children.
The Reverend Elias Harrison (January 22, 1790 – February 13, 1863) – Dedicated Meeting House Pastor: Succumbed to a Broken Heart after Years of Service
A native of Orange County, New York, Elias Harrison became associate pastor of the Meeting House on March 17, 1818, and pastor in 1820. During his ministry, the Meeting House burned on July 26, 1835, and was rebuilt by 1837. When Union forces occupied Alexandria during the Civil War, he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the United States and so could no longer perform weddings or funerals; most Meeting House members who died during the war were buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery on King Street. He served until his death on February 13, 1863, said to have died of a broken heart. A memorial to him hangs on the south wall of the Meeting House.
| ELIAS HARRISON, D.D. born in Orange Co., New York and for 41 years Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Alexandria departed this life Feb. 13th, 1863, aged 73 years. He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith; and much people was added unto the Lord. Acts 11th Chap. 24th Ver. |
| Sacred to the memory of ELIZABETH the beloved wife of the Revd. ELIAS HARRISON who departed __ this life __ __, of a good hope through ___. May the 6th A.D. 1824, in the 26th year of her age. Perfect she was not, else she had not been mortal yet what she was and whence she would hardly be disposed to memory. A winning openness of manner a sincerity without smile a disposition amiable and affectionate a piety modest and ___ her a grateful measurable and th___ the ___ sweet. The heart of her husband could solely trust in her for looking well in the way of her household and has long… ___ ___ the days of her life. ___ |
Alva Lee Harvey (May 22, 1900 – December 1, 1992) – Trailblazing Aviator: Honored with the Distinguished Service Medal
A Texas native, Harvey is best known for his part, as a member of the U.S. Army Air Service, in the 1924 First Flight Around the World, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. During World War II he led bomber groups in the Pacific.
Read the rest of the story in our blog post The First Around-the-World Air Flight.
He was buried in Section 3, plot 21, with his wife, Lillian.
The Henderson Children – A Tale of Loss in Early Alexandria
In Section 43:104 lie two young children of Colonel Archibald Henderson and Anne Marie Cazenove Henderson. Their small graves tell a poignant story of family loss in one of the young nation’s notable military families.
Paulina Cazenove Henderson, who passed away on July 29, 1833, in her fourth year, and Archibald Murray Henderson, an infant son born July 1, 1845, who died August 29, 1846, rest here among their maternal relatives. Their father, Colonel Archibald Henderson (1783–1859), would become known as the “Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps,” serving as its Commandant for an unprecedented 38 years, from 1820 to 1859.
Colonel Henderson’s career included distinguished service aboard USS Constitution during the War of 1812 and successful efforts to preserve the Marine Corps’ independence. He led the Corps through the Mexican-American War, a campaign that would inspire the Marines’ Hymn. Notably, the sword presented to Henderson after this conflict bore the inscription, “From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli,” which became the opening words of The Marines’ Hymn.
Archibald and Anne Marie were married on October 15 or 16, 1823, in the Presbyterian Meeting House by the Rev. Elias Harrison. The parents rest in Congressional Cemetery in Washington, but their two children were laid here among their mother’s Cazenove relatives, a sign of the family’s deep ties to Alexandria.
These small graves are a reminder that even as Colonel Henderson was shaping the future of the Marine Corps, he and his wife knew the grief of losing young children.
| PAULINA daughter of ARCHIBALD and ANN M. HENDERSON died 29th July 1833 in her fourth year God took thee in his mercy A lamb, unmastered untried he fought the fight for thee He won the victory And thou art sanctioned |
| In memory of ARCHIBALD MURRAY infant son of Gen. ARCHIBALD and ANNE M. HENDERSON born July 1, 1845 died August 29th, 1846 |
Sherman Curtis Hildreth (November 9, 1917 – February 11, 2012): Cemetery Board Member
Mr. Hildreth was a member of the Cemetery Board of Directors. He is buried in 2:2:5.
