James Alexander (d. 1778) (117)

James Alexander (?–1778) was a gardener and seedsman, and a member of the American Philosophical Society via his 1768 election to the American Society. Little is known about his early life, but by adulthood he was employed as the gardener of Pennsylvania proprietor Thomas Penn’s country seat in Springettsbury, near Philadelphia. There, he laid out lawns, walks, and plant beds. When Penn returned to England in 1741, Alexander continued to oversee the property and provided his employer with plants. The garden’s visitors included APS members Ezra Stiles and William Shippen, and Alexander was well known for a variety of grape that still bears his name today. He also conducted a successful seed business, becoming APS founder John Bartram’s biggest competitor. In 1764 Chief Justice (and APS member) William Allen proposed a partnership with Alexander to make a medicinal tea more widely available. Alexander contributed to the Pennsylvania Hospital and signed the 1765 Non-Importation Agreement. He presented botanical specimens to the APS and served on the committee that observed the Transit of Venus. He was also a member of the Library Company of Philadelphia and a communicant of the First Presbyterian Church. (PI)