Captain of colored troops during the Civil War. Noted Presbyterian minister and Temperance lecturer. Monmouth College director.
Alvan's father, Rev. George Carothers Vincent, was a graduate of the Alma/Franklin College of New Athens, Harrison county, Ohio. George married Margaret Cowden Walker, daughter of the founder of New Athens and Alma/Franklin College, Rev. John Walker, on 10 September 1838. Rev. Walker was a famed abolitionist of his day. As early as 1839, George was sent as a missionary of the Presbyterian church into Illinois and Iowa, given "general instructions" but to use his own discretion on when and where to preach. It is known that he established a church in Iowa during 1839, but continued to preach at other locations. It was in March 1841 that George apparently came across some settlers that he knew, or knew of; they quickly took up a collection to pay him a salary of $200, to which he promised to devote 2/3 of his time to their benefit. George wrote that he officially settled in Washington, Washington county, Iowa on 4 July 1841. A son, Robert Milton, was born to the family in Washington during 1842. It is said his wife became ill in 1844, and returned to her former home in Ohio, where she passed away. 1844 was a busy year for George in Iowa. He chaired the 2nd annual Iowa Anti-Slavery Society convention; petitioned the delegates of the Iowa statehood convention to adopt civil rights for "all" men, including the vote, into the state's 1st constitution; and oversaw the construction of a new church, which was completed in 1845. In 1845, George agreed to the Synod's request to spend 12 Sabbaths in missionary work in Illinois and Iowa, paying him $50, the balance of his usual salary of $5 per week to be collected from the churches he visited. George remained in Iowa until 1847, when he relocated his family to Mercer county, Pennsylvania and remarried.
Alvan was shown as "Adams" in the 1850 census, with his father, step-mother, older brother John, younger brother Robert, and half-brother, William. His father was said to be the driving force behind the establishment of Westminster College in New Willmington, Pennsylvania during 1852. The 1860 census shows "Alen" at home with his father and family in Willmington, and listed as a student, of Westminster College. The following year, Alvan enlisted as a Private in a company organized in a neighboring county of Ohio. He served from 29 August 1861 until 25 November 1865, with a single 30 day leave during that time. His father and brothers, John and Robert, also enlisted in Pennsylvania. John died of wounds received at the Battle of Fredericksburg; he was married with a young daughter.
The 1870 census shows "Alvan" back at home with his father in Wilmington, Pennsylvania, and once again a student. As with his father, Alvan went to Iowa, where he was ordained by the Presbytery of Keokuk, and installed as the pastor of the church at Brighton - just 10 miles from where his father had started his own church nearly 30 years before, and an area Alvan knew well.
Alvan married Susan Burley Walker at her father's home in Monmouth, on 21 August 1876. Alvan was still a resident of Brighton at that time. They honeymooned by attending the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, no doubt visiting with family in that area. The young couple was involved in an accident on Monmouth's Public Square in August 1877. An American Express delivery wagon collided with theirs, hurling Susan forward out of their buggy, landing on her face and fracturing her arm in the process. Their first born daughter, Elizabeth Helen, arrived the following year, at Brighton, Iowa.
Following the calls of the church, the family relocated to Spring Hill, Decatur county, Indiana (a "ghost town" today). Their second daughter, Grace Margaret, was born there in 1882. Alvan was a Director of Monmouth College, attending the yearly Senate meetings during the 1880's, with his residence listed as Spring Hill, Indiana through 1888. In 1889, his residence given at the meeting was Indianapolis, Indiana, but was already living in Paxton, where he was officially installed as pastor on Sept. 17th. Earlier that year, his wife was elected delegate from Paxton to attend the "Our Young People" convention in East Liverpool, Pennsylvania, held in May. The following year, she attended the 2nd annual national "Our Young People" convention held at Monmouth College. Son George Stuart Vincent was born in Paxton during 1893. The family returned to Monmouth in September 1896, with the intent of educating their children here. Daughter Elizabeth had graduated High School at Paxton, and entered as a student in Monmouth College, where her mother had been one of the founding members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Her mother was suffering from cancer and the surgeries which brought no relief, and died in Monmouth a mere 8 months after their return. A week after Susan's death, Alvan accepted the call of the church to relocate to Emporia, Kansas. He mustered into P.B. Plumb Post #55, Grand Army of the Republic, Emporia, Kansas on 26 August 1898. Daughter Elizabeth completed two years at Monmouth College, then rejoined her family in Kansas, graduating from Emporia College. Alvan was elected to the school board of Emporia's 1st ward in 1901. A few years later, the family relocated once again to Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Alvan spent his final years of preaching in Eureka, Texas. He was noted in his daughter Grace's marriage announcement as such, and performed the ceremony himself at his daughter Elizabeth's home in Xenia, Ohio. A history of that particular church claims Alvan preached there from 1912 through 1918, which is impossible, as he died in Buffalo, New York in 1916.
