Alex immigrated about 70 years before his death in 1912, i.e. about 1842. He worked on the Pennsylvania Canal and then for the Old Portage Railroad. Alex helped build the Pa. Railroad lines through Johnstown and later did odd jobs about the city. He was a veteran of the Civil War, having served as a Private in Company D, 5th Regiment, Heavy Artillery from August 27, 1864 to June 30, 1865. A daughter, Mary Steigerwald, perished in the Johnstown Flood of 1889.