William Duer (March 18, 1743 – May 7, 1799) was a British-born American jurist, developer, and financial speculator from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. A

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, Duer wrote in support of ratifying the

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as "Philo-Publius". He had earlier served in the

Continental Congress The Continental Congress was a series of legislature, legislative bodies, with some executive function, for the Thirteen Colonies of British America, Great Britain in North America, and the newly declared United States before, during, and after ...

and the convention that framed the New York Constitution. In 1778, Duer signed the United States

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and is one of the

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. Duer owned 10 slaves. 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.

Early life

Duer was born in

Devonshire Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the wes ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

, in 1743. He was the son of John Duer, a planter in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

in the

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, 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. Duer was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

, and while still under age, was put into the army as ensign. He accompanied

Robert Clive Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British List of governors of Bengal Presidency, Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for l ...

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, upon which he inherited his father's estates in

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

Career

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. As a planter, he traded extensively with

Philip Schuyler Philip John Schuyler (; November 20, 1733 - November 18, 1804) was an American general in the American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War and a United States Senate, United States Senator from New York (state), New York. He is usually known as ...

, 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 The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

near Albany. 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 returned to England, where he obtained a contract to supply the

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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 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

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the next year. Duer was a member of the 1st New York State Legislature, serving in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

for the Eastern District from September 9, 1777 to June 30, 1778. He served as a member of the

in 1778 and 1779. While in Congress, he reportedly impressed future president

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before Presidency of John Adams, his presidency, he was a leader of ...

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. 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.

Later life

Duer became a prominent speculator after the war; he was also elected to the New York General Assembly in 1786. When

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the first U.S. secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 dur ...

, Schuyler's son-in-law, became first

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

in 1789, Duer became the first Assistant Secretary. He continued to speculate in American bonds, including the failed

Scioto Company The proposed purchase by the Scioto Company is shown in red. The proposed purchase by the Ohio Company is in blue. The final purchase by the Ohio Company is in green. The 350px The Scioto Company was a company led by American colonel Willia ...

scheme to buy up the American debt to France at a discount. Duer went bankrupt as a result of the

Panic of 1792 The Panic of 1792 was a financial credit crisis that occurred during the months of March and April 1792, precipitated by the expansion of credit by the newly formed Bank of the United States as well as by rampant speculation on the part of Willi ...

, and was held in

debtors' prison A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe.Cory, Lucinda"A Histor ...

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. The loss was estimated at 3 million dollars and impoverished many in all classes.

Personal life

In 1779, Duer married Lady Catherine Alexander (1755–1826), second daughter of Sarah (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Livingston) Alexander and Lord Stirling, a major general in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. The marriage took place at Stirling's country seat, "The Buildings," near

Basking Ridge, New Jersey Basking Ridge is an Local government in New Jersey#Unincorporated communities, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Bernards Township, New Jersey, Bernards Township in the Somerset Hills region of Somerset ...

. 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 The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

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 Livingston Manor was a tract of land in the Province of New York granted to Robert Livingston the Elder during the reign of George I of Great Britain. Located between the Hudson River and the Massachusetts border, the Livingston Manor was locate ...

. She was, descended from the De Peysters, Livingstons, and Schuylers, and occupied a prominent place in the society of the period. Together, they were the parents of eight children, including: * William Alexander Duer (1780–1858), who was a justice of the

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, and for many years the President of

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. He married Hannah Maria Denning (1782–1862), daughter of

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William Denning. * John Duer (1782–1858), who was a noted lawyer and jurist of New York. He married Anna Bedford Bunner (1783–1864), sister of U.S. Representative Rudolph Bunner. * Frances Duer (1786–1869), who was married to Beverley Robinson (1779–1857), grandson of merchant Beverley Robinson. * Sarah Henrietta Duer (b. 1787), who married John Witherspoon Smith, son and grandson of Princeton Presidents

Samuel Stanhope Smith Samuel Stanhope Smith (March 15, 1751 – August 21, 1819) was a Presbyterian minister, founding president of Hampden–Sydney College and the seventh president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from 1795 to 1812. His stormy ...

and

John Witherspoon John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense real ...

. * Catherine Alexander Duer (1788–1882). * Maria Theodora Duer (1789–1837), who married Beverly Chew (1773–1851) in 1810. * 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 The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (also known as Mutual of New York or MONY) was the oldest continuous writer of insurance policies in the United States. Incorporated in 1842, it was headquartered at 1740 Broadway, before becoming a ...

. * Alexander Duer (1793–1819), who married Ann Maria Westcott (1808–1897), daughter of Col. and New York State Senator David M. Westcott, in 1815. 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 Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, New York. After his death, his widow remarried to William Neilson on September 15, 1801.

Descendants

Through his eldest son William, he was the grandfather of Denning Duer, great-grandfather of James Gore King Duer, and the great-great-grandfather of Alice Duer Miller (1874–1942), the feminist poet and writer.Burstyn, Joan N. ''Past and promise: lives of New Jersey women'', Syracuse University Press, 1997; . Pg. 171-173Robert 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 The ''American National Biography'' (ANB) is a 24-volume biographical encyclopedia set that contains about 17,400 entries and 20 million words, first published in 1999 by Oxford University Press under the auspices of the American Council of Lea ...

'', February 2000. Older sources give Duer's year of birth as 1747. Through his son John, he was the grandfather of William Duer (1805–1879) who served in the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

representing New York.

Notes

References

External links

* * – reburial at Grace Episcopal Church Complex (Queens) *
"The William Duer Papers"
New-York Historical Society
The High Crimes and Misadventures of William Duer
''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

'', July 4, 2019. {{DEFAULTSORT:Duer, William 1743 births 1799 deaths People educated at Eton College Continental Congressmen from New York (state) Signers of the Articles of Confederation U.S. state legislators who owned slaves American people who died in prison custody Members of the New York Provincial Congress New York (state) state senators Military personnel from Devon People from colonial New York English emigrants to the United States Founding Fathers of the United States People imprisoned for debt Prisoners who died in New York (state) detention 18th-century members of the New York State Legislature