Biographical / Historical
Dr. Alexander McWilliams was born in 1773 in St. Mary's County, and died March 31, 1850, in Washington, D.C. He was the son of Thomas McWilliams, Jr., and Mary Ann Mattingly. On August 26, 1806, he married Ann Tabbs in Washington, D.C. Tabbs was born before 1791 and died June 22, 1828. Her parents were Barton Tabbs and Sarah Bond. Other children were:
- Clinton, born 1808, died September 23, 1820;
- Albert C., born November 16, 1811, died October 8, 1827 in Rochester, NY;
- Adelaide Elizabeth, born September 2, 1813, died after 1852. Married Noble Young, May 5, 1836;
- Jane, born April 21, 1815. Married A.H. Lawrence circa 1841.
- Alexander Barton T. (probably “Tabbs”), born February 3, 1823, died May 17, 1898 in Washington, DC. Became a doctor and resided in St. Mary’s County. Married first to Charlotte T. Kirk; second to Adrianna (“Addie”) C. Gough.
- Ann(?) Tabbs, born 1828. Alive in 1830.
Dr. McWilliams served as surgeon’s mate in the U.S. Navy. He received medical training under Dr. Barton Tabbs, later marrying the latter’s daughter Ann. Dr. Tabbs, a Navy surgeon, botanist and inventor, ran a small medical school at Great Mills, Md.
Sources: Margaret Fresco, Doctors of St. Mary’s County, 1634-1900 (1992); and notes from curatorial file.
Additional resource: St. Mary’s County Genealogical Society at https://smcgsi.org