Continuing through the Presbyterian Cemetery H–N stories, we come to the I surnames:
I
James Irwin (1757-1822): A Life of Service and Industry
James Irwin, also recorded as James Irvin or James Irvine, was born in 1757 in Belfast, Ireland. He immigrated to America and became deeply involved in Alexandria’s civic and religious life.
An elder of the Presbyterian church, Irwin served several times between 1790 and 1822 as a commissioner from the Presbytery of Baltimore to the General Assembly. He also sat on the Meeting House Church Committee, including the committee that ran a 1790 lottery to fund a bell tower and steeple.
Irwin was a justice of the peace in 1796 and a member of the City Council. He was a charter member of the Alexandria Library Company in 1794 and a member of the St. Andrew’s Society.
By trade Irwin was a ropemaker, an important craft in Alexandria’s maritime economy, and he built a ropewalk on his property, Mount Erin (also called Mount Airy). He was also a commissioner of the Domestic Manufacturing Company and a director of the Farmers Bank, and he was involved with the Bank of Alexandria and the Bank of Virginia.
Irwin was a member of the Relief Fire Company and signed both the deed for the Presbyterian Cemetery property and the congregation’s 1809 incorporation papers. He also served as a vestryman and helped establish Bellevue plantation (now the location of Marina Towers, 501 Slater Lane).
Irwin was a family man and, like many of his contemporaries, an enslaver. He served as guardian to the orphaned children of Robert Adam and managed their affairs; John Adam’s family later honored him on their obelisk as “the faithful guardian of John Adam.”
Irwin’s name appears on the cemetery plaque listing veterans of the Revolutionary War.
Irwin died of fever on September 5, 1822, at the age of 65, and was laid to rest in the Presbyterian Cemetery, the ground he had helped secure years earlier.
| JAMES IRWIN of Belfast, Ireland the faithful Guardian of JOHN ADAM died Sept. 5, 1822 |
The J surnames include a family of bakers and Lee’s reconnaissance officer at Gettysburg:
J
Andrew Jamieson (1749 – July 6, 1823) – Internationally Renowned Biscuit Artisan
A native of Scotland, Andrew Jamieson established his bakery at Ramsay’s Wharf in 1785. During the Quasi-War with France (1798–1800), fought mainly in the Caribbean and off the East Coast, Jamieson and other Alexandria bakers supplied more than 40,000 pounds of bread to the U.S. Navy at Philadelphia and Boston.
With his son, Robert Jamieson (April 29, 1796 – April 10, 1862), Andrew founded what became the Jamieson Steam Bakery at Lee and Oronoco Streets; by 1836 it occupied a three-story brick building. Its crackers were so well regarded that Queen Victoria imported them for the royal table. By 1850 the bakery had twelve employees and a substantial capital investment, though even with steam-driven machinery the business struggled in later years.
It is uncertain whether the Union army used the bakery during the Civil War. After the war a fire damaged the building, but the business kept running until 1873, when George R. Hill bought it and resumed cracker production. The bakery was eventually torn down in 1888 to make way for wholesale warehouses. Archaeological excavations revealed the brick footings of the warehouses and the stone foundations of the bakery. The bakery included three rooms, a well, and a cistern, likely used for baking and operating the steam engine (Reber, 2010).
Andrew, a trustee of the Meeting House and a signer of the 1809 deed for the Presbyterian Cemetery, is buried in 41:28 with his wife, Mary (d. July 12, 1824). Robert is also buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery (see below). Jamieson Avenue, just north of the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex, carries the family name.
| In memory of ANDREW JAMIESON a native of Scotland who departed this life on the 6th July, 1823 in the 74th year of his age Marth the perfect man and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace Psalm 37 Ch. 37 V. |
Robert B. Jamieson (April 29, 1796 – April 10, 1862): A Life of Faith, Firefighting, and Flour
A civic-minded entrepreneur and philanthropist, Robert B. Jamieson played a leading role in Alexandria’s industrial, religious, and social development during the first half of the 19th century. The son of Andrew and Mary Jamieson (see above), Robert co-founded the Jamieson Steam Biscuit Bakery at Lee and Oronoco Streets, a prominent business; he was listed as a “biscuit baker” in the 1860 census. The family name lives on in Jamieson Avenue.
