American Founding Father and politician (1743?1799)
William Duer
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|
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In office
1789?1792
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In office
1778?1779
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Preceded by
| Inaugural holder
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Succeeded by
| Ebenezer Russell
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|
In office
September 9, 1777 ? June 30, 1778
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In office
1775?1775
|
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Born
| March 18, 1743
Devon
, Great Britain
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Died
| May 7, 1799
(1799-05-07)
(aged 56)
New York City
, U.S.
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Political party
| Federalist
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Spouse
|
Catherine Alexander
(
m.
1779)
|
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Relations
| William Duer
(grandson)
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Children
| 8, including
William
,
John
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Parent(s)
| John Duer
Frances Frye
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Education
| Eton College
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William Duer
(March 18, 1743 ? May 7, 1799)
[1]
was a British-born American jurist, developer, and financial speculator from
New York City
. A
Federalist
, Duer wrote in support of ratifying the
United States Constitution
as "Philo-Publius". He had earlier served in the
Continental Congress
and the convention that framed the New York Constitution. In 1778, Duer signed the United States
Articles of Confederation
and is one of the
Founding Fathers of the United States
.
Duer owned 10 slaves.
[2]
Duer spent most of his life as a financial speculator. In 1792, following his involvement in one of the nation's
first financial panics
, Duer went bankrupt and was confined to debtors' prison, where he died seven years later.
[3]
Early life
[
edit
]
Duer was born in
Devonshire
,
Great Britain
, in 1743.
[1]
He was the son of John Duer, a planter in
Antigua
in the
West Indies
, who kept a villa in Devon, and Frances Frye. She was the daughter of Sir Frederick Frye, who held a command in the West Indies, where she met and married Duer.
[4]
Duer was educated at
Eton College
, and while still under age, was put into the army as ensign. He accompanied
Robert Clive
as
aide-de-camp
on his return to India as governor general in 1762. He suffered severely from the climate, so Lord Clive sent him back to England, where he remained five years until his father's death,
[5]
upon which he inherited his father's estates in
Dominica
.
[6]
Career
[
edit
]
Having left the army, Duer went to Antigua. He traveled to New York State for the first time in 1768, to arrange for a regular and constant supply of lumber for his plantations in Antigua and Dominica.
[5]
As a planter, he traded extensively with
Philip Schuyler
, who persuaded him to move to New York early in the 1770s. On a previous trip to the area, Duer had purchased tracts of land on the upper
Hudson River
near
Albany
. The area, known as Fort Miller, served both as Duer's first residence and as the site of his early financial ventures.
[6]
Duer set up sawmills, warehouses, and a store.
In 1773 he returned to England, where he obtained a contract to supply the
Royal Navy
with timber for masts and spars.
[5]
By 1776, had built a moderately successful mercantile business based primarily on lumber production.
[1]
American Revolution
[
edit
]
Duer was originally a moderate
Whig
, somewhat reluctant to become involved in active resistance to the British government. But he became a member of the
Provincial Congress
in 1775; he was one of the committee which drafted the original
New York Constitution
the next year.
[1]
Duer was a member of the
1st New York State Legislature
, serving in the
New York State Senate
for the Eastern District from September 9, 1777 to June 30, 1778.
[a]
He served as a member of the
Continental Congress
in 1778 and 1779.
[7]
While in Congress, he reportedly impressed future president
John Adams
and financier
Robert Morris
from Philadelphia, with whom he served on the finance committees as well as the "Board of War," the precursor to the
War Department
.
[6]
In 1779, Duer returned to private business, in partnership with
John Holker
, the French commercial agent. He also did well in his business of supplying the American army, under contracts arranged for him by Robert Morris.
[1]
Later life
[
edit
]
Duer became a prominent speculator after the war; he was also elected to the New York General Assembly in 1786. When
Alexander Hamilton
, Schuyler's son-in-law, became first
Secretary of the Treasury
in 1789, Duer became the first
Assistant Secretary
. He continued to speculate in American bonds, including the failed
Scioto Company
scheme to buy up the American debt to France at a discount.
