McKee, Alexander R.

Born: 1815-03-13 Kentucky

Died: 1865-09-03 Panama

Flourished: 1849-02-12 Lancaster, Kentucky

In September 1842, McKee married Martinette Hardin, sister of John J. Hardin. Though not attending together, Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd attended the ceremony and reception, which served as a catalyst for the resumption of their courtship and marriage. The McKees settled in Lancaster, Kentucky, where they had six children. Alexander served as clerk of the Garrard County Court until 1851, when he became a coal merchant. Politicially, he was a Republican. In 1861, President Lincoln appointed Alexander as consul to Panama. He continued in that position until his death.

Gravestone, Sec J, Lot 369, Grave 3, Frankfort Cemetery, Frankfort, KY; James T. Huffstodt, Lincoln's Bold Lion: The Life and Times of Brigadier General Martin Davis Hardin (Havertown, PA: Castmate, 2015), 38, 125-26; Illinois Statewide Marriage Index, Morgan County, 27 September 1842, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Appointment of Alexander R. McKee as Consul at Panama; The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfort, Kentucky 17 (January 1919), 75; Michael Burlingame, ed., "Martinette Hardin McKee Recalls Lincoln and Mary Todd," Lincoln Herald 97:2 (Summer 1995), 71-73; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1861 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1862), 10; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1863 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864), 11.