Rt. Hon. Sir William Alexander

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1824-1831, son of William Alexander (1729-1819) of Edinburgh and Christian Aitchison, and grandson of William Alexander (d. 1763) Lord Provost of Edinburgh and MP. Knighted 1824.

He succeeded to the estate at Cloverhill, Dunbartonshire on the death of a second cousin A.H.S. Crawford in 1837.

According to Rubinstein's entry for Sir William Alexander (reference 1842/20), his sister married Thomson Hankey the younger (1805-1893) (q.v.) and he may well have been a trustee or executor in this award. In fact, Thomson Hankey junior's wife was Apolline Agatha Alexander, the half-sister of Sir William Alexander.

However Rubinstein for Isabella Hankey (née Alexander) 1768-1851 [1851/19] describes her as the daughter of William Alexander of Blackhouse Ayrshire and 'niece' of Sir William Alexander (c. 1761-1842). She married in 1792 John Peter Hankey (1770-06/05/1807 who died aged 41 [sic]): their grandson is given as Thompson Hankey (d. 1893). There is clearly confusion here. It seems that Isabella was the sister of Sir William Alexander and the aunt of Thomson Hankey junior, in which case Sir William may have been acting for her and her children (who included John Alexander Hankey, q.v) in some awards.

William D. Rubinstein, Who were the rich? A biographical dictionary of British wealth-holders Volume Two 1840-1859 MS, reference 1842/20. According to Rubinstein, some sources give the date of birth as c. 1761. Ibid. reference 1851/19 Hankey, Isabella (née Alexander). For Thomson Hankey junior, see W. P. Courtney, ‘Hankey, Thomson (1805–1893)’, rev. A. C. Howe, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2004), online edn, May 2009, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/12197 [accessed 12/09/2012].