Alexander Mcquain¹ was born about 1755 in Edinburgh, Scotland.² As a young man, Alexander was allowed to attend college and graduated from the classical and theological department at the University of Edinburgh in early 1775.

While attending college, Alexander’s parents hoped he would choose the church as a career. However, these were troubling times for Great Britain, and while studying at the University of Edinburgh, he became aware of all the freedoms enjoyed in the American colonies. Soon after he graduated from college, he packed all of his personal belongings into a wooden chest³ and set sail for the American colonies, arriving in Philadelphia in 1775. Fate was on his side, as the window of opportunity to immigrate from Scotland soon closed. The British government outlawed immigration from Scotland on 21 September 1775. This ban lasted until the end of the Revolutionary War.

Alexander joined the Virginia Militia and served the American colonies as a private in Captain Peter Hull’s Company of the 2nd Battalion of the Augusta Militia. As part of Captain Hull’s cavalry, he participated in the Siege of Yorktown, which led to the surrender of Cornwallis. After the surrender at Yorktown, they divided up the spoils of war, and Alexander received much-needed supplies, including food, ammunition, a blanket, and an overcoat. He also received a mess pot, a sword, and an English musket as his share of the loot from the British, which have all been passed down to his descendants.
On 17 April 1782, Alexander received a land grant of 52 acres in what is now Pendleton County, Virginia (now West Virginia).

While serving in Captain Hull’s company, he forged a strong bond with fellow compatriot Hugh Bodkin, who came to the American Colonies from Ireland and had been a professor at the University of Dublin. Alexander married Hugh’s daughter, Mary Bodkin, in about 1782, and they settled in Pendleton County, Virginia. 
They had ten known children:⁴ 

• Duncan
• John
• William
• Alexander
• Hugh Alexander
• Nancy Elizabeth
• Thomas
• Jane
• Esther
• Isabella

Descendants from Alexander’s children Duncan, Jane, Thomas, Alexander, and John have submitted SAR and/or DAR applications.

The Patriot died after 1820 and is buried in an unmarked grave near Moyers, West Virginia. His oldest son, Duncan McQuain, is buried in the McQuain-Wees Cemetery⁵ in Pendleton County, West Virginia. A cenotaph marker for Alexander McQuain was erected in this cemetery which reads as follows:

Alexander McQuain
c1756 – C1825
Virginia Militia

Revolutionary War Patriot
Serving in
Capt. Peter Hull’s Co
Buried 164 Miles
To the NW

Buried 164 miles
To the NW
38 30 7.74 N 79 25 31.21 W
In an unmarked grave
Alongside his wife

Mary Bodkin McQuain
C1766 – C1803

Sources:

1. He is also referred to as Alexander McQueen in some repositories, including the DAR database.
2. Family researchers believe that the McQueen Family originated in Ireland. They came to Scotland around 1330 as part of the dowry of Margaret O’Cathan.
3. His wooden chest has been preserved and handed down to McQuain descendants, often the oldest child. It has been stored in an attic, used to store blankets, as a hope chest, and as an end table.
4. Alexander McQuain’s Descendants
5. The Wees Family designated a parcel of land between the Wees and McQuain properties to be used jointly as a cemetery.
6. Clemmer, Frances and McQuain, Lessley, Blood of Our Blood: Families in History, Virginia. New Market: Frances McQuian Lessley, 2003
7. McQuain, David, Three Wolves a Detailed History of the American McQuains and Their Gaelic Roots: iUniverse, 2020
8. McQuain, Thomas Bryan and Miriam McQuain Looker, Tell Me a Story Grandpa: West Virginia Stories About Farm Life One-Room Schools Logging Hunting Civil War, Maryland. Westminster: Heritage Books, 2008
9. Shawkey, Morris Purdey, West Virginia: in History, Life Literature, and Industry, Illinois. Chicago: Lewis Publishing, 1928