[1]
Duer went bankrupt as a result of the
Panic of 1792
, and was held in
debtors' prison
for the rest of his life.
[8]
His failure has been cited as a cause of the panic, reportedly the first in New York caused by speculation.
[5]
The loss was estimated at 3 million dollars and impoverished many in all classes.
[1]
[6]
Personal life
[
edit
]
In 1779, Duer married Lady
Catherine Alexander
(1755?1826), second daughter of Sarah (
nee
Livingston
) Alexander and
Lord Stirling
, a major general in the
Continental Army
.
[9]
The marriage took place at Stirling's country seat, "The Buildings," near
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
. It was designed in the style of a residence of an English nobleman, with all the appointments of an English country seat. Catherine's paternal grandparents were
New Jersey Attorney General
James Alexander
and merchant
Mary Spratt Provoost Alexander
, and her maternal grandparents were Catherine Van Brugh Livingston and
Philip Livingston
, 2nd Lord of
Livingston Manor
.
[4]
She was, descended from the
De Peysters
,
Livingstons
, and
Schuylers
, and occupied a prominent place in the society of the period.
[5]
Together, they were the parents of eight children, including:
[4]
- William Alexander Duer
(1780?1858), who was a justice of the
New York State Supreme Court
, and for many years the President of
Columbia University
. He married Hannah Maria Denning (1782?1862), daughter of
U.S. Representative
William Denning
.
[10]
- John Duer
(1782?1858), who was a noted lawyer and jurist of New York.
[5]
He married Anna Bedford Bunner (1783?1864), sister of U.S. Representative
Rudolph Bunner
.
[11]
- Frances Duer (1786?1869), who was married to Beverley Robinson (1779?1857), grandson of merchant
Beverley Robinson
.
[12]
[13]
- Sarah Henrietta Duer (b. 1787), who married John Witherspoon Smith, son and grandson of
Princeton Presidents
Samuel Stanhope Smith
and
John Witherspoon
.
[14]
- Catherine Alexander Duer (1788?1882).
[14]
- Maria Theodora Duer (1789?1837), who married
Beverly Chew
(1773?1851) in 1810.
[15]
- Henrietta Elizabeth Duer (1790?1839), who married
Morris Robinson
(1784?1849), brother of Beverley Robinson and founder of the
Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York
.
[13]
[16]
- Alexander Duer (1793?1819), who married Ann Maria Westcott (1808?1897), daughter of Col. and
New York State Senator
David M. Westcott
, in 1815.
[14]
Duer died in New York City on April 18, 1799 at age 57. He was buried in the family vault under the old church of St. Thomas and was later reinterred in
Jamaica
,
Long Island
, New York.
[1]
After his death, his widow remarried to William Neilson on September 15, 1801.
[14]
Descendants
[
edit
]
Through his eldest son William, he was the grandfather of Denning Duer,
[b]
great-grandfather of James Gore King Duer,
[4]
and the great-great-grandfather of
Alice Duer Miller
(1874?1942), the
feminist poet
and writer.
[19]
[20]
Through his son John, he was the grandfather of
William Duer
(1805?1879) who served in the
U.S. Congress
representing New York.
[21]
Notes
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Jones, Robert Francis (1992).
"The King of the Alley": William Duer, Politician, Entrepreneur, and Speculator, 1768-1799
. American Philosophical Society.
ISBN
9780871692023
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
"William Duer"
.
exhibitions.nysm.nysed.gov
. Retrieved
2023-10-13
.
- ^
Brown, Abram (July 4, 2019).
"The High Crimes and Misadventures of William Duer, The Founding Father Who Swindled America"
.
Forbes
. Retrieved
August 21,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Weeks, Lyman Horace (1898).
Prominent Families of New York: Being an Account in Biographical Form of Individuals and Families Distinguished as Representatives of the Social, Professional and Civic Life of New York City
. Historical Company
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Wilson, J. G.
