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In 1885, with their five children, the Alexanders resided in Sherman, the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, where the Reverend Alexander taught at Austin College. The Alexanders moved to "Old" Mobeetie, then a bustling Wheeler County settlement, where lived for a time the famous lawyer Temple Lea Houston (1860-1905), son of the Texas founder [[Sam Houston]]. (In 2010, the population of "New" Mobeetie was just 101.) C. W. established a Presbyterian church in Mobeetie, which was destroyed in a storm in 1898 and never rebuilt.<ref name=cwa/>

In 1885, with their five children, the Alexanders resided in Sherman, the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, where the Reverend Alexander taught at Austin College. The Alexanders moved to "Old" Mobeetie, then a bustling Wheeler County settlement, where lived for a time the famous lawyer Temple Lea Houston (1860-1905), son of the Texas founder [[Sam Houston]]. (In 2010, the population of "New" Mobeetie was just 101.) C. W. established a Presbyterian church in Mobeetie, which was destroyed in a storm in 1898 and never rebuilt.<ref name=cwa/>

   

   

In their journey west, the Alexanders were caught in a flood, and Mary Jane and C. W. were thrown from their wagon into the Pease River. Both were miraculously rescued. C. W. managed to reach the harnesses of his [[horse]]s to pull himself from the river. Even while holding on to a baby, Mary Jane grabbed onto the wagon and managed to keep both above water.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20191130/caprock-chronicles-first-woman-rancher-on-panhandle-mary-jane-alexander|title=The Caprock Chronicles: The First Woman Rancher on the Panhandle: Mary Jane Alexander|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche Journal''|author=Jean Stuntz|date=November 30, 2019|accessdate=December 12, 2019}}</ref>

In their journey west, the Alexanders were caught in a flood, and Mary Jane and C. W. were thrown from their wagon into the Pease River. Both were miraculously rescued. C. W. managed to reach the harnesses of his [[horse]]s to pull himself from the river. Even while holding on to a baby, Mary Jane grabbed onto the wagon and managed to keep both above water.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/news/20191130/caprock-chronicles-first-woman-rancher-on-panhandle-mary-jane-alexander|title=The Caprock Chronicles: The First Woman Rancher on the Panhandle: Mary Jane Alexander|publisher=''The Lubbock Avalanche Journal''|author=[[Jean Stuntz]]|date=November 30, 2019|accessdate=December 12, 2019}}</ref>

The Alexanders occupied a small house in Mobeetie and C. W. began his ministry in the eastern Panhandle. Shortly afterwards in March 1886, tragedy struck again.  C. W. died of [[pneumonia]] in a freezing rain exacerbated by the water still in his lungs from the Pease River flood. Widowed at the age of forty-six, Mary Jane proceeded to file for homestead on one section of land, 640 acres, and purchased an adjoining section on the Washita Creek near the border with what was then [[Oklahoma|Indian Territory]]. From the actions, the R. T. Alexander Ranch was created.<ref name=bio/>

The Alexanders occupied a small house in Mobeetie and C. W. began his ministry in the eastern Panhandle. Shortly afterwards in March 1886, tragedy struck again.  C. W. died of [[pneumonia]] in a freezing rain exacerbated by the water still in his lungs from the Pease River flood. Widowed at the age of forty-six, Mary Jane proceeded to file for homestead on one section of land, 640 acres, and purchased an adjoining section on the Washita Creek near the border with what was then [[Oklahoma|Indian Territory]]. From the actions, the R. T. Alexander Ranch was created.<ref name=bio/>