The Family › Temple–Catchings › Derrick
Alexander Hamilton Derrick
1810–1864
Life
- Born
- 15 Oct 1810 · Pennsylvania, United States
- Died
- 18 Mar 1864
Parents
Records behind this page
Last Will and Testament of William S. Derrick, of the city of Washington, D.C. -- signed 14 May 1852, probated 25 May 1852, Orphans' Court, Washington County, D.C. ("Derrick, William S. -- 1852 -- Box 21", D.C. Archives Record Group 2; Provine, Index to District of Columbia Wills 1801-1920, p. 51). Delivered by archivist Phillip Warfield, D.C. Office of Public Records and Archives, 27 Aug 2026, via the will-request form submitted 24 Aug 2026. Original PDF (4 pages): 7-Family-History/TempleCrouchBondPlunkett/William S Derrick/William S Derrick 1852 Will (DC Office of Public Records and Archives).pdf. Read in full on the original image 27 Aug 2026 (documents-read-index.md K334)
1
"I hereby constitute and appoint my brother Alexander H. Derrick, Executor of this my last will and testament." -- William S. Derrick, Last Will and Testament, signed 14 May 1852, Washington, D.C., page 1.
Research notes
Working notes from the research, kept verbatim — what was read, what it proved, what stays open. Many open with a line grading the parentage; what the grades mean.
Research note · 27 Aug 2026
AUDITED 27 Aug 2026 - FIRST CITATION: NAMED AS BROTHER AND EXECUTOR IN [507] WILLIAM S. DERRICK'S 1852 WILL. Previously uncited (Cope 1887 lists him among Philip Derrick's five children but this database had never attached that or any other source to him). The will itself, read in full on the original image, appoints him directly: "I hereby constitute and appoint my brother Alexander H. Derrick, Executor of this my last will and testament." "Alexander H." matches "Alexander Hamilton Derrick" (this person's full name in the tree); his death, 18 Mar 1864, falls safely after the will's 1852 date, consistent with his having lived to serve as executor.
* WHAT THIS PROVES AND WHAT IT DOES NOT. It proves [520] was [507]'s BROTHER, contemporaneously and in a legal instrument -- corroborating Cope's placement of him in the same family. It does NOT independently name [520]'s OWN parents: the will never mentions Philip Derrick or Sarah Sharpless. ProofFather/ProofMother stay 0/0; Cope 1887 remains the only source for that link.
* HOW HE WAS FOUND: while adding [507]'s will as evidence for Josephine Derrick and her siblings (F253), the will named "my brother Alexander H. Derrick" as a NEW-seeming person. He is not new -- he is this record, [520], caught by running --state on him before any write. No duplicate was created.
Register row: documents-read-index.md K334. Original: 7-Family-History/TempleCrouchBondPlunkett/William S Derrick/.
Elsewhere
This person on Ancestry (sign-in required)