Alexander Colden (August 13, 1716 – December 12, 1774) was an American merchant and public official in Colonial New York who was the son of

Cadwallader Colden Cadwallader Colden (7 February 1688 – 28 September 1776) was an Irish-born physician, scientist and colonial administrator who served as the governor of New York from 1760 to 1762 and again from 1763 to 1765. Early life Colden was born on 7 F ...

Early life

Colden was born on August 13, 1716, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in what was then a part of

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

. He was the eldest son of Dr.

(1688–1776) and Alice (

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 ...

Chrystie) Colden. Among his siblings were Elizabeth Alice Colden (wife of Peter DeLancey, a son of merchant

Stephen DeLancey Stephen Delancey (born Étienne de Lancy; October 24, 1663 – November 18, 1741) was a French-born American merchant and politician in colonial New York (state), New York who served as a member of the New York General Assembly and the New York E ...

and brother of Gov.

James DeLancey James De Lancey (November 27, 1703 – July 30, 1760) was an American politician from the colonial period who served as chief justice, lieutenant governor, and acting colonial governor of the Province of New York. Early life and educatio ...

); Cadwallader Colden Jr.; Jane Colden, the first female botanist working in America; Alice Colden (wife of Col. Isaac Willet); and David Colden (who married Ann Alice Willett). His father was the 31st, 33rd, and 35th

Colonial Governor of New York The territory which would later become the state of New York was settled by European colonists as part of the New Netherland colony (parts of present-day New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware) under the command of the Dutch West India C ...

. His paternal grandparents were the Rev. Alexander Colden and Janet (née Hughes) Colden.

Career

In 1737, he was appointed Ranger of

Ulster County Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. The count ...

, which included Coldenham. There, he ran a country store that selling general merchandise. In 1751, he was appointed Joint Surveyor General of the Province of New York with his father, and succeeded him in that office from 1761 to 1762. At that point he moved from

Newburgh, New York Newburgh is a City (New York), city in Orange County, New York, United States. With a population of 28,856 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is a principal city of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area. ...

, to New York City, where he served as Postmaster of New York City for a number of years. Colden was one of the founders and an original member of the

Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York The Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York is the oldest Charitable organization, charitable institution in the state of New York (state), New York and is focused on helping Scots in the New York community with the motto Charity, Fello ...

, serving as president from 1764 to 1766.

Personal life

Colden was married to Elizabeth Nicolls (1720–1774), the second daughter of Richard Nicholls and Margaret Tudor. Together, Alexander and Elizabeth were the parents of: * Richard Nicolls Colden (1745–1777), who married Henrietta Maria Bethune (b. 1745). After his death, his widow married Richard Berryman. * Cadwallader Colden, who died in childhood. * John Colden, who was lost at sea. * Alice Colden, who married Col. Archibald Hamilton (1728–1795), son of

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 ...

of Ballencrieff. * Margaret Colden (–1789), who married Major John Antill, son of Hon. Edward Antill of New Jersey. * Elizabeth Colden, who married Col. Anthony Farrington, 1st Baronet of the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proof test, proofing, and explosives research for ...

in 1766. * Jane Colden (1755–1827), who married Major John Antill after the death of her elder sister Margaret. Colden died in 1774, at Spring Hill in

Flushing, New York Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the ...

Descendants

Through his son Richard, he was a grandfather of Alexander Colden and Cadwallader R. Colden, editor of the U.S. ''

Sporting Magazine ''The Sporting Magazine'' (1792–1870) was the first English sporting periodical to devote itself to every type of sport. Its subtitle was "Monthly Calendar of the Transactions of the Turf, the Chase and Every Other Diversion Interesting to the ...

'' from 1835 to 1836. Through his daughter Alice, he was the grandfather of Mary Elizabeth Jane Douglas Hamilton, wife of Francis Napier (grandson of Francis Napier, 6th Lord Napier) and mother of historian Mark Napier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colden, Alexander 1716 births 1774 deaths American people of Scottish descent Merchants from colonial New York 18th-century American merchants Postmasters of New York City Presidents of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York