It's ironic that Alvan married a founder of Kappa Kappa Gamma. His own father condemned such secret societies. Even though the fraternity was founded at Monmouth, their Alpha chapter was one of the first to fall. Banned by the church, Monmouth college announced their ban in 1874. The fraternity continued to secretly accept members in Monmouth though until 1882, but was declared defunct at their national convention in 1884. That was the same year that Nu chapter's charter was pulled from Franklin College, where Alvan's father, Rev. George C. Vincent, was President at the time. As such, it was impossible for Susan's daughter, Elizabeth, to join the organization which her mother had helped found. Years later, the Alpha chapter returned to Monmouth College.
Alvan was not without relatives of his own in Monmouth, and perhaps that is how he came to meet his wife and become involved with Monmouth College. In 1855, William Nash, a recently widowed farmer of Hale township, was sent by the Sugar Tree Grove UP church to attend the yearly Synod at Xenia, Ohio, his former home. While there, he met and married Elizabeth Morrow, 2nd wife and widow of Alvan's grandfather, Rev. John Walker (as noted above). As a result, 4 of Alvan's aunts relocated to Monmouth with their mother/stepmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Morrow Walker Nash. Alvan's step-grandmother and his 4 aunts are all buried in Monmouth cemetery. It is likely, given the church's history in Monmouth, that he had other relatives here as well.
(To be continued as time permits. His wife was originally buried with her parents in Monmouth cemetery, but Alvan had her reburied in neighboring Glendale cemetery in 1912, 4 years before his confirmed death in Buffalo, New York. Sarah was moved about a month after Alvan attended their daughter's wedding in Xenia, so it would appear he stopped in Monmouth on his way back to Texas to make the arrangements, and perhaps visit with his friends and family, including an elderly aunt, Sarah Walker Findley. Privately-held Glendale Cemetery was later annexed by the city-owned Monmouth Cemetery.)
Service record: Enlisted at the rank of Private in Company C, Ohio 2nd Cavalry Regiment on 29 Aug 1861, comprised mostly of men from Trumbull and Mahoning counties (neighboring on Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania). Company C detached at Ft. Scott, Kansas on 27 August 1862 as the 3rd Kansas Independent Battery, which reorganized as the Ohio 25th Light Artillery Battery on 17 Feb 1863. Alvan received two recommendations for promotion based on his education, bravery and good conduct. The first was by R. W. Stewart, of New Castle, PA, dated 19 October 1863, his former Captain in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. The second was by Major H. L. Burnett, formerly of the Ohio 2nd Cavalry, then at Head Quarters of the Ohio Judge Advocates Office at Cincinnati, dated 23 October 1863. The second recommendation for promotion was to any available office below the grade of Captain. Subsequently, Alvan was appointed 1st Lieutenant in Co. K, 12th Louisiana Infantry of African Decent by Special Orders #93, dated 5 November 1863, with a muster date of 8 December 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Promoted to Captain 16 March 1864, effective 19 March 1864, in Company K, U.S. Colored Troops 50th Infantry Regiment. Alvan had been in charge of Ordnance and Stores at Vicksburg from 16 December 1863 until resigning his commission with other officers of the unit on 25 November 1865, which was accepted with an honorable discharge granted.
((Vicksburg, Mississippi, 16 March 1864, Adjutant General L. Thomas - Special Orders No. 41: Promoted in the Twelfth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers of African Descent; First Lieutenant Alvan S. Vincent, to be Captain.))
