The youngest child of Henry Allen and Keziah (Mattox) Smith, Sarah Cornelia was born into a large Georgia family, with six older sisters and brothers.
In 1866, she married William Jasper Alexander, son of Arthur T and Rebecca (Borden) Alexander of Borden Springs, Alabama, where her husband was a farmer. After their marriage, they lived in Borden Springs, raising three children: William Henry Alexander 1867-1932, "Bessie" Elizabeth Euphemia (Alexander) Harbin 1870-1930, and Mildred E (Alexander) Leyden b. 1890.
Sarah was a poet and author; Ailenroc's Book, containing her collective works, was published in 1899 by the Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, Tennessee.
In its preface, she wrote, "A year ago my physician said, 'You cannot live; your days are numbered;' and when I had sobbed out my heart's grief and become reconciled to God's will, I thought if I had only saved my little pieces I might have left a book behind me. Kind friends helped me, and I had responses from a great many States. The Gospel Advocate Publishing Company kindly undertook the work, and my little book is assured. I do not think I shall live to see it out, but I want to bespeak for it a kind reception. Of faults it has many; but I am sure they are not of the heart, and it is a pleasure to me to think that I have written nothing that can do harm. SARAH CORNELIA ALEXANDER."
∼A Georgian by birth, Cornelia Smith married Col. W.J. Alexander in 1866. According to one contemporary, "She lived to bless others." By the early 1880s, she was writing articles for the Gospel Advocate under the pen name of Ailenroc in a style described as "easy and elegant, at times full of • melting pathos, stirring the heart to its deepest depths." Shortly before her death in 1899, the Gospel Advocate Co. published a collection of her writings as Ailenroc's Book. Gospel Advocate, July 2005, 48.
In 1866, she married William Jasper Alexander, son of Arthur T and Rebecca (Borden) Alexander of Borden Springs, Alabama, where her husband was a farmer. After their marriage, they lived in Borden Springs, raising three children: William Henry Alexander 1867-1932, "Bessie" Elizabeth Euphemia (Alexander) Harbin 1870-1930, and Mildred E (Alexander) Leyden b. 1890.
Sarah was a poet and author; Ailenroc's Book, containing her collective works, was published in 1899 by the Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, Tennessee.
In its preface, she wrote, "A year ago my physician said, 'You cannot live; your days are numbered;' and when I had sobbed out my heart's grief and become reconciled to God's will, I thought if I had only saved my little pieces I might have left a book behind me. Kind friends helped me, and I had responses from a great many States. The Gospel Advocate Publishing Company kindly undertook the work, and my little book is assured. I do not think I shall live to see it out, but I want to bespeak for it a kind reception. Of faults it has many; but I am sure they are not of the heart, and it is a pleasure to me to think that I have written nothing that can do harm. SARAH CORNELIA ALEXANDER."
∼A Georgian by birth, Cornelia Smith married Col. W.J. Alexander in 1866. According to one contemporary, "She lived to bless others." By the early 1880s, she was writing articles for the Gospel Advocate under the pen name of Ailenroc in a style described as "easy and elegant, at times full of • melting pathos, stirring the heart to its deepest depths." Shortly before her death in 1899, the Gospel Advocate Co. published a collection of her writings as Ailenroc's Book. Gospel Advocate, July 2005, 48.
The youngest child of Henry Allen and Keziah (Mattox) Smith, Sarah Cornelia was born into a large Georgia family, with six older sisters and brothers.
In 1866, she married William Jasper Alexander, son of Arthur T and Rebecca (Borden) Alexander of Borden Springs, Alabama, where her husband was a farmer. After their marriage, they lived in Borden Springs, raising three children: William Henry Alexander 1867-1932, "Bessie" Elizabeth Euphemia (Alexander) Harbin 1870-1930, and Mildred E (Alexander) Leyden b. 1890.
Sarah was a poet and author; Ailenroc's Book, containing her collective works, was published in 1899 by the Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, Tennessee.
In its preface, she wrote, "A year ago my physician said, 'You cannot live; your days are numbered;' and when I had sobbed out my heart's grief and become reconciled to God's will, I thought if I had only saved my little pieces I might have left a book behind me. Kind friends helped me, and I had responses from a great many States. The Gospel Advocate Publishing Company kindly undertook the work, and my little book is assured. I do not think I shall live to see it out, but I want to bespeak for it a kind reception. Of faults it has many; but I am sure they are not of the heart, and it is a pleasure to me to think that I have written nothing that can do harm. SARAH CORNELIA ALEXANDER."
∼A Georgian by birth, Cornelia Smith married Col. W.J. Alexander in 1866. According to one contemporary, "She lived to bless others." By the early 1880s, she was writing articles for the Gospel Advocate under the pen name of Ailenroc in a style described as "easy and elegant, at times full of • melting pathos, stirring the heart to its deepest depths." Shortly before her death in 1899, the Gospel Advocate Co. published a collection of her writings as Ailenroc's Book. Gospel Advocate, July 2005, 48.
In 1866, she married William Jasper Alexander, son of Arthur T and Rebecca (Borden) Alexander of Borden Springs, Alabama, where her husband was a farmer. After their marriage, they lived in Borden Springs, raising three children: William Henry Alexander 1867-1932, "Bessie" Elizabeth Euphemia (Alexander) Harbin 1870-1930, and Mildred E (Alexander) Leyden b. 1890.
Sarah was a poet and author; Ailenroc's Book, containing her collective works, was published in 1899 by the Gospel Advocate Company, Nashville, Tennessee.
In its preface, she wrote, "A year ago my physician said, 'You cannot live; your days are numbered;' and when I had sobbed out my heart's grief and become reconciled to God's will, I thought if I had only saved my little pieces I might have left a book behind me. Kind friends helped me, and I had responses from a great many States. The Gospel Advocate Publishing Company kindly undertook the work, and my little book is assured. I do not think I shall live to see it out, but I want to bespeak for it a kind reception. Of faults it has many; but I am sure they are not of the heart, and it is a pleasure to me to think that I have written nothing that can do harm. SARAH CORNELIA ALEXANDER."
∼A Georgian by birth, Cornelia Smith married Col. W.J. Alexander in 1866. According to one contemporary, "She lived to bless others." By the early 1880s, she was writing articles for the Gospel Advocate under the pen name of Ailenroc in a style described as "easy and elegant, at times full of • melting pathos, stirring the heart to its deepest depths." Shortly before her death in 1899, the Gospel Advocate Co. published a collection of her writings as Ailenroc's Book. Gospel Advocate, July 2005, 48.
Inscription
Sarah is buried in an unmarked grave in Carmel Cemetery. However, her spirit is immortalized in her beautiful writings, and she is not forgotten.
