Record of the descendants of John Alexander

1 74 7"Zw (Descendants of
and has had an important part in court trials concern-
ing lands in that region, because the James Alexander
warrant, being the oldest, is the starting point to deter-
mine other surveys of warrants.
This tract begins at the head of the " narrows," and
lies mostly on the north-east side of the creek.
On the opposite side he located the John McConnell
tract, and farther up the creek he located the John Mc-
Gill and the Cullen tracts.
His friend William Brown located six other tracts
still farther up the stream, extending to what is called
" The Crab Orchard."
About midsummer of the next year, 1785, James
Alexander returned again to his lands on Clearfield
Creek, accompanied by his eldest son Robert. They
went by the way of Lock Haven on the Susquehanna.
Here they procured a flat-bottomed boat, which they
dragged by means of a horse, all the way to the mouth
of Muddy Run, a tributary of Clearfield Creek. With
them they took provisions for a somewhat protracted
stay. The exposure endured on this trip is said to have
had a serious effect upon the health of James Alexan-
der, though he did not die until six years later, in
1791.
John Reed the hunter was in company at least in a
part of the journey, having probably crossed the moun-
tains by some Indian path to meet James Alexander, at
a point on the Susquehanna River. For while ascend-
ing the Clearfield Creek, at a certain place, John Reed
and Robert Alexander crossed over a hill, while James
Alexander kept the stream with the horse and boat.
In crossing the hill they discovered a shining ore,
some pieces of which John Reed put into his shot
pouch. He afterwards reported that having sent this
ore to Philadelphia, the Mint had returned a silver