Jamieson served as an elder of Second Presbyterian Church from 1830 and frequently represented the congregation at presbytery meetings. He was active in many reform movements of the era, helping organize the local Temperance Society in 1830, attending the 1837 meeting of the American Colonization Society, and serving as a manager of the Alexandria Colonization Society. A trustee of multiple charitable institutions, he supported the Female Orphan Asylum and was a founding incorporator of both the Alexandria Widow’s Home and Orphan Asylum for Boys.
In public and business life, he was treasurer of Masonic Lodge No. 22, a commissioner of the Alexandria Gas Works, a board member of the Fire Insurance Company of Alexandria, and president of the Alexandria branch of the Exchange Bank of Virginia. He was also an incorporator of the Alexandria Gas Light Company, the Mount Vernon Cotton Manufacturing Company, and the Alexandria Savings Institution.
Jamieson was also involved in firefighting efforts as a subordinate director of the Sun Fire Company and chaired Alexandria’s yellow fever relief committee in 1855. He partnered in commerce with Cassius F. Lee (1808–1890), a first cousin of Robert E. Lee.
Robert Jamieson died on April 10, 1862, and is buried in 44:131 with his first wife, Catharine Porter Sanford, and their children. His second wife, Elizabeth Jane Smith, rests in 41:30.
Samuel Richard Johnston (March 16, 1833 – December 24, 1899) Subject of Contention: Linked by “Lost Cause” Adherents to Lee’s Gettysburg Defeat
Samuel Richard Johnston was born on March 16, 1833, at West Grove, now the site of the Belle Haven Country Club in Fairfax County, Virginia. On June 21, 1859, he married Mary G. Ege (February 4, 1832 – January 28, 1879).
On July 2, 1863, during the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, he was awakened at 4:00 a.m. and sent to Lee’s headquarters near the Lutheran Seminary, where Lee ordered him to “check out the enemy’s left side and give a report as quickly as you can.”
Read the rest of the story in our blog post Samuel Richard Johnston, Lee’s Reconnaissance Officer at Gettysburg.
He is buried in 44:161 with his first and second wives.
See the sources page for the Gettysburg National Military Park and Military Images Digital articles on Johnston.
The L surnames include a Georgia financier who married into the Cazenove family:
L
Gazaway Bugg Lamar (October 3, 1798 – October 5, 1874) Versatile Entrepreneur: Flourished as a Banker, Cotton Merchant, Shipbuilder, Steamship Pioneer, and Patron of Blockade Runners; United through Marriage with the Cazenove Family
Born in Augusta, Georgia, Lamar built his first businesses there before moving to Savannah, and he became one of the wealthiest and most successful businessmen of his day.
Read the rest of his story in our blog post Gazaway Bugg Lamar: The Wealthy Banker, Cotton Merchant, and Steamship Pioneer Buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery.
He is buried in 43:107, the Cazenove family plot, with his wife, Harriet.
Thomas Boyd Leadbeater (May 7, 1895 – September 14, 1913): Grandson of William Gregory III
A member of the Gregory and Leadbeater families, known affectionately as “Boyd,” he died on September 14, 1913, at just 18, and is buried in 41:25.
The Leadbeater family were partners with the Stabler family in the Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary on South Fairfax Street, now a museum.
The M surnames include three generations of the McKnight family:
M
Christiana Cooper Marsteller (c. 1774 – January 5, 1815): Co-owner of Spring Garden Farm
Christiana Cooper, the daughter of Elizabeth Arell, married Philip Godhelp Marsteller (1770 – 1842). Together they owned Spring Garden Farm, the land that eventually became the Wilkes Street Cemetery Complex. Philip, an auctioneer and his father’s business partner, is buried in 41:29; Christiana lies either beside him or in Section 42. Philip was a member of the Relief Fire Company in 1795, attended Washington’s funeral as a member of Lodge No. 22, and served as a trustee of the Meeting House. A member of Christ Church, he left to help organize St. Paul’s Church and gave land for its sanctuary.