Alvan's father, Rev. George Carothers Vincent, was a graduate of the Alma/Franklin College of New Athens, Harrison county, Ohio. George married Margaret Cowden Walker, daughter of the founder of New Athens and Alma/Franklin College, Rev. John Walker, on 10 September 1838. Rev. Walker was a famed abolitionist of his day. As early as 1839, George was sent as a missionary of the Presbyterian church into Illinois and Iowa, given "general instructions" but to use his own discretion on when and where to preach. It is known that he established a church in Iowa during 1839, but continued to preach at other locations. It was in March 1841 that George apparently came across some settlers that he knew, or knew of; they quickly took up a collection to pay him a salary of $200, to which he promised to devote 2/3 of his time to their benefit. George wrote that he officially settled in Washington, Washington county, Iowa on 4 July 1841. A son, Robert Milton, was born to the family in Washington during 1842. It is said his wife became ill in 1844, and returned to her former home in Ohio, where she passed away. 1844 was a busy year for George in Iowa. He chaired the 2nd annual Iowa Anti-Slavery Society convention; petitioned the delegates of the Iowa statehood convention to adopt civil rights for "all" men, including the vote, into the state's 1st constitution; and oversaw the construction of a new church, which was completed in 1845. In 1845, George agreed to the Synod's request to spend 12 Sabbaths in missionary work in Illinois and Iowa, paying him $50, the balance of his usual salary of $5 per week to be collected from the churches he visited. George remained in Iowa until 1847, when he relocated his family to Mercer county, Pennsylvania and remarried.
Alvan was shown as "Adams" in the 1850 census, with his father, step-mother, older brother John, younger brother Robert, and half-brother, William. His father was said to be the driving force behind the establishment of Westminster College in New Willmington, Pennsylvania during 1852. The 1860 census shows "Alen" at home with his father and family in Willmington, and listed as a student, of Westminster College. The following year, Alvan enlisted as a Private in a company organized in a neighboring county of Ohio. He served from 29 August 1861 until 25 November 1865, with a single 30 day leave during that time. His father and brothers, John and Robert, also enlisted in Pennsylvania. John died of wounds received at the Battle of Fredericksburg; he was married with a young daughter.
The 1870 census shows "Alvan" back at home with his father in Wilmington, Pennsylvania, and once again a student. As with his father, Alvan went to Iowa, where he was ordained by the Presbytery of Keokuk, and installed as the pastor of the church at Brighton - just 10 miles from where his father had started his own church nearly 30 years before, and an area Alvan knew well.
Alvan married Susan Burley Walker at her father's home in Monmouth, on 21 August 1876. Alvan was still a resident of Brighton at that time. They honeymooned by attending the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, no doubt visiting with family in that area. The young couple was involved in an accident on Monmouth's Public Square in August 1877. An American Express delivery wagon collided with theirs, hurling Susan forward out of their buggy, landing on her face and fracturing her arm in the process. Their first born daughter, Elizabeth Helen, arrived the following year, at Brighton, Iowa.
Following the calls of the church, the family relocated to Spring Hill, Decatur county, Indiana (a "ghost town" today). Their second daughter, Grace Margaret, was born there in 1882. Alvan was a Director of Monmouth College, attending the yearly Senate meetings during the 1880's, with his residence listed as Spring Hill, Indiana through 1888. In 1889, his residence given at the meeting was Indianapolis, Indiana, but was already living in Paxton, where he was officially installed as pastor on Sept. 17th. Earlier that year, his wife was elected delegate from Paxton to attend the "Our Young People" convention in East Liverpool, Pennsylvania, held in May. The following year, she attended the 2nd annual national "Our Young People" convention held at Monmouth College. Son George Stuart Vincent was born in Paxton during 1893. The family returned to Monmouth in September 1896, with the intent of educating their children here. Daughter Elizabeth had graduated High School at Paxton, and entered as a student in Monmouth College, where her mother had been one of the founding members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Her mother was suffering from cancer and the surgeries which brought no relief, and died in Monmouth a mere 8 months after their return. A week after Susan's death, Alvan accepted the call of the church to relocate to Emporia, Kansas. He mustered into P.B. Plumb Post #55, Grand Army of the Republic, Emporia, Kansas on 26 August 1898. Daughter Elizabeth completed two years at Monmouth College, then rejoined her family in Kansas, graduating from Emporia College. Alvan was elected to the school board of Emporia's 1st ward in 1901. A few years later, the family relocated once again to Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Alvan spent his final years of preaching in Eureka, Texas. He was noted in his daughter Grace's marriage announcement as such, and performed the ceremony himself at his daughter Elizabeth's home in Xenia, Ohio. A history of that particular church claims Alvan preached there from 1912 through 1918, which is impossible, as he died in Buffalo, New York in 1916.
