Alexander W. Monroe 1905. Alexander W. Monroe was born on December 29, 1817, in Hampshire County, Virginia (now West Virginia), and was the oldest child of Robert and Elizabeth Monroe. His parents were of Scottish descent. Monroe's great uncle, Dr. John Monroe, was an early physician and Baptist minister in Hampshire County. Monroe had four younger brothers and two sisters: Robert W. Monroe, James W. Monroe, J. Walker Monroe, Marion Monroe, a Mrs. Snapp, and Sarah Ann Monroe Garrett. His brother, Robert W. Monroe, was later appointed by United States President Grover Cleveland as an Indian agent in Idaho. At the age of
Presidency of James Monroe Monroe appointed a geographically-balanced cabinet, through which he led the executive branch. At Monroe's request, Crawford continued to serve as Treasury Secretary. Monroe also chose to retain Benjamin Crowninshield of Massachusetts as Secretary of the Navy and Richard Rush of Pennsylvania as Attorney General. Recognizing Northern discontent at the continuation of the Virginia dynasty, Monroe chose John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts to fill the prestigious post of Secretary of State, making Adams the early favorite to eventually succeed Monroe as president. An experienced diplomat, Adams had abandoned the Federalist Party in 1807 in support of Thomas Jefferson's foreign policy, and