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'''Alexander Fulton''' (date of birth unknown;  died 1818) was a [[merchant]], [[Farmer|planter]], and local [[politician]] originally from Washington near [[Pittsburgh]]  in western [[Pennsylvania]], who in 1805 founded the city of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Louisiana]], which he named for himself.<ref name=fulton>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-f/|title=Fulton, Alexander|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=June 1, 2020}}</ref>

'''Alexander Fulton''' (date of birth unknown;  died 1818) was a [[merchant]], [[Farmer|planter]], and local [[politician]] originally from Washington near [[Pittsburgh]]  in western [[Pennsylvania]], who in 1805 founded the city of [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], [[Louisiana]], which he named for himself.<ref name=fulton>{{cite web|url=https://www.lahistory.org/resources/dictionary-louisiana-biography/dictionary-louisiana-biography-f/|title=Fulton, Alexander|publisher=''A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography'': Louisiana Historical Association|accessdate=June 1, 2020}}</ref><ref>The Louisiana Historical Association uses these sources for its brief biographical sketch of Alexander Fulton: George Mason Graham Stafford, ''The Wells Family and Allied Families'' (1969; reprint ed., 1976); George Mason Graham Stafford, ''Three Pioneer Families of Rapides Parish (1946)''; Clarence Edwin Carter, comp. and ed., ''The Territorial Papers of the United States, IX'' (1940).</ref>​

<ref>The Louisiana Historical Association uses these sources for its brief biographical sketch of Alexander Fulton: George Mason Graham Stafford, ''The Wells Family and Allied Families'' (1969; reprint ed., 1976); George Mason Graham Stafford, ''Three Pioneer Families of Rapides Parish (1946)''; Clarence Edwin Carter, comp. and ed., ''The Territorial Papers of the United States, IX'' (1940).</ref>​

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==Biography==

==Biography==

Fulton came to Alexandria, the seat of government for Rapides Parish and the largest city in Central Louisiana, about 1785 in partnership with land speculator William Miller. Fulton, who held a land grant from the government of [[Spain]],<ref name=riverfronts>{{cite web|url=http://www.myneworleans.com/Louisiana-Life/July-August-2010/Louisiana-Riverfronts-Alexandria-Pineville/|title=Louisiana Riverfronts: Alexandria-Pineville|publisher=myneworleans.com|accessdate=October 9, 2010}}</ref> purchased merchandise and built the first store in Rapides Parish and located it beside the Red River. On May 4, 1805, he was appointed [[coroner]] of Rapides Parish by then territorial Governor William C. C. Claiborne. He became the area [[postmaster]] during the [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] administration in 1807. In 1805, he laid out the townsite of Alexandria in collaboration with a business partner, Thomas Harris Maddox.<ref name=fulton/>​

Fulton came to Alexandria, the seat of government for Rapides Parish and the largest city in Central Louisiana, about 1785 in partnership with land speculator William Miller. Fulton, who held a land grant from the government of [[Spain]],<ref name=riverfronts>{{cite web|url=http://www.myneworleans.com/Louisiana-Life/July-August-2010/Louisiana-Riverfronts-Alexandria-Pineville/|title=Louisiana Riverfronts: Alexandria-Pineville|publisher=myneworleans.com|accessdate=October 9, 2010}}</ref> purchased merchandise and built the first store in Rapides Parish and located it beside the Red River. On May 4, 1805, he was appointed coroner of Rapides Parish by then the first territorial governor, William C. C. Claiborne (c. 1773-1817). He became the postmaster during the [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] administration in 1807. In 1805, he laid out the townsite of Alexandria in collaboration with a business partner, Thomas Harris Maddox.<ref name=fulton/>​

In 1793, Fulton married the 15-year-old Mary Henrietta Wells, daughter of Samuel Levi Wells, I, and the former Dorcas Huie. Alexander and Mary Fulton had six children: Samuel, Eliza, William, Benjamin, Marcus, and Courtney Ann Fulton.<ref name=fulton/> Mary Wells Fulton was the aunt of later Louisiana Governor James Madison Wells, who was born near Alexandria in 1808. Governor Wells was a son of Samuel Levi Wells, II.​

In 1793, Fulton married the 15-year-old Mary Henrietta Wells, daughter of Samuel Levi Wells, I, and the former Dorcas Huie. Alexander and Mary Fulton had six children: Samuel, Eliza, William, Benjamin, Marcus, and Courtney Ann Fulton.<ref name=fulton/> Mary Wells Fulton was the aunt of later Louisiana Governor James Madison Wells (1808-1899), who was born near Alexandria in 1808. Governor Wells was a son of Samuel Levi Wells, II.​

Fulton died in 1818 and is believed to have been interred at Rapides Cemetery in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], the smaller city on the eastern side of the Red River. There is no grave marker, so the exact burial site is not known.<ref name=fulton/> His year of death is known because existing records which show that his estate went through probate in January 1819.<ref>Louisiana Supreme Court, [http://books.google.com/books?id=2RYtAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA250&dq=%22Alexander+Fulton%22+Louisiana+1819&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ovADUaeyNoH88gTJwYFg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Alexander%20Fulton%22%20Louisiana%201819&f=false Louisiana Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Louisiana], 1845, Volume IX, page 250</ref>​

Fulton died in 1818 and is believed to have been interred at Rapides Cemetery in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]], the smaller city on the eastern side of the Red River. There is no grave marker, so the exact burial site is not known.<ref name=fulton/> His year of death is known because existing records which show that his estate went through probate in January 1819.<ref>Louisiana Supreme Court, [http://books.google.com/books?id=2RYtAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA250&dq=%22Alexander+Fulton%22+Louisiana+1819&hl=en&sa=X&ei=ovADUaeyNoH88gTJwYFg&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Alexander%20Fulton%22%20Louisiana%201819&f=false Louisiana Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Louisiana], 1845, Volume IX, page 250</ref>​

[[Category:Farmers]]

[[Category:Farmers]]

[[Category:Politicians]]​

[[Category:Politicians]]​