It's ironic that Alvan married a founder of Kappa Kappa Gamma. His own father condemned such secret societies. Even though the fraternity was founded at Monmouth, their Alpha chapter was one of the first to fall. Banned by the church, Monmouth college announced their ban in 1874. The fraternity continued to secretly accept members in Monmouth though until 1882, but was declared defunct at their national convention in 1884. That was the same year that Nu chapter's charter was pulled from Franklin College, where Alvan's father, Rev. George C. Vincent, was President at the time. As such, it was impossible for Susan's daughter, Elizabeth, to join the organization which her mother had helped found. Years later, the Alpha chapter returned to Monmouth College.
Alvan was not without relatives of his own in Monmouth, and perhaps that is how he came to meet his wife and become involved with Monmouth College. In 1855, William Nash, a recently widowed farmer of Hale township, was sent by the Sugar Tree Grove UP church to attend the yearly Synod at Xenia, Ohio, his former home. While there, he met and married Elizabeth Morrow, 2nd wife and widow of Alvan's grandfather, Rev. John Walker (as noted above). As a result, 4 of Alvan's aunts relocated to Monmouth with their mother/stepmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Morrow Walker Nash. Alvan's step-grandmother and his 4 aunts are all buried in Monmouth cemetery. It is likely, given the church's history in Monmouth, that he had other relatives here as well.
(To be continued as time permits. His wife was originally buried with her parents in Monmouth cemetery, but Alvan had her reburied in neighboring Glendale cemetery in 1912, 4 years before his confirmed death in Buffalo, New York. Sarah was moved about a month after Alvan attended their daughter's wedding in Xenia, so it would appear he stopped in Monmouth on his way back to Texas to make the arrangements, and perhaps visit with his friends and family, including an elderly aunt, Sarah Walker Findley. Privately-held Glendale Cemetery was later annexed by the city-owned Monmouth Cemetery.)
Service record: Enlisted at the rank of Private in Company C, Ohio 2nd Cavalry Regiment on 29 Aug 1861, comprised mostly of men from Trumbull and Mahoning counties (neighboring on Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania). Company C detached at Ft. Scott, Kansas on 27 August 1862 as the 3rd Kansas Independent Battery, which reorganized as the Ohio 25th Light Artillery Battery on 17 Feb 1863. Alvan received two recommendations for promotion based on his education, bravery and good conduct. The first was by R. W. Stewart, of New Castle, PA, dated 19 October 1863, his former Captain in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. The second was by Major H. L. Burnett, formerly of the Ohio 2nd Cavalry, then at Head Quarters of the Ohio Judge Advocates Office at Cincinnati, dated 23 October 1863. The second recommendation for promotion was to any available office below the grade of Captain. Subsequently, Alvan was appointed 1st Lieutenant in Co. K, 12th Louisiana Infantry of African Decent by Special Orders #93, dated 5 November 1863, with a muster date of 8 December 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Promoted to Captain 16 March 1864, effective 19 March 1864, in Company K, U.S. Colored Troops 50th Infantry Regiment. Alvan had been in charge of Ordnance and Stores at Vicksburg from 16 December 1863 until resigning his commission with other officers of the unit on 25 November 1865, which was accepted with an honorable discharge granted.
((Vicksburg, Mississippi, 16 March 1864, Adjutant General L. Thomas - Special Orders No. 41: Promoted in the Twelfth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers of African Descent; First Lieutenant Alvan S. Vincent, to be Captain.))
Captain of colored troops during the Civil War. Noted Presbyterian minister and Temperance lecturer. Monmouth College director.