His father, Lieutenant Colonel Philip B. Marsteller (1741/42 – 1803), was mayor of Alexandria in 1791–92, a charter member of the Alexandria Library Company in 1794, and an honorary pallbearer at Washington’s funeral on December 18, 1799. The elder Marsteller was buried in the Christ Church burial ground, where his grave was lost during the Civil War.
Lewis McKenzie (October 7, 1810 – June 28, 1895) – Distinguished Civic Figure: Mayor, Congressman, and Key Contributor to the Formation of West Virginia
Read more about his life in our blog post Lewis McKenzie (1810–1895): A Civic Figure of Remarkable Influence.
Captain Charles McKnight (April 7, 1774 – March 11, 1853), Innkeeper of McKnight’s Tavern, Commanding Captain of the Independent Blues in the Battle of the White House
Also see Robert Allison Jr., William Bartleman, and our blog post The Battle of the White House.
Charles McKnight, the son of William McKnight (see below), never married. He commanded the Alexandria Independent Blues at the Battle of the White House in 1814. After his father’s death, he took over the family tavern on the northwest corner of King and Royal Streets and renamed it the Eagle Tavern (also known as the Spread Eagle Tavern). The intersection came to be known as McKnight’s Corner.
He served as a judge from 1837 to 1853 and was a member of Masonic Lodge No. 22.
He is buried in 41:20.
Charles Henry McKnight (1840–1916): A Sleeve Worn Bravely
Born: April 21, 1840
Died: August 15, 1916 (aged 76)
Charles H. McKnight, the son of William Henry and Margaret Jacobs McKnight (see below), served in the Confederate army during the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861 with the Mount Vernon Guards, which became Company E of the 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment, Fourth Brigade, Army of the Potomac, C.S.A. He fought at the Battle of Williamsburg, where he was captured; he was later exchanged and returned to service. He lost his right arm during the war, a sacrifice noted with admiration in the 1865 diary of Isabel Emerson: “I just adore that empty sleeve; he wears it bravely, knowing he lost his arm in defense of Southern rights and Southern honor.”
McKnight never married and spent the rest of his life in Virginia. He died in 1916; the Rev. Nourse conducted his funeral. He is buried in 41:20.
A photo of Charles’s gravestone appears below, with the entry for his brother, William Presley McKnight.
John McKnight (July 2, 1769 – February 7, 1834): Sea Captain’s Odyssey: Captured Repeatedly by the French, Later Served as Alexandria’s Harbor Master
The son of William and Martha Bryan McKnight and brother of Captain Charles McKnight, John McKnight became a ship captain at 19.
On October 29, 1799, he married Catherine Piercy of Philadelphia, and they had twelve children. Catherine’s family had been struck by the yellow fever epidemic of 1793, which killed some 5,000 people in Philadelphia, then the nation’s capital, including her father and one of her brothers. After those losses, Catherine moved to Alexandria to live with her uncle on Prince Street, where she stayed until her marriage.
French privateers repeatedly captured McKnight during the years of conflict with France that culminated in the Quasi-War (1798–1800), a period in which the French seized more than 1,500 American ships.
After France went to war with Britain in 1793, the French Navy frigate L’Insurgente, launched that April, overtook his ship in the English Channel, and McKnight was wounded in the leg during the chase. He and his crew spent two years as prisoners in Nantes, France, where they witnessed the arbitrary execution of fellow prisoners, before escaping over the prison walls on ropes made from blankets. (Source: Alexandria Historical Society, Fall 2009 Newsletter, p. 4.)
He was captured twice more while commanding the Polly & Nancy, first near the Virginia Capes in 1797 and again near Cádiz in 1798. After his release, a hurricane wrecked the ship’s masts on the voyage home, and McKnight sold her at St. John’s, Antigua, the nearest port. That ended his career as a ship captain. He was also part owner of another vessel, the Adventure. He later served as Alexandria’s harbor master.
