AT BOTTOM OF PAGE IS ORIGINAL FORMAT
NEVA BESS WALLER ALEXANDER
(Mrs. John Willard Alexander)
Born June 6, 1894 in Arkansas
Died January 25, 1969 in Galveston, Texas
Buried in Galveston Memorial Park, Hitchcock, Texas
Daylily: 'Hitchcock' (Alexander-Moody 1968)
Charter Member of the AHS.
President of the Houston Hemerocallis Society, 1963-1964.
1969 The Hemerocallis Journal, Vol. 23; No. 2, page 18
I n M e m o r i a m
The daylily world lost another gifted hybridizer with the passing of Mrs. J. W. Alexander (Neva). A charter member of the American Hemerocallis Society, she was perhaps better known for her daylilies 'Southern Pride, ' a prolific yellow; 'Rosie Meyer,' an excellent red; 'Mildred Schlumpf' and 'Helen Spiller,' both golden yellows. Also among her creations were 'Prissy Miss,' a miniature yellow; 'Dale Rockett,' a lovely pastel; 'Grape Festival,' a mauve; 'Irish Smile' and 'Alta Loma,' both large and showy.
Neva was born in Magnolia, Arkansas, on June 6, 1894. She attended school there and when she was 17 years of age the family moved to Frederick, Oklahoma, where she met and married Mr. J. W. Alexander. She and Mr. Alexander lived in various places-- Oklahoma City; Dickinson, Texas, and Galveston, Texas. She became interested in daylilies around 1944 and began hybridizing three years later. They moved to Alta Loma, Texas, in the late forties where they had a 4 acre plot in daylilies. She was known for the sturdiness of her hybrids and the prolific bloom characteristics.
In 1965 she moved to Harlingen, Texas. She went to Galveston for surgery in December [1968] and following convalescence was stricken with pneumonia which led to a heart failure. Mrs. Alexander passed away in a Galveston hospital January 25, 1969. She is survived by 2 daughters, both living in Lubbock, Texas; 3 sons, all of Galveston; and 13 grandchldren.
by Mildred Schlumpf, Houston, Texas
In 1966, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Society, Charter Members were asked to write brief letters for the Yearbook. Neva Alexander wrote:
"The daylily has meant many things to me and three words sum up the most important: Friends, Happiness, and Hope.
"It has brought many friends and acquaintances from many places that I would not otherwise have had. The visitors to my garden and getting together at other gardens and conventions have given me much happiness. The letters and kind words have been special. Nothing is more thrilling than finding a beautiful flower one has helped to create. There is always the eternal hope that next year will be better.
Pollenites Round Robin, Mrs. J.W. (Neva) Alexander, Harlingen, Texas
Notes regarding
Neva Alexander's Cultivars
and their names
Sixty-one daylilies were registered to Neva Alexander 1952-1979. She began registering when she was about 58 years old, and her husband was about 77. The latest registrations in just her name seem to be two from 1963. Later ones had the dual registration after her death. That is, they were registered with two hybridizers' names, such as Alexander-Anderson, Alexander-Martin, Alexander-Moody, Alexander-Johnson. Of those, only the ones registered as Alexander-Moody seem to have names directly relating to her in some way.
So she basically registered for the 11 year period of 1952-1963.
'Southern Pride' won a JC in 1955 and an HM in 1956.
'Rose Meyer' won an HM in 1967.
'Lady Neva' (Alexander-Moody) won an HM in 2003. See a picture of Grace Alexander, Neva Alexander's daughter-in-law, standing with 'Lady Neva' here.
Some of the following information was from the Region 6 History of Daylily Names.
http://www.ahsregion6.org/daylily_names.htm
Other is from our own research.
'Betty Souders' (Neva Alexander, 1954): Named for Neva's daughter, Elizabeth Hazel Alexander Souders.
'Louis Klinger' (Neva Alexander, 1955): Mr. Klinger was a bus driver from Orlando. He was at the Valdosta National Convention in the mid-50's.
'Arthur Meyer' (Neva Alexander 1955): Relative of Rosie Meyer? This is Mr. A.C. Meyer of Houston.
'Anel Unger' (Neva Alexander, 1956): Named for hybridizer Anel Unger of the Houston club.
'Helen Spiller' (Neva Alexander, 1956): Helen Spiller was an AHS member in Houston.
A picture of 'Rosie Meyer' (1957)
can be seen on Mark Cook's site here.
Height 32", season E , rebloom, evergreen, diploid, red self.
'Rosie Meyer' (Neva Alexander 1957): Is this the Mrs. A. C. Meyer listed in the 1966 AHS Yearbook, from Houston, TX?