Alvan's father, Rev. George Carothers Vincent, was a graduate of the Alma/Franklin College of New Athens, Harrison county, Ohio. George married Margaret Cowden Walker, daughter of the founder of New Athens and Alma/Franklin College, Rev. John Walker, on 10 September 1838. Rev. Walker was a famed abolitionist of his day. As early as 1839, George was sent as a missionary of the Presbyterian church into Illinois and Iowa, given "general instructions" but to use his own discretion on when and where to preach. It is known that he established a church in Iowa during 1839, but continued to preach at other locations. It was in March 1841 that George apparently came across some settlers that he knew, or knew of; they quickly took up a collection to pay him a salary of $200, to which he promised to devote 2/3 of his time to their benefit. George wrote that he officially settled in Washington, Washington county, Iowa on 4 July 1841. A son, Robert Milton, was born to the family in Washington during 1842. It is said his wife became ill in 1844, and returned to her former home in Ohio, where she passed away. 1844 was a busy year for George in Iowa. He chaired the 2nd annual Iowa Anti-Slavery Society convention; petitioned the delegates of the Iowa statehood convention to adopt civil rights for "all" men, including the vote, into the state's 1st constitution; and oversaw the construction of a new church, which was completed in 1845. In 1845, George agreed to the Synod's request to spend 12 Sabbaths in missionary work in Illinois and Iowa, paying him $50, the balance of his usual salary of $5 per week to be collected from the churches he visited. George remained in Iowa until 1847, when he relocated his family to Mercer county, Pennsylvania and remarried.
Alvan was shown as "Adams" in the 1850 census, with his father, step-mother, older brother John, younger brother Robert, and half-brother, William. His father was said to be the driving force behind the establishment of Westminster College in New Willmington, Pennsylvania during 1852. The 1860 census shows "Alen" at home with his father and family in Willmington, and listed as a student, of Westminster College. The following year, Alvan enlisted as a Private in a company organized in a neighboring county of Ohio. He served from 29 August 1861 until 25 November 1865, with a single 30 day leave during that time. His father and brothers, John and Robert, also enlisted in Pennsylvania. John died of wounds received at the Battle of Fredericksburg; he was married with a young daughter.
The 1870 census shows "Alvan" back at home with his father in Wilmington, Pennsylvania, and once again a student. As with his father, Alvan went to Iowa, where he was ordained by the Presbytery of Keokuk, and installed as the pastor of the church at Brighton - just 10 miles from where his father had started his own church nearly 30 years before, and an area Alvan knew well.
Alvan married Susan Burley Walker at her father's home in Monmouth, on 21 August 1876. Alvan was still a resident of Brighton at that time. They honeymooned by attending the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, no doubt visiting with family in that area. The young couple was involved in an accident on Monmouth's Public Square in August 1877. An American Express delivery wagon collided with theirs, hurling Susan forward out of their buggy, landing on her face and fracturing her arm in the process. Their first born daughter, Elizabeth Helen, arrived the following year, at Brighton, Iowa.
Following the calls of the church, the family relocated to Spring Hill, Decatur county, Indiana (a "ghost town" today). Their second daughter, Grace Margaret, was born there in 1882. Alvan was a Director of Monmouth College, attending the yearly Senate meetings during the 1880's, with his residence listed as Spring Hill, Indiana through 1888. In 1889, his residence given at the meeting was Indianapolis, Indiana, but was already living in Paxton, where he was officially installed as pastor on Sept. 17th. Earlier that year, his wife was elected delegate from Paxton to attend the "Our Young People" convention in East Liverpool, Pennsylvania, held in May. The following year, she attended the 2nd annual national "Our Young People" convention held at Monmouth College. Son George Stuart Vincent was born in Paxton during 1893. The family returned to Monmouth in September 1896, with the intent of educating their children here. Daughter Elizabeth had graduated High School at Paxton, and entered as a student in Monmouth College, where her mother had been one of the founding members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Her mother was suffering from cancer and the surgeries which brought no relief, and died in Monmouth a mere 8 months after their return. A week after Susan's death, Alvan accepted the call of the church to relocate to Emporia, Kansas. He mustered into P.B. Plumb Post #55, Grand Army of the Republic, Emporia, Kansas on 26 August 1898. Daughter Elizabeth completed two years at Monmouth College, then rejoined her family in Kansas, graduating from Emporia College. Alvan was elected to the school board of Emporia's 1st ward in 1901. A few years later, the family relocated once again to Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Alvan spent his final years of preaching in Eureka, Texas. He was noted in his daughter Grace's marriage announcement as such, and performed the ceremony himself at his daughter Elizabeth's home in Xenia, Ohio. A history of that particular church claims Alvan preached there from 1912 through 1918, which is impossible, as he died in Buffalo, New York in 1916.
