Alexander Cupples and Ann Campbell

Alexander Cupples, the youngest son of Alexander Cupples and Elizabeth Shaw, was the founding father of two American families who bore the Cupples and Easton surnames.

Alexander was born in Falkirk on 7 November 1830 and he married Ann Campbell on 26 February 1854. Ann was born in 1833 and was originally from Cramond, Edinburgh. Unless the date of the marriage is incorrect, Ann had already given birth to twin sons, William and Alexander, on 18 February 1853, however William died a few days later. The birth of twins, with one dying in infancy, would become a common occurrence in Ann’s descendants.

The family moved to Cadder, Lanarkshire, where Alexander worked in the mines and they lived in Lochfaulds cottages which housed miners from the Cadder No. 15 and No. 17 mines. The cottages were little more than single or double room apartments with no sinks and outside toilets that had to be shared. The mine where Alexander worked was more than likely owned by the famous Carron Iron Company which was based in his home town.

By the 1871 UK Census, the family have moved back to Stirlingshire and are staying in Slamannan near Alexander’s parents. Ann would give birth to her two youngest children in Slamannan while Alexander continued to work in the mines. Alexander and Ann’s children would make their own paths in life but two would go further than their siblings. The second surviving son, William, emigrated to the United States just after the 1881 UK Census and settled in Pennsylvania. Not long after, Alexander’s oldest daughter, Jane, would convert to Mormonism and settle in Wyoming with her husband, George Easton, and their children. Both would have large families and numerous descendants.

Years of working in the mines would take its toll on Alexander’s health and he died from bronchitis, aged 59 years, on 4 January 1890. Ann died of natural causes four years later, aged 60 years, on 25 April 1894.