Joseph and Grace Alexander Papers

Joseph L. B. Alexander was born on the Dominguez ranch south of Los Angeles, California, the son of Henry Nash Alexander and Feliciana Dominguez. He married Amanda Alice Salsig (1860-1910) in 1878 and they had two children, Henry and Helen. His second marriage was to Grace Forbes in 1912, and they had two daughters, Jane and Eleanor.

Joseph spent two years in Yuma, arriving in Phoenix in 1879. He was initially employed by Goldman and Company and served as clerk of the Board of Supervisors and clerk of the State Supreme Court in the 1880's and 1890's. He studied law in his father's office until the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, when he enlisted and was made commander of the first squadron of the Rough Riders, serving as captain of Troop C. He eventually served as the Arizona Commander of the US Spanish War Veterans.

Alexander established the Phoenix law firm of Alexander and Christy shortly after the turn of the century and also was a prominent businessman and entrepreneur.

Grace Maye Forbes Alexander was born to Theodore and Jennie (Coates) Forbes in Ohio on May 25, 1874. She worked as a secretary at Alexander and Christy and continued in that capacity after her marriage to Joseph Alexander in 1912. She was active in civic affairs, holding memberships in the Phoenix Women's Club, the Federation Woman's Club of Arizona, Daughters of the American Revolution, Phoenix Garden Club, Heard Museum, Civic Opera, and the Phoenix Symphony Guild. She was founder and first president of the Arizona Republican Woman's Club, and in 1924 she was the first woman delegate to the Republican National Convention. As a member of the Federation of Women's Clubs she played an important role in promoting child welfare legislation. She was founder of the Mary Brodie Auxiliary of Spanish American War Veterans, serving as national president in 1949. She was also a charter member of the Phoenix Little Theatre and received a life membership to the National Conference of the Parent Teacher's Association from Arizona. She died in Phoenix at the age of 83 in 1957.