Two Drafts from "Sketches of Elders and Ministers of Saint Pauls Presbyterian Church, Robeson County, N.C."
by J.D. McGeachy
Alexander McGeachy - pp 14-15.
He was a native of Kintyre, Argyleshire, Scotland and was at one time the stableboy to the Duke of Argyle. He came to this country after the Revolutionary War and the first money he earned after coming here was for poling flats from Wilmington to Cross Creek on the Cape Fear River, afterwards called Campbelltown, later Fayetteville, N.C. He settled between the Marshes, four miles above St. Pauls. He was married to Catherine McCoulsky, Brown March, Bladen County and to this union was born Neill, Ronald, Peter, Alexander and Jannett who died in childhood. The Elder McGeachy gathered a large estate of land and negroes and lived and died on the old homestead and is buried there. He was the great-grandfather of A.A. McGeachy of Fulton, Missouri, and also D.P. McGeachy of Burgaw, N.C. There were nine of his grandsons who went through the war as Confederate Soldiers – two were in the Sixth Regiment, Florida, six were in the 24th Regt., N.C. and one in the 51st Regt. All of them served under Lee in Virginia and all came back home – none broken in health or badly wounded. Sandie received a slight wound in the face, Pat a slight wound in the leg, Robert was struck with a spent ball during the siege of Petersburgh that did no harm.
Alexander McGeachy
Elder in 1810
Died March 24th – 1844
Alexander McGeachy, (I now come to talk of homefolks) was known as "Allister Tooah" (Gaelic for "Alex the Red"). He came to this country after the Revolutionary War and the first money he earned after coming here was for poling flats from Wilmington to Cross Creek on the Cape Fear River. He then came to Robeson County and settled between the Big and Little Marsh about four miles from St. Pauls and about the same distance from Lumber Bridge, where his descendants still live. He married Catherine McCoulsky of Brown Marsh, Columbus County. To this union were born Neill, Randall, Peter, Alexander and Jannett. The daughter died in her childhood. He amassed quite a large property of land and Negroes and died at the old homestead where he is buried.