It's ironic that Alvan married a founder of Kappa Kappa Gamma. His own father condemned such secret societies. Even though the fraternity was founded at Monmouth, their Alpha chapter was one of the first to fall. Banned by the church, Monmouth college announced their ban in 1874. The fraternity continued to secretly accept members in Monmouth though until 1882, but was declared defunct at their national convention in 1884. That was the same year that Nu chapter's charter was pulled from Franklin College, where Alvan's father, Rev. George C. Vincent, was President at the time. As such, it was impossible for Susan's daughter, Elizabeth, to join the organization which her mother had helped found. Years later, the Alpha chapter returned to Monmouth College.
Alvan was not without relatives of his own in Monmouth, and perhaps that is how he came to meet his wife and become involved with Monmouth College. In 1855, William Nash, a recently widowed farmer of Hale township, was sent by the Sugar Tree Grove UP church to attend the yearly Synod at Xenia, Ohio, his former home. While there, he met and married Elizabeth Morrow, 2nd wife and widow of Alvan's grandfather, Rev. John Walker (as noted above). As a result, 4 of Alvan's aunts relocated to Monmouth with their mother/stepmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Morrow Walker Nash. Alvan's step-grandmother and his 4 aunts are all buried in Monmouth cemetery. It is likely, given the church's history in Monmouth, that he had other relatives here as well.
(To be continued as time permits. His wife was originally buried with her parents in Monmouth cemetery, but Alvan had her reburied in neighboring Glendale cemetery in 1912, 4 years before his confirmed death in Buffalo, New York. Sarah was moved about a month after Alvan attended their daughter's wedding in Xenia, so it would appear he stopped in Monmouth on his way back to Texas to make the arrangements, and perhaps visit with his friends and family, including an elderly aunt, Sarah Walker Findley. Privately-held Glendale Cemetery was later annexed by the city-owned Monmouth Cemetery.)
Service record: Enlisted at the rank of Private in Company C, Ohio 2nd Cavalry Regiment on 29 Aug 1861, comprised mostly of men from Trumbull and Mahoning counties (neighboring on Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania). Company C detached at Ft. Scott, Kansas on 27 August 1862 as the 3rd Kansas Independent Battery, which reorganized as the Ohio 25th Light Artillery Battery on 17 Feb 1863. Alvan received two recommendations for promotion based on his education, bravery and good conduct. The first was by R. W. Stewart, of New Castle, PA, dated 19 October 1863, his former Captain in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. The second was by Major H. L. Burnett, formerly of the Ohio 2nd Cavalry, then at Head Quarters of the Ohio Judge Advocates Office at Cincinnati, dated 23 October 1863. The second recommendation for promotion was to any available office below the grade of Captain. Subsequently, Alvan was appointed 1st Lieutenant in Co. K, 12th Louisiana Infantry of African Decent by Special Orders #93, dated 5 November 1863, with a muster date of 8 December 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Promoted to Captain 16 March 1864, effective 19 March 1864, in Company K, U.S. Colored Troops 50th Infantry Regiment. Alvan had been in charge of Ordnance and Stores at Vicksburg from 16 December 1863 until resigning his commission with other officers of the unit on 25 November 1865, which was accepted with an honorable discharge granted.
((Vicksburg, Mississippi, 16 March 1864, Adjutant General L. Thomas - Special Orders No. 41: Promoted in the Twelfth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers of African Descent; First Lieutenant Alvan S. Vincent, to be Captain.))
