It is not known why Alexander moved to Gloucester; however, there are some indications that the family’s movement was a part of a larger migration trend.. In the book, The 1870 Census of the 10,132 Inhabitants of Gloucester County, Virginia, Cyrus Rilee states, “The decade of the 1860s saw a substantial number of families move to Gloucester from the Eastern Shore of Virginia and Maryland, both during and after the War.” This migration from the Eastern Shore could have been related to the sawmill industry; in the list of “new occupations” in the 1870 census, Rilee’s book has an entry called “steam miller.” Many of the people who had migrated from Maryland were in the sawmill business, including one whose last name was Leger; Alex’s third wife was Kate Leger. (Leger is sometimes spelled Leager.)

According to Margie Emerson (Oliver, Lylis), Alexander Emerson brought the first steam powered sawmill to Gloucester County. This bit of family oral tradition is supported by various courthouse records of Alexander’s dealings with sawmills. (Gloucester County Common law Book, July & October 1874 ’Alexander Emerson verses the Gloucester Saw mill Company: Alex was awarded “$74.80 for damages,” but on appeal the case was dismissed.) All of these bits of information taken together would seem to indicate that Alexander was in some way related to the sawmill industry. However, the 1870 census lists Alexander’s occupation as “farmer,” and the 1880 census lists it as “Gen. Merchant.” The milling industry’s search for new timber may have been the cause of the general migration from the Eastern Shore and Alexander’s coming to Gloucester.

Though we do not know why they migrated to Virginia, we do know that the original Emersons who came to Gloucester were Alexander, his wife, Elizabeth, one daughter, Mollie, and three sons, Edgar, George, and Willie. This is based on the 1870 census records which place the Emerson family in the Abingdon District of Gloucester, Virginia.

There are two rather intriguing traditions concerning Alexander’s journey from Maryland to Virginia, neither of which can be proven or disproven. According to one story, Alexander made rafts or barges on which he hauled a considerable amount of livestock; the barges were pulled by leased sailboats. According to another tradition told by Margie Emerson, Alexander chartered a sailboat to transport his family and livestock to Virginia. After they had gotten well into the Chesapeake Bay, a fierce storm arose, and the captain of the chartered vessel wanted to turn back, but Alex instructed him to sail on; when the captain refused, Alex took over the helm and managed to get the ship through the storm with his family safe and sound, but in the process, most of the livestock was lost.

The Emerson family arrived in Gloucester in 1869. This date is based on the sworn deposition of Captain J. B. Brown, an acquaintance of Alex Emerson. In a legal case recorded at Gloucester Courthouse, Captain Brown was asked, “Do you know Mr. Alex Emerson; if so, how long has he been residing in this county?” Captain Brown answered, “I have known him for five years and ever since he has been residing in this county.” Captain Brown made this statement in 1874 (1874-5 = 1869). Captain Brown and other witnesses also testified that Alex did not leave Gloucester during the time from his arrival to the time that the testimony was taken. Gloucester became Alex’s permanent residence, and there was no visiting to his prior residence in Maryland.

There is a strong family tradition that the first Emerson home in Gloucester was Warner Hall; however, there is no documentary evidence of this. Today, Warner Hall is one of the most elegantly restored plantation homes in Virginia, but this was not the situation when Alexander came to Gloucester. In 1848, the central portion of the mansion was destroyed by fire leaving only the two side wings livable until it was restored to its original splendor in the late 1800s. Therefore, when Alex allegedly lived there, it was a burnt-out plantation; even so, it would take a person of extensive means to occupy this large tract of farmland.

James Edgar Emerson told the following story: “Essex McCoo was a slave on Warner Hall until the Emancipation. His son, Willie McCoo said that there was a saying in Gloucester County to the effect that ‘Alexander Emerson came to Warner Hall with nineteen horses and had to walk away.'” Apparently, Alexander came to Gloucester as a man of means but soon experienced financial misfortunes.