Alexander Lewis

Alexander Lewis (October 4, 1822 – April 18, 1908) was an American politician and businessman who was the mayor of Detroit from 1876 to 1877. He ran one of the largest flour and grain businesses in the city.

Early life Alexander Lewis was born on October 4, 1822, in Windsor, Ontario (then called "Sandwich"), the son of Thomas and Jeanette Velaire Lewis. He came to Detroit on May 1, 1837, to work as a clerk at E. W. Cole & Co. Lewis retired in 1884 to look after his various property interests and real estate.

Family and later life Lewis married Elizabeth J. Ingersoll in 1850; the couple had 13 children, of which 8 lived into the 1890s: Ida Frances (Lewis) Healy, Edward L. Lewis, Josephine (Lewis) Carpenter, Hattie I. (Lewis) Currie, Harry B. Lewis, Julia Velaire (McMillan) Penrose, Marion Marie (Lewis) Muir, and Alexander Ingersoll Lewis. known previously as Jonkvrouw Delphine Boël, who is a Belgian artist and member of the Belgian royal family. She is the daughter of King Albert II of Belgium with de Selys Longchamps, and the half-sister of King Philippe of Belgium.

Around 1900, Lewis built a home in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan, which is now the parish house for the Saint Paul Catholic Church. The complex was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1992. Alexander Lewis died on April 18, 1908.