Alvan's father, Rev. George Carothers Vincent, was a graduate of the Alma/Franklin College of New Athens, Harrison county, Ohio. George married Margaret Cowden Walker, daughter of the founder of New Athens and Alma/Franklin College, Rev. John Walker, on 10 September 1838. Rev. Walker was a famed abolitionist of his day. As early as 1839, George was sent as a missionary of the Presbyterian church into Illinois and Iowa, given "general instructions" but to use his own discretion on when and where to preach. It is known that he established a church in Iowa during 1839, but continued to preach at other locations. It was in March 1841 that George apparently came across some settlers that he knew, or knew of; they quickly took up a collection to pay him a salary of $200, to which he promised to devote 2/3 of his time to their benefit. George wrote that he officially settled in Washington, Washington county, Iowa on 4 July 1841. A son, Robert Milton, was born to the family in Washington during 1842. It is said his wife became ill in 1844, and returned to her former home in Ohio, where she passed away. 1844 was a busy year for George in Iowa. He chaired the 2nd annual Iowa Anti-Slavery Society convention; petitioned the delegates of the Iowa statehood convention to adopt civil rights for "all" men, including the vote, into the state's 1st constitution; and oversaw the construction of a new church, which was completed in 1845. In 1845, George agreed to the Synod's request to spend 12 Sabbaths in missionary work in Illinois and Iowa, paying him $50, the balance of his usual salary of $5 per week to be collected from the churches he visited. George remained in Iowa until 1847, when he relocated his family to Mercer county, Pennsylvania and remarried.
Alvan was shown as "Adams" in the 1850 census, with his father, step-mother, older brother John, younger brother Robert, and half-brother, William. His father was said to be the driving force behind the establishment of Westminster College in New Willmington, Pennsylvania during 1852. The 1860 census shows "Alen" at home with his father and family in Willmington, and listed as a student, of Westminster College. The following year, Alvan enlisted as a Private in a company organized in a neighboring county of Ohio. He served from 29 August 1861 until 25 November 1865, with a single 30 day leave during that time. His father and brothers, John and Robert, also enlisted in Pennsylvania. John died of wounds received at the Battle of Fredericksburg; he was married with a young daughter.
The 1870 census shows "Alvan" back at home with his father in Wilmington, Pennsylvania, and once again a student. As with his father, Alvan went to Iowa, where he was ordained by the Presbytery of Keokuk, and installed as the pastor of the church at Brighton - just 10 miles from where his father had started his own church nearly 30 years before, and an area Alvan knew well.
Alvan married Susan Burley Walker at her father's home in Monmouth, on 21 August 1876. Alvan was still a resident of Brighton at that time. They honeymooned by attending the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, no doubt visiting with family in that area. The young couple was involved in an accident on Monmouth's Public Square in August 1877. An American Express delivery wagon collided with theirs, hurling Susan forward out of their buggy, landing on her face and fracturing her arm in the process. Their first born daughter, Elizabeth Helen, arrived the following year, at Brighton, Iowa.
Following the calls of the church, the family relocated to Spring Hill, Decatur county, Indiana (a "ghost town" today). Their second daughter, Grace Margaret, was born there in 1882. Alvan was a Director of Monmouth College, attending the yearly Senate meetings during the 1880's, with his residence listed as Spring Hill, Indiana through 1888. In 1889, his residence given at the meeting was Indianapolis, Indiana, but was already living in Paxton, where he was officially installed as pastor on Sept. 17th. Earlier that year, his wife was elected delegate from Paxton to attend the "Our Young People" convention in East Liverpool, Pennsylvania, held in May. The following year, she attended the 2nd annual national "Our Young People" convention held at Monmouth College. Son George Stuart Vincent was born in Paxton during 1893. The family returned to Monmouth in September 1896, with the intent of educating their children here. Daughter Elizabeth had graduated High School at Paxton, and entered as a student in Monmouth College, where her mother had been one of the founding members of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Her mother was suffering from cancer and the surgeries which brought no relief, and died in Monmouth a mere 8 months after their return. A week after Susan's death, Alvan accepted the call of the church to relocate to Emporia, Kansas. He mustered into P.B. Plumb Post #55, Grand Army of the Republic, Emporia, Kansas on 26 August 1898. Daughter Elizabeth completed two years at Monmouth College, then rejoined her family in Kansas, graduating from Emporia College. Alvan was elected to the school board of Emporia's 1st ward in 1901. A few years later, the family relocated once again to Siloam Springs, Arkansas.