On February 8, 1834, the Alexandria Gazette published this notice:
McKnight is buried in 41:20. His wife, Catherine, died in 1867 and was buried beside him.
William McKnight (1732 – July 25, 1812): Fort Duquesne Conqueror during the French and Indian War and Founder of McKnight’s Tavern
William McKnight was a captain in the First Battalion of the Pennsylvania Provincials, as recorded in Officers and Soldiers in the Service of the Province of Pennsylvania, 1744–1765 (p. 20), and took part in the capture of Fort Duquesne, later renamed Fort Pitt, during the French and Indian War. In 1775 he moved to Alexandria, where he opened a tavern.
The frame tavern at the corner of King and Royal Streets had a notable feature: a “Long Room” on the second floor that Washington often used for private meetings. It was also a favorite meeting place of Alexandria’s St. Andrew’s Society, whose modern successor takes part in the city’s annual Scottish Christmas Walk parade on the first Saturday of December.
William was first married to Martha Bryan (c. 1745 – June 3, 1775), with whom he had four sons — among them John, William Jr., who drowned off Smith Point at twenty-one, and Charles, who would inherit the family tavern. Martha died in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the very months the family was preparing its move south; William had purchased his Alexandria lot the previous December. Soon after her death he married Susannah Evans (September 19, 1746 – November 10, 1836) of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and brought his household to Alexandria by late 1775.
William rests in the family plot at Section 41, Plot 20, beneath a box tomb that bears his name and Martha’s together — her 1775 death the oldest date inscribed anywhere in the Presbyterian Cemetery, though the tomb itself was necessarily carved after William’s death in 1812, for a cemetery that did not yet exist when Martha died. Whether her remains were later brought from Pennsylvania to lie beneath it, or whether the family inscribed her name in memorial to a grave left behind in Cumberland County, no record has yet been found to say. The date is the cemetery’s oldest; whether she is here at all is an open question. Susannah, who survived William by twenty-four years, rests beneath her own gravestone. It records her death on November 10, 1836, “aged 90 years 7 months & 22 days” — a small error in the carver’s arithmetic, for from her birth on September 19, 1746, the true span was ninety years, one month, and twenty-two days.
| to the memory of WILLIAM McKNIGHT who departed this life on the 25th of July 1812 in the 80th year of his life MARTHA BRYAN Wife of WILLIAM McKNIGHT departed this life JUNE 3, 1775 aged 30 years |
William Henry McKnight (August 24, 1800 – December 29, 1887), Master Builder and Carpenter: Oversaw Lumber Measurement, Endured Civil War Arrest and Imprisonment in Old Capitol Prison in Washington, D.C.
William Henry McKnight is recorded as William McKnight’s son, though his birth in 1800 fits better as a son of John and Catherine McKnight, who married in 1799. A skilled carpenter and builder, he kept workshops in several locations. In 1834 he opened a shop on Union Street near Gibbon Street, and in 1852 he moved it to Union Street near Prince Street, where it burned in 1854. He also ran workshops on St. Asaph and Prince Streets. With his partner, David Price, he reused bricks from the original St. Mary’s Chapel to build the Lyceum, and the two built houses at 523–529 and 531 South Lee Street between 1831 and 1865. In 1859 they built the depot for the New York and Virginia Steamship Company. In 1870 McKnight built his own home at 208 South St. Asaph Street, and after the Market House fire of 1871 he and Price put up a warehouse near the market for William Gregory, Beach, and Brill.
In February 1862, the U.S. Army arrested him and other Alexandrians for allegedly aiding the Confederacy by helping the families of men serving in the Confederate army. He spent a month in the Old Capitol Prison. The building, known earlier as the Old Brick Capitol, had housed Congress from 1815 to 1819 after the British burned the Capitol, and became a prison for Southern sympathizers during the war. It was demolished in 1929, and the U.S. Supreme Court now stands on the site.