'Mildred Schlumpf' (Neva Alexander, 1957): Named for Mildred Schlumpf, Houston, Texas.
'Bertha Cone' (Neva Alexander, 1957): Named for Bertha Ella Cone, Houston, Texas. [MacMillan-Carpenter also named one for her.]
'Mayor Holcombe' (Neva Alexander 1957): Mayor Oscar Holcombe of Houston was elected 11 times - to "intermittent terms." His last term ended in 1958. http://www.houstonhistory.com/citizens/houstonians/history8dd.htm
'Mamie Grey Holcombe' (Neva Alexander 1957): Mamie Grey Miller Holcombe was the wife of Mayor Oscar Holcombe of Houston.
See LAUGHING CLOWN on Tinker's:
height 28", season E, rebloom, evergreen, diploid,
spider ratio 4.00:1, red and orange bitone.
'Laughing Clown' (Neva Alexander, 1958): Lula Mae Purnell and Mildred Schlumpf told Grace Alexander (Neva's daughter-in-law) that they had suggested the name for this daylily.
'Dale Rocket' (Neva Alexander, 1958): Said to be named for Neva Alexander''s sister. [Mildred Schlumpf spelled it Rockett. There was a daylily perosn, Mrs. Louis Rockett of Jackson, MS.]
'Captain Arthur' (Neva Alexander 1958): named for the husband of Edythe Arthur. The 1966 yearbook lists Captain F.D. Arthur and Mrs. F. D. Arthur, Leakey TX (west of San Antonio)
'Edythe Arthur' (Neva Alexander 1959): Edythe Arthur was Region 6 RVP in 1958 when the National was held in Houston. Married to Captain F.D. Arthur.
'Ethel O'Hara' (Neva Alexander 1963): This may be the Mrs. Jack O'Hara of Texas City, TX that named a daylily 'Rowena Moody' (O'Hara 1969), Moody being the person who registered the daylily named 'Hazel Alexander' (Moody 1971) and also registered two daylilies as Alexander-Moody. Information for Mrs. Jack O'Hara was from Tinker's database of hybridizers, which listed only that one O'Hara, and Mrs. Jack O'Hara is also listed in the 1966 yearbook. This was registered the last year Neva Alexander seems to have registered any daylilies herself.
Daylily: 'Hazel Alexander' (Moody, 1971)
Daylily: 'Rowena Moody' (Mrs. Jack O'Hara 1969)
'Alto Loma' (Alexander 1963): 'Alta Loma' (Alexander 1963) was registered the last year Neva Alexander seems to have registered any daylilies herself. Alta Loma, Texas, is one of three towns united as Santa Fe in 1978 (after Neva Alexander's death). The towns had been built alongside the Santa Fe Railroad, and that runs into Galveston. That location is about 5 miles from where Neva Alexander is buried. The Alexanders had moved to Alta Loma, Texas, in the late forties, and had a 4 acre plot in daylilies there.
'Hitchcock' (Neva Alexander-Rowena Moody, 1968): Named for Hitchcock, Texas where Neva Alexander is buried.
'Lady Neva' (Neva Alexander-Rowena Moody, 1970): Named for Neva Alexander. Registered after her death.
Where...?
Tinkers lists the address for Mrs. J. W. Alexander as Harlingen, Texas. Her friend Rowena Moody lived in Hitchcock (near Galveston). We know Neva Alexander's son was born in Galveston in 1927, and Neva Alexander is listed as having died in Galveston in 1969 and was buried near there in Hitchcock. There are associations with Galveston and Houston (areas closer to Hitchcock) in names of her daylilies. She was President of the Houston Hemerocallis Society in 1963-64.
The notice of her death in the Journal explained that she had lived in Alta Loma (near Galveston) beginning in the 1940s, and had moved south to Harlingen in 1965.
FAMILY
Neva Alexander's husband was John Willard Alexander .
Born December 12, 1875 in Oklahoma.
Died January 13, 1956 in Olton, Texas.
Also buried in Galveston Memorial Park, Hitchcock, Texas.
Neva Alexander was about 19 years younger than her husband.
The gravestone for Neva and J.W. Alexander is shown her:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=70773&GRid=32...
Neva Alexander had two daughters. One of her daughters was Elizabeth Hazel Alexander Souders. She "received her medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery and worked with her husband at their practices in Olton and Lubbock."
Born November 11,1917 in Oklahoma City
Died April 23, 2001.