;
Fiske, J.
, eds. (1900).
"Duer, William"
.
Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography
. New York: D. Appleton.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Wright, Robert E.; Cowen, David J. (2006).
Financial Founding Fathers: The Men Who Made America Rich
.
University of Chicago Press
. pp.
66
?86.
ISBN
9780226910680
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
Hough, Franklin B. (1858).
The New York Civil List: Containing the names and origin of the civil divisions, and the names and dates of election or appointment of the principal state and county officers from the Revolution to the present time
. Weed, Parsons and Co. p.
110
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
Cowan, David J. (2009, Spring). "William Duer and America's First Financial Scandal",
Financial History
, 97, 20?35.
- ^
Duer, William Alexander (1847).
The Life of William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, Major-General in the Army of the United States During the Revolution: With Selections from His Correspondence
. New Jersey Historical Society. p.
265
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
Cutter, William Richard (1918).
American Biography: A New Cyclopedia
. Pub. under the direction of the American historical society. p. 267
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York
(1905).
The Saint Nicholas Society of the City of New York: History, Customs, Record of Events, Constitution, Certain Genealogies, and Other Matters of Interest. V. 1-
. p.
53
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
William Duer.
- ^
McGill, John (1956).
The Beverley family of Virginia: descendants of Major Robert Beverley, 1641-1687, and allied families
. R.L. Bryan Co. pp. 998?999
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
Moffat, R. Burnham (1904).
The Barclays of New York: Who They Are And Who They Are Not,--And Some Other Barclays
. R. G. Cooke. p.
117
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
Greene, Richard Henry; Stiles, Henry Reed; Dwight, Melatiah Everett; Morrison, George Austin; Mott, Hopper Striker; Totten, John Reynolds; Ditmas, Charles Andrew; Pitman, Harold Minot; Forest, Louis Effingham De; Maynard, Arthur S.; Mann, Conklin (1880).
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record
. New York Genealogical and Biographical Society
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
Daughters of the American Revolution
(1905).
Lineage Book, Vol. 20
. The Society. pp.
130
?131
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
Browning, Charles Henry (1891).
Americans of Royal Descent: A Collection of Genealogies of American Families Whose Lineage is Traced to the Legitimate Issue of Kings
. Porter & Costes. pp. 108?109
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
"Died. DUER"
.
The New York Times
. 25 July 1863
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
- ^
"The Sackett Family Association - Hon James Gore King"
.
www.sackettfamily.info
. Retrieved
6 December
2016
.
- ^
Burstyn, Joan N.
Past and promise: lives of New Jersey women
, Syracuse University Press, 1997;
ISBN
0-8156-0418-1
. Pg. 171-173
- ^
Robert F. Jones,
"The King of the Alley": William Duer; Politician, Entrepreneur, and Speculator, 1768?1799
(1992), p. 1; Jonathan J. Bean. "Duer, William";
American National Biography Online
, February 2000. Older sources give Duer's year of birth as 1747.
- ^
"DUER, William - Biographical Information"
.
bioguide.congress.gov
.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
. Retrieved
3 May
2018
.
Further reading
[
edit
]
- Cowan, David J. "William Duer and America's First Financial Scandal."
Financial History
97 (2009): 20-35.
- Matson, Cathy. "Flimsy Fortunes: Americans' old relationship with paper speculation and panic"
Common-place
10#4 (2010)
online free
sumamrizes Duer's speculations in the context of the national economy.
- Matson, Cathy. "Public Vices, Private Benefit: William Duer and His Circle, 1776-1792," in Conrad Edick Wright, ed.,
New York and the Rise of American Capitalism: Economic Development and the Social and Political History of an American State, 1780-1870
(New York, 1989), 72-123.
- Sylla, Richard, Robert E. Wright, and David J. Cowen. "Alexander Hamilton, central banker: crisis management during the US financial panic of 1792."
Business History Review
83#1 (2009): 61-86.
External links
[
edit
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