Alexa Stirling

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V I | A L E X A S T I R L I NG

Not unlike Bob Jones, Alexa was to the royal manner born. It was a happy occasion that 5th day of September, 1897, when Alexandra Williamson Stirling was given birth in a house on Piedmont Avenue between 6th and 7th Streets in Atlanta. She chose her parents wisely. Her mother was Nora Bromley born in London, England in the early 1870s. Miss Bromley married Dr. Alexander Williamson Stirling on May 6, 1891. Dr. Stirling was a bright, adventurous Scotsman born in Peebles, Scotland, on April 23, 1858. After he was graduated from Edinburgh University around 1880, Dr. Stirling became a specialist in the ear, eye, nose and throat. He eventually centered his practice on diseases of the eyes and became a partner of Dr. H.C. Mole in a town on the

Thames near London named Grays, England. They were blessed in 1893 with the birth of their first daughter, Janet. Either a penchant for adventure or wanderlust prompted the good Doctor to sign on as a ship’s physician in a voyage stopping initially in Buenos Aires and ultimately in America. After brief interludes in Chicago and Denver, the Doctor migrated to New York where he completed graduate work in ophthalmology. Girded up by his special training, Dr. Stirling moved his family to Atlanta in 1895. Alexa was born two years later and a third daughter, Nora, was born July 12, 1900, in Degives Grand Opera House in Atlanta. You might think that’s a strange place for delivering a baby, but there is a sound explanation. Alexa’s mum was actually classically trained as an opera singer. She almost made it to America before Dr. Stirling. Prior to her marriage, the D’Oyly Carte Opera Company had invited Mrs. Stirling to tour with the Company. But she declined. Even after her marriage, though, Mrs. Stirling kept up with her musical talents. She taught Alexa to play violin and to enjoy the subtleties of classical music in general. This interest was so compelling that in her later life, Alexa maintained and enjoyed a sizeable collection of long playing classical music. The Stirling girls were lucky to be given home schooling during their formative years by their talented mother. Both the variety and quality of the education they received was evident in their adult years. Alexa’s remarkable accomplishments were not isolated. Sister Nora went far enough in her studies to ultimately attend Washington Seminary. One of her schoolmates would bring no small notoriety to Atlanta, Margaret Mitchell, author of “Gone With The Wind.”

Dr. Alexander Stirling was not just a mild mannered Scottish physician although he was certainly that too. A man of medium stature and lean proportions, the Doctor wore a beard and hat that spoke volumes about the formality of his generation. There was a sparkle about his eyes that seemed to make all those about him hope he would share a special story or adventurous experience from his worldly travels. His middle daughter Alexa absorbed much of the Doctor’s wide range of talents and interests. She was not only a concert violinist but was also a talented “shade tree” mechanic able to maintain and repair

automobiles. Alexa loved people although she coveted her solitude as well. She got along with nearly everyone save for the idiosyncrasy that she didn’t suffer fools gladly. Superficial folks who didn’t sincerely care about

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