That daughter's husband was Benjamin J, Soulders.
http://www.avalanchejournal.com/stories/042701/obi_042701036.shtml
Daylily: 'Betty Souder' (Alexander, 1954)
Neva Alexander had three sons. One of these was born in 1927 and was named Joshua David Alexander. This shows in the Galveston Co., TX, birth records for 1927. "Mother" was listed as Neva Waller and "father" as John Willard Alexander.http://ftp.rootsweb.ancestry.com/pub/usgenweb/tx/galveston/vitals/births/1927/galalb27.txt
Neva Alexander had a daughter-in-law, Grace Patricia Alexander, wife of her son Joshua David. The 1970 AHS Yearbook lists an address for address for Mrs. J. D. Alexander, 7010 Yucca Drive, Galveston, TX 77550. It was said that Grace never missed a Region 6 meeting. She attended 29 consecutive meetings during her years as an AHS and Region 6 member. She sold daylilies through Alexander Daylilies. See memories of Grace Alexander by Ray Houston, and a picture of her standing with the Alexander daylily named 'Lady Neva' here.
Grace and her husband celebrated their 59th anniversary in 6-05.
Grace died in 12-2005.
Daylily: 'Grace Alexander' (Mrs. J. A. (Mildred) Smith 1983)
See PRETTY BABY (Neva Alexander 1961) on Tinker's:
height 24", season M, evergreen, diploid, salmon self with green throat.
In Spanish the meaning of the girl's name Neva is "snowy" or "covered with snow".
From a description of the Hemerocallis Show, Worcester, Massachusetts, August 2, 1962:
"By far the outstanding spike in the show entered in the "Best Registered Introduced Class" was one of 'Southern Pride' (Alexander). This was shown by Mrs. Backer. There is certainly great significance in the fact that Southern Pride was also champion in the same class in the show held in Houston, Texas in June of last year. Though this variety shows a slight tendency to tenderness here in New England, the fact that it was a champion in two such different parts of the country may indicate that is is one of those varieties we are all looking for that does well in all parts of the country."
. George H. Pride, Show Chairman
08-09-2010
Found a short reference to Neva Alexander in the October-November-December issue of the 1956 Hemerocallis Journal, p. 25.
"Woodland Acres, better known as 'Mrs. Alexander's Gardens,' is on Dolan Ave. in Alto Loma, Texas. Mrs. Alexander has approximately four acres in daylilies and has grown them in her present location for fourteen years. She has many varieties from leading growers in addition to her own hybrids. Picnic tables and cokes available. Peak blooming season: April 15 to June 1. Make club reservations by letter or phone Alto Loma 3829. Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m."
ALEXANDER, Mrs. J. W.
1st check March 12, 2009
NEVA BESS WALLER ALEXANDER
(Mrs. John Willard Alexander)
Born June 6, 1894 in Arkansas
Died January 25, 1969 in Galveston, Texas
Buried in Galveston Memorial Park, Hitchcock, Texas
Daylily: 'Hitchcock' (Alexander-Moody 1968)
Charter Member of the AHS.
President of the Houston Hemerocallis Society, 1963-1964.
1969 The Hemerocallis Journal, Vol. 23; No. 2, page 18
I n M e m o r i a m
The daylily world lost another gifted hybridizer with the passing of Mrs. J. W. Alexander (Neva). A charter member of the American Hemerocallis Society, she was perhaps better known for her daylilies 'Southern Pride, ' a prolific yellow; 'Rosie Meyer,' an excellent red; 'Mildred Schlumpf' and 'Helen Spiller,' both golden yellows. Also among her creations were 'Prissy Miss,' a miniature yellow; 'Dale Rockett,' a lovely pastel; 'Grape Festival,' a mauve; 'Irish Smile' and 'Alta Loma,' both large and showy.
Neva was born in Magnolia, Arkansas, on June 6, 1894. She attended school there and when she was 17 years of age the family moved to Frederick, Oklahoma, where she met and married Mr. J. W. Alexander. She and Mr. Alexander lived in various places-- Oklahoma City; Dickinson, Texas, and Galveston, Texas. She became interested in daylilies around 1944 and began hybridizing three years later. They moved to Alta Loma, Texas, in the late forties where they had a 4 acre plot in daylilies. She was known for the sturdiness of her hybrids and the prolific bloom characteristics.
In 1965 she moved to Harlingen, Texas. She went to Galveston for surgery in December [1968] and following convalescence was stricken with pneumonia which led to a heart failure. Mrs. Alexander passed away in a Galveston hospital January 25, 1969. She is survived by 2 daughters, both living in Lubbock, Texas; 3 sons, all of Galveston; and 13 grandchldren.
by Mildred Schlumpf, Houston, Texas
In 1966, in honor of the 20th anniversary of the Society, Charter Members were asked to write brief letters for the Yearbook. Neva Alexander wrote:
"The daylily has meant many things to me and three words sum up the most important: Friends, Happiness, and Hope.