Alvan spent his final years of preaching in Eureka, Texas. He was noted in his daughter Grace's marriage announcement as such, and performed the ceremony himself at his daughter Elizabeth's home in Xenia, Ohio. A history of that particular church claims Alvan preached there from 1912 through 1918, which is impossible, as he died in Buffalo, New York in 1916.
It's ironic that Alvan married a founder of Kappa Kappa Gamma. His own father condemned such secret societies. Even though the fraternity was founded at Monmouth, their Alpha chapter was one of the first to fall. Banned by the church, Monmouth college announced their ban in 1874. The fraternity continued to secretly accept members in Monmouth though until 1882, but was declared defunct at their national convention in 1884. That was the same year that Nu chapter's charter was pulled from Franklin College, where Alvan's father, Rev. George C. Vincent, was President at the time. As such, it was impossible for Susan's daughter, Elizabeth, to join the organization which her mother had helped found. Years later, the Alpha chapter returned to Monmouth College.
Alvan was not without relatives of his own in Monmouth, and perhaps that is how he came to meet his wife and become involved with Monmouth College. In 1855, William Nash, a recently widowed farmer of Hale township, was sent by the Sugar Tree Grove UP church to attend the yearly Synod at Xenia, Ohio, his former home. While there, he met and married Elizabeth Morrow, 2nd wife and widow of Alvan's grandfather, Rev. John Walker (as noted above). As a result, 4 of Alvan's aunts relocated to Monmouth with their mother/stepmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Morrow Walker Nash. Alvan's step-grandmother and his 4 aunts are all buried in Monmouth cemetery. It is likely, given the church's history in Monmouth, that he had other relatives here as well.
(To be continued as time permits. His wife was originally buried with her parents in Monmouth cemetery, but Alvan had her reburied in neighboring Glendale cemetery in 1912, 4 years before his confirmed death in Buffalo, New York. Sarah was moved about a month after Alvan attended their daughter's wedding in Xenia, so it would appear he stopped in Monmouth on his way back to Texas to make the arrangements, and perhaps visit with his friends and family, including an elderly aunt, Sarah Walker Findley. Privately-held Glendale Cemetery was later annexed by the city-owned Monmouth Cemetery.)
Service record: Enlisted at the rank of Private in Company C, Ohio 2nd Cavalry Regiment on 29 Aug 1861, comprised mostly of men from Trumbull and Mahoning counties (neighboring on Mercer and Lawrence counties in Pennsylvania). Company C detached at Ft. Scott, Kansas on 27 August 1862 as the 3rd Kansas Independent Battery, which reorganized as the Ohio 25th Light Artillery Battery on 17 Feb 1863. Alvan received two recommendations for promotion based on his education, bravery and good conduct. The first was by R. W. Stewart, of New Castle, PA, dated 19 October 1863, his former Captain in the 2nd Ohio Cavalry. The second was by Major H. L. Burnett, formerly of the Ohio 2nd Cavalry, then at Head Quarters of the Ohio Judge Advocates Office at Cincinnati, dated 23 October 1863. The second recommendation for promotion was to any available office below the grade of Captain. Subsequently, Alvan was appointed 1st Lieutenant in Co. K, 12th Louisiana Infantry of African Decent by Special Orders #93, dated 5 November 1863, with a muster date of 8 December 1863 at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Promoted to Captain 16 March 1864, effective 19 March 1864, in Company K, U.S. Colored Troops 50th Infantry Regiment. Alvan had been in charge of Ordnance and Stores at Vicksburg from 16 December 1863 until resigning his commission with other officers of the unit on 25 November 1865, which was accepted with an honorable discharge granted.
((Vicksburg, Mississippi, 16 March 1864, Adjutant General L. Thomas - Special Orders No. 41: Promoted in the Twelfth Regiment Louisiana Volunteers of African Descent; First Lieutenant Alvan S. Vincent, to be Captain.))
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