Alexander, Quinton C.

Flourished: Vandalia, Illinois

Quinton C. Alexander was a newspaper editor, physician, temperance advocate, and local government official in Vandalia, Illinois. He settled in Bear Grove Township, becoming the first physician in the area. Gravitating to the Whig Party, Alexander was secretary of the Fayette County Whig convention in August 1839 and a delegate to the state convention in October. Delegates to the state convention chose him as an alternate delegate to the Whig National Convention. In 1843 and 1844, he edited the Vandalia Free Press, a Whig Party organ, alongside James Kennaday. In July 1844, Alexander hosted a mass gathering of Whigs at Vandalia, and delegates to the meeting appointed him as a secretary of the meeting. In 1841 and 1844, he served on the Vandalia Village Board of Trustees. In December 1842, Alexander became a charter member and secretary of the Vandalia Temperance Lodge.

History of Fayette County, Illinois (Philadelphia: Brink, McDonough, 1878), 47; Newton Bateman and Paul Selby, eds., Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois and History of Fayette County, ed. by Robert W. Ross and John J. Bullington (Chicago: Munsell, 1910), 2:636, 637, 642; Sangamo Journal (Springfield, IL), 20 September 1839, 1:5; 11 October 1839, 2:6; 8 August 1844, 3:2, 3; Franklin William Scott, Newspapers and Periodicals of Illinois, 1814-1879, vol. 6 of Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library, 1910), 342.