Alexander McKenzie during the 1880s. Picture Courtesy North Dakota State Historic Society.
Alexander McKenzie (1851-1922) was a powerful “political boss” who is widely credited for being the person responsible for moving the capital of Dakota Territory from Yankton to Bismarck in 1883.
Nicknamed the “senator maker”, McKenzie’s close connections within the Northern Pacific Railroad allowed him the opportunity to form a powerful political organization penned the “McKenzie Machine”, which dominated local politics until about 1908. McKenzie served as Burleigh County Sheriff from 1874-1886, and was later designated a deputy U.S. Marshall. He also served as the North Dakota Republican National Committeeman for 21 years.
McKenzie was close friends to local entrepreneur, Edward Patterson, who named his new high-rise luxury hotel after McKenzie when it opened in 1911. Shortly after McKenzie’s death, the hotel was renamed Patterson Hotel.
Personal Life
Alexander McKenzie was born on April 3, 1850 in Ontario, Canada. He quit school at only 11 years old to seek his fortune.
According to most reports, McKenzie arrived in Dakota Territory in 1866, at age 16, where he later became a scout for General Custer. He dabbled in several industries, including the railroad, where he quickly established the connections he needed to establish his power and fortune.
McKenzie had a total of six children from two different marriages, although he successfully kept his second wife and their children hidden from even his closest friends and family for more than 30 years.
First Wife & Children
His first, and only public, marriage was to Mary Ellen Hayer in 1877, with whom he had three children. At age 8, their son, John Alexander, died of diphtheria. The two divorced four years later, in 1887, at which time McKenzie bought a house in Saint Paul, Minnesota for his recently separated wife and their two daughters to reside in.
Second, Secret Family
McKenzie married again, in 1890, to Elva Stewart, a Bismarck school teacher. For the remainder of his life, he kept his second marriage secret from everyone, including his closest friends and family. In 1893, the couple had their first child, a daughter. The following month, McKenzie established an apartment in New York for Elva and their newly born daughter to reside in. Two more children, both boys, were born to the McKenzies over the next couple years.
His second marriage, and the couple’s children, were not discovered until McKenzie’s passing in June 1922 – only a month after the passing of Elva. The discovery was made during the execution of McKenzie’s estate, where letters were discovered revealing his secret family.
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