"It has brought many friends and acquaintances from many places that I would not otherwise have had. The visitors to my garden and getting together at other gardens and conventions have given me much happiness. The letters and kind words have been special. Nothing is more thrilling than finding a beautiful flower one has helped to create. There is always the eternal hope that next year will be better.
Pollenites Round Robin, Mrs. J.W. (Neva) Alexander, Harlingen, Texas
Notes regarding
Neva Alexander's Cultivars
and their names
Sixty-one daylilies were registered to Neva Alexander 1952-1979. She began registering when she was about 58 years old, and her husband was about 77. The latest registrations in just her name seem to be two from 1963. Later ones had the dual registration after her death. That is, they were registered with two hybridizers' names, such as Alexander-Anderson, Alexander-Martin, Alexander-Moody, Alexander-Johnson. Of those, only the ones registered as Alexander-Moody seem to have names directly relating to her in some way.
So she basically registered for the 11 year period of 1952-1963.
'Southern Pride' won a JC in 1955 and an HM in 1956.
'Rose Meyer' won an HM in 1967.
'Lady Neva' (Alexander-Moody) won an HM in 2003. See a picture of Grace Alexander, Neva Alexander's daughter-in-law, standing with 'Lady Neva' here.
Some of the following information was from the Region 6 History of Daylily Names.
http://www.ahsregion6.org/daylily_names.htm
Other is from our own research.
'Betty Souders' (Neva Alexander, 1954): Named for Neva's daughter, Elizabeth Hazel Alexander Souders.
'Louis Klinger' (Neva Alexander, 1955): Mr. Klinger was a bus driver from Orlando. He was at the Valdosta National Convention in the mid-50's.
'Arthur Meyer' (Neva Alexander 1955): Relative of Rosie Meyer? This is Mr. A.C. Meyer of Houston.
'Anel Unger' (Neva Alexander, 1956): Named for hybridizer Anel Unger of the Houston club.
'Helen Spiller' (Neva Alexander, 1956): Helen Spiller was an AHS member in Houston.
A picture of 'Rosie Meyer' (1957)
can be seen on Mark Cook's site here.
Height 32", season E , rebloom, evergreen, diploid, red self.
'Rosie Meyer' (Neva Alexander 1957): Is this the Mrs. A. C. Meyer listed in the 1966 AHS Yearbook, from Houston, TX?
'Mildred Schlumpf' (Neva Alexander, 1957): Named for Mildred Schlumpf, Houston, Texas.
'Bertha Cone' (Neva Alexander, 1957): Named for Bertha Ella Cone, Houston, Texas. [MacMillan-Carpenter also named one for her.]
'Mayor Holcombe' (Neva Alexander 1957): Mayor Oscar Holcombe of Houston was elected 11 times - to "intermittent terms." His last term ended in 1958. http://www.houstonhistory.com/citizens/houstonians/history8dd.htm
'Mamie Grey Holcombe' (Neva Alexander 1957): Mamie Grey Miller Holcombe was the wife of Mayor Oscar Holcombe of Houston.
See LAUGHING CLOWN on Tinker's:
height 28", season E, rebloom, evergreen, diploid,
spider ratio 4.00:1, red and orange bitone.
'Laughing Clown' (Neva Alexander, 1958): Lula Mae Purnell and Mildred Schlumpf told Grace Alexander (Neva's daughter-in-law) that they had suggested the name for this daylily.
'Dale Rocket' (Neva Alexander, 1958): Said to be named for Neva Alexander''s sister. [Mildred Schlumpf spelled it Rockett. There was a daylily perosn, Mrs. Louis Rockett of Jackson, MS.]
'Captain Arthur' (Neva Alexander 1958): named for the husband of Edythe Arthur. The 1966 yearbook lists Captain F.D. Arthur and Mrs. F. D. Arthur, Leakey TX (west of San Antonio)
'Edythe Arthur' (Neva Alexander 1959): Edythe Arthur was Region 6 RVP in 1958 when the National was held in Houston. Married to Captain F.D. Arthur.
'Ethel O'Hara' (Neva Alexander 1963): This may be the Mrs. Jack O'Hara of Texas City, TX that named a daylily 'Rowena Moody' (O'Hara 1969), Moody being the person who registered the daylily named 'Hazel Alexander' (Moody 1971) and also registered two daylilies as Alexander-Moody. Information for Mrs. Jack O'Hara was from Tinker's database of hybridizers, which listed only that one O'Hara, and Mrs. Jack O'Hara is also listed in the 1966 yearbook. This was registered the last year Neva Alexander seems to have registered any daylilies herself.
