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Alexander Mitchell was the eighth son of William Mitchell and Jane Ferguson. He was one of 13 children and was born on William Street, Dublin, on 13 April 1780. His father was an inspector-general of barracks in Ireland, a duty that took him all over the country. William used to relax by playing the violin and the harpsichord and often played with the young Alexander, calling him ‘my little leprechaun’. In roughly 1787 the family moved to Pine Hill, near Belfast, and Alexander started school at the age of seven, learning writing, arithmetic and later geometry, trigonometry and conic sections, at which he excelled. His father died in 1790, and the family separated. His mother, the three youngest sons and the remaining daughter rented a cottage a mile away from Belfast.

During the Irish rebellion of 1798, Alexander and some of his cousins were evacuated to Scotland to stay with friends. Alexander came back to Belfast in 1801 and married a woman named Mary Banks, a neighbour’s daughter, and went to live in Ballymacarrett. His mother was not pleased whatsoever. She considered it a rushed action, until the first of five grandchildren arrived.

Alexander was left £500 in his fathers will to be received when he turned 23, so he borrowed £100 to start up a business making bricks. This went very well and he was able to comfortably provide for his family and to buy property in Belfast, as well as to build eight new houses. When not working he invented several machines for use in brickmaking and the building trade, as well as musical instruments, wooden clocks and windmills.

Alexander Mitchell and his cousin, George Mitchell, were extremely fond of music; in November 1844 he was elected an associate of the Belfast Anacreontic Society and often went to its concerts with his cousin. He also played the flute and accordion and enjoyed singing many old Irish songs, Alex and his cousin were big fans of Irish music.