The third of four children born to Humphrey and Frances Marks, Alexander was brought up in Charleston, where his family belonged to the community around Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim.
Among the earliest documents of Alexander’s life has him defending himself in court against the accusations of one Solomon J. Cohen. According to the latter, Alexander had “shamefully said that I was a damn rascal and thief and was undeserving of the appellation of an officer.” When he protested, Alexander allegedly drew his sword and made violent threats. Though the outcome of the case is unknown, the following year Alexander spent some time in New York, where he met Esther Hart, daughter of Leah Nathan and Jacob Hart, whom he would later marry.
Alexander served in the War of 1812 as a sergeant in the Third Regiment (Rutledge’s) South Carolina Troops, and in 1816 married Esther in Charleston. The following year their first son, Isaac Newton, was born. He would be followed by thirteen more. They moved back and forth between New York and Charleston until 1828, when the family settled in Columbia, South Carolina.
In Columbia, Alexander set up a restaurant and bar, Marks’ Porter and Relish House on Richardson Street. Advertising in the State Gazette and Columbia Advertiser, Alexander wrote, “utmost care and attention have been paid to the fitting up of the establishment for the accommodation of those who may feel disposed to patronize the same; and no exception shall be wanting to contribute to the ease and comfort of those who may please to call.” In 1833, Columbia passed a blue law prohibiting any business to open on Sundays, about which many Jewish merchants were displeased. Alexander was one of a number of Jewish business owners to defy the law, insisting that their day of rest was Saturday, not Sunday. He was prosecuted and convicted, and after the ruling was upheld on appeal, Alexander moved his family to New Orleans, where Esther’s brother Jacob, Jr. lived. Jacob and Alexander opened a wholesale grocery business, which prospered over the years.