Daylily: 'Hazel Alexander' (Moody, 1971)
Daylily: 'Rowena Moody' (Mrs. Jack O'Hara 1969)'Alto Loma' (Alexander 1963): 'Alta Loma' (Alexander 1963) was registered the last year Neva Alexander seems to have registered any daylilies herself. Alta Loma, Texas, is one of three towns united as Santa Fe in 1978 (after Neva Alexander's death). The towns had been built alongside the Santa Fe Railroad, and that runs into Galveston. That location is about 5 miles from where Neva Alexander is buried. The Alexanders had moved to Alta Loma, Texas, in the late forties, and had a 4 acre plot in daylilies there.
'Hitchcock' (Neva Alexander-Rowena Moody, 1968): Named for Hitchcock, Texas where Neva Alexander is buried.
'Lady Neva' (Neva Alexander-Rowena Moody, 1970): Named for Neva Alexander. Registered after her death.
Where...?
Tinkers lists the address for Mrs. J. W. Alexander as Harlingen, Texas. Her friend Rowena Moody lived in Hitchcock (near Galveston). We know Neva Alexander's son was born in Galveston in 1927, and Neva Alexander is listed as having died in Galveston in 1969 and was buried near there in Hitchcock. There are associations with Galveston and Houston (areas closer to Hitchcock) in names of her daylilies. She was President of the Houston Hemerocallis Society in 1963-64.
The notice of her death in the Journal explained that she had lived in Alta Loma (near Galveston) beginning in the 1940s, and had moved south to Harlingen in 1965.
FAMILY
Neva Alexander's husband was John Willard Alexander .
Born December 12, 1875 in Oklahoma.
Died January 13, 1956 in Olton, Texas.
Also buried in Galveston Memorial Park, Hitchcock, Texas.
Neva Alexander was about 19 years younger than her husband.
The gravestone for Neva and J.W. Alexander is shown her:
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSvcid=70773&GRid=32...
Neva Alexander had two daughters. One of her daughters was Elizabeth Hazel Alexander Souders. She "received her medical degree from Kirksville College of Osteopathy and Surgery and worked with her husband at their practices in Olton and Lubbock."
Born November 11,1917 in Oklahoma City
Died April 23, 2001.
That daughter's husband was Benjamin J, Soulders.
http://www.avalanchejournal.com/stories/042701/obi_042701036.shtml
Daylily: 'Betty Souder' (Alexander, 1954)
http://ftp.rootsweb.ancestry.com/pub/usgenweb/tx/galveston/vitals/births/1927/galalb27.txt
Neva Alexander had a daughter-in-law, Grace Patricia Alexander, wife of her son Joshua David. The 1970 AHS Yearbook lists an address for address for Mrs. J. D. Alexander, 7010 Yucca Drive, Galveston, TX 77550. It was said that Grace never missed a Region 6 meeting. She attended 29 consecutive meetings during her years as an AHS and Region 6 member. She sold daylilies through Alexander Daylilies. See memories of Grace Alexander by Ray Houston, and a picture of her standing with the Alexander daylily named 'Lady Neva' here.
Grace and her husband celebrated their 59th anniversary in 6-05.
Grace died in 12-2005.
See PRETTY BABY (Neva Alexander 1961) on Tinker's:
height 24", season M, evergreen, diploid, salmon self with green throat.
In Spanish the meaning of the girl's name Neva is "snowy" or "covered with snow".
From a description of the Hemerocallis Show, Worcester, Massachusetts, August 2, 1962:
"By far the outstanding spike in the show entered in the "Best Registered Introduced Class" was one of 'Southern Pride' (Alexander). This was shown by Mrs. Backer. There is certainly great significance in the fact that Southern Pride was also champion in the same class in the show held in Houston, Texas in June of last year. Though this variety shows a slight tendency to tenderness here in New England, the fact that it was a champion in two such different parts of the country may indicate that is is one of those varieties we are all looking for that does well in all parts of the country."
. George H. Pride, Show Chairman
08-09-2010
Found a short reference to Neva Alexander in the
October-November-December issue of the 1956 Hemerocallis Journal, p. 25.
"Woodland Acres, better known as 'Mrs. Alexander's Gardens,' is on
Dolan Ave. in Alto Loma, Texas. Mrs. Alexander has approximately four
acres in daylilies and has grown them in her present location for
fourteen years. She has many varieties from leading growers in
addition to her own hybrids. Picnic tables and cokes available. Peak
blooming season: April 15 to June 1. Make club reservations by letter
or phone Alto Loma 3829. Time: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m."
.