William Henry McKnight married Margaret Jacobs, daughter of Presley Jacobs, on January 28, 1832. Margaret died on February 7, 1888. They had five children, three of whom are buried in the Presbyterian Cemetery: Elizabeth Chew McKnight (April 2, 1833 – November 16, 1911), William Presley McKnight (June 12, 1838 – October 24, 1927), and Charles Henry McKnight (April 21, 1840 – August 15, 1916).
William Presley McKnight (1838–1927): From Battlefield to Newsroom
Born: June 12, 1838
Died: October 24, 1927 (aged 89)
William Presley McKnight, known as “Willie,” was a lifelong Alexandrian who served with the Confederacy during the Civil War. He enlisted in 1861 with the Mount Vernon Guards, which became Company E of the 17th Virginia Infantry Regiment, part of the Fourth Brigade, Army of the Potomac, C.S.A. Rising to the rank of lieutenant, McKnight saw extensive service and was captured twice, at Frayser’s Farm and again at Antietam. One account suggests he may have been wounded aboard a steamer departing Fort Monroe in May 1862 and taken prisoner.
McKnight never married. After the war he returned to Alexandria, where he served for many years as business manager of the Alexandria Gazette. His wartime correspondence with his brother Charles H. McKnight was later published in The American Civil War Letters of William and Charles McKnight of Alexandria, Virginia. His life and service are also documented in “The McKnights of Alexandria,” a chapter in A Composite History of Alexandria.
He died in 1927 at the age of 89 and is buried in 41:20.
| WILLIAM PRESLEY McKNIGHT born June 12, 1838 died Oct. 24, 1927 | CHARLES HENRY McKNIGHT son of WILLIAM H. and MARGARET J. McKNIGHT born April 21, 1840 died August 15, 1916 He giveth his beloved sleep |
Legacy of Craftsmanship and Enterprise: The Muir Family of Alexandria
Around 1790, a skilled craftsman named John Muir emigrated from Scotland and settled in Alexandria. A John Muir appears in earlier records, and another Muir was active in the region, but whether either was connected to this John Muir is unknown.
John Muir and his wife, Mary Lang Muir, also a Scot, raised six children in Alexandria. Their daughter Jane married into another prominent furniture-making family when she wed James Green, son of William Green, a pioneer of Alexandria furniture manufacturing. James and Jane are buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery.
In 1794, Muir and a partner named Buckland went into business as cabinet and chair makers on Fairfax Street, promising work equal to the best of Philadelphia and Baltimore. By 1797 the partnership had dissolved, and Muir continued on his own on Royal Street. His advertisements for apprentices and mahogany, along with other local records, show a man deeply engaged in his community until his death in 1815.
Muir’s account books for 1807 to 1815, preserved in Local History/Special Collections at the Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library, show the range of his work, from coffins to elegant sideboards, high-post beds, and everyday tables. His clients included Judge Bushrod Washington and Dr. Craik. He was a member of Brooke Lodge No. 47 and trained apprentices William and Walter Hannon.
The 1810 census shows that John Muir enslaved one person. After his death in 1815, his widow, Mary, carried on the business.
Surviving furniture from Muir’s workshop is highly prized today and commands high prices when it comes to market.
The Civil War divided the family. Stephen Shinn, who had married Mary Muir, daughter of John A. Muir, sided with the North, while James Green, his wife, Jane, and their children leaned toward the South. The divide was later dramatized in the PBS series Mercy Street, set in the Mansion House Hospital in Alexandria.
John A. Muir (1807–1865), likely a son of John and Mary, served as mayor of Alexandria in 1853–54 and is buried in Trinity Cemetery. A younger John A. Muir (1849–1925) and his brother, James F. Muir (1846–1925), carried on the family furniture business, as the Alexandria Gazette noted in 1876; both are buried in the family plot.
