William Duer (1747-1799)
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
lawyer, developer, and speculator from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. A Federalist
Federalist Party (United States)
The Federalist Party was the first American political party, from the early 1790s to 1816, the era of the First Party System, with remnants lasting into the 1820s. The Federalists controlled the federal government until 1801...
, Duer wrote in support of ratifying the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
as "Philo-Publius." He had earlier served in the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
and the convention that framed the New York Constitution. In 1778, he signed the United States Articles of Confederation
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation, formally the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union, was an agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution...
.
Early life
Duer was born in DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
in 1743. He was the son of John Duer, a planter of Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
in the West Indies, who had a villa in Devonshire. His mother was Frances Frye, daughter of Sir Frederick Frye, who held a command in the West Indies, where she married John Duer. After being sent to Eton
Eton
Eton commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.Eton may also refer to:-Places:*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England*Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States...
, and while still under age, he was put into the army as ensign, and accompanied Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive
Major-General Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, KB , also known as Clive of India, was a British officer who established the military and political supremacy of the East India Company in Bengal. He is credited with securing India, and the wealth that followed, for the British crown...
as aide-de-camp on his return to India as governor general in 1762. As he suffered severely from the climate, Lord Clive sent him back to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where he remained five years until his father's death, upon which he inherited his father's estate.
West Indian planter
Having left the army, he went to Antigua, and thence 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 DominicaDominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...
. As a planter, he traded extensively with Philip Schuyler
Philip Schuyler
Philip John Schuyler was a general in the American Revolution and a United States Senator from New York. He is usually known as Philip Schuyler, while his son is usually known as Philip J. Schuyler.-Early life:...
, who persuaded him to move to New York early in the 1770s. On a previous trip to the area, he had purchased tracts of land on the upper Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
near Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
. The area, known as Fort Miller, served both as Duer's first residence and as the site of his early financial ventures. Duer set up sawmills, warehouses, and a store. In 1773 he went again to England and obtained a contract to supply the Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
with timber for masts and spars. By 1776, had built a moderately successful mercantile business based primarily on lumber production.
American Revolution
Duer was originally a somewhat reluctant Whig, but he became a member of the Provincial CongressProvincial Congress
"Provincial Congress" can refer to one of several extra-legal legislative bodies established in some of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution...
in 1775; he was one of the committee which drafted the original New York Constitution the next year; a member of the New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
in 1777-78; and a member of the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
in 1778 and 1779. He married Catherine Alexander, daughter of Major General William Lord Stirling Alexander, in 1779, and returned to private business the same year, in partnership with John Holker
John Holker
Sir John Holker QC was a British lawyer and politician. He sat as a Member of Parliament for Preston from 1872 until his death ten years later. He was first Solicitor General and later Attorney General in the second government of Benjamin Disraeli.- External links :...
, the French commercial agent. He also did well out of supplying the American army, under contracts arranged for him by Robert Morris.
Later life
He was a prominent speculator after the peace; he was also elected to the New York General Assembly in 1786. When Alexander HamiltonAlexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a Founding Father, soldier, economist, political philosopher, one of America's first constitutional lawyers and the first United States Secretary of the Treasury...
, 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
Scioto Company
thumb|The proposed purchase by the Scioto Company is shown in red. The proposed purchase by the [[Ohio Company of Associates|Ohio Company]] is in blue. The final purchase by the Ohio Company is in green...
scheme to buy up the American debt to France at a discount. He went bankrupt as a result of the Panic of 1792
Panic of 1792
The Panic of 1792 was a financial credit crisis that occurred during March and April of 1792 due to the speculation of William Duer and Alexander Macomb against stock held by the Bank of New York. While Duer attempted to drive the price of stocks up, the Livingston family attempted to drive the...
, and remained in debtor's prison
Debtor's prison
A debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.-Debt bondage in ancient Greece and Rome:...
for the rest of his life. His failure has been cited as a cause of the panic, reportedly the first in New York caused by speculation.
Family
He married Catherine Alexander, second daughter of General William Alexander, the claimant of the Scottish earldom of Stirling, and a major general in the Continental ArmyContinental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...
during the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. The marriage took place at Alexander's country seat, “The Buildings,” near Basking Ridge, New Jersey
Basking Ridge, New Jersey
- Demographics :As Basking Ridge is not an independent municipality, the following demographic data is based on the United States Census Bureau figures for the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for the 07920 ZIP Code...
, which was designed to imitate the residence of an English nobleman, with all the appointments of an English country seat. Catherine was descended from James Alexander, the De Peysters, Livingstons, and Schuylers, and occupied a prominent place in the society of the period.
Their son William Alexander Duer
William Alexander Duer
William Alexander Duer was an American lawyer, jurist, and educator from New York City. He was a president of Columbia University, then Columbia College.-Biography:...
was a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, and for many years the President of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. Another son, John Duer
John Duer
John Duer was a New York jurist.-Biography:He was the son of William and Catherine Duer. He entered the army in his sixteenth year, but after two years left the service for the study of law...
, was a noted lawyer and jurist of New York. William Alexander Duer's son William Duer
William Duer (1805-1879)
William Duer was an American lawyer and statesman from New York City. He represented New York in the United States House of Representatives for two terms . He was grandson of Continental Congressman William Duer and great-grandson of General William Alexander, Lord Stirling.-External links:*...
served in the U.S. Congress
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
.