Sources for this entry are listed on the sources page.
| Sacred to the memory of JOHN MUIR who departed this life February 12, 1815 in the 45th year of his age My glass is run and yours are running remember death for Judgement’s comeing also JAME MUIR son of JOHN and MARY MUIR departed this life July 11th 1814 in the 5th year of his age |
| JOHN A. MUIR 1849 – 1925 |
| In Memory of MARY MUIR (Relict of the late JOHN MUIR) who died May 24, 1841 aged 61 years After a Christian Experience of 34 years she was able in life Last struggle to exclaim The Lord is the portion of his people |
| WILLIAM H. MUIR born March 5, 1814 died Aug. 15 1891 Comfort ye comfort ye my people saith your God. He givieth power to the faint and to thn that have no might he increaseth strenght but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strenght they shall mount up with wings as eagle they shall run and not be wear, and they shall walk, and not faint. |
| MUIR, JAMES F. 1846 – 1925 |
| ELIZA A. GREEN wife of WM. H. MUIR born Aug. 7, 1822 died Jan. 27, 1862 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write; blessed are the dead which die in the Lord. |
The H–N stories close with the N surnames:
N
Joseph Hazel Newell (April 5, 1890 – March 10, 1973): Cemetery Trustee
Mr. Newell was an active member of Second Presbyterian Church and a dedicated cemetery trustee. He is buried in 44:133.
John Thomas Newton was one of the most highly regarded officers of the early U.S. Navy, serving for 48 years from 1809 until his death. During the War of 1812, he was a lieutenant aboard USS Hornet when she sank HMS Peacock off the coast of South America. Congress honored him with a silver medal (the ship’s commander, Captain James Lawrence, received a gold medal), and the people of Alexandria presented him with a sword in recognition of his heroism.
Read more in our blog post John Thomas Newton: A Respected Navy Officer and Hero of the War of 1812.
William Newton (1763 – 1814): Revolutionary War Veteran and Merchant
William Newton was born at Little Falls Plantation in Stafford County, Virginia, on either February 25, 1763, or February 26, 1765; his gravestone, which records his death “in the 52nd year of his age,” fits the 1763 date. By 1786 he had moved to Alexandria and begun a successful career as a merchant, advertising his firm, William Newton and Co., in the local newspaper that year. He later became a partner in Ricketts and Newton.
Newton served in the Revolutionary War, and the Sons of the American Revolution include his name on the plaque at the entrance to the Presbyterian Cemetery. In 1794 he was a charter member of the Alexandria Library Company and an active member of the Relief Fire Company. He was also a member of Masonic Lodge No. 22.
Newton helped establish the Bank of Alexandria; his signature appears on the petition of October 9, 1792. Records show that he enslaved one person in 1789 and in 1800, and the 1810 census lists five enslaved people in his household.
William Newton died on December 26, 1814, during a severe epidemic that swept through Alexandria and the greater Chesapeake region. Contemporary physicians described the outbreak as “putrid sore throat” or “typhus fever,” terms commonly used in the early 19th century to describe highly contagious, often fatal illnesses characterized by fever, throat infection, and systemic collapse. The disease struck swiftly during the winter months, overwhelming households and medical practitioners alike.
The Rev. James Muir buried Newton on December 28, 1814; he was 51. The epidemic did not end with his death. His wife, Jane B. Newton, died two months later, on February 25, 1815.
| Our Parents Died on the 26th Decbr. 1814 WILLIAM NEWTON in the 52nd year of his age The world passeth away but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. Died on the 25th Feb. 1815 JANE B NEWTON in the 39th year of her age For the Lord shall be thine everlasting light and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. |
Jane Barr Stuart Newton (c. 1776–1815)
Jane was the daughter of William and Jane Barr Stuart of “Cameron,” west of Alexandria. The Rev. James Muir married her to William Newton on February 7, 1792. She died on February 25, 1815, at the age of 39, two months after her husband, and Rev. Muir conducted her burial in the Presbyterian Cemetery beside him in 42:45.
Their shared gravestone inscription appears with William Newton’s entry above.
This concludes Part 2 of the Presbyterian Cemetery Distinguished Stories. Continue with surnames O–Z, or return to surnames A–G. These pages are updated as new information comes to light.
Sources and References
For a full list of sources, please see the Sources and References section on the main page.
