Col. William Duer, Continental Congressman

Older sources give Duer's birth as 1747. Patrimony for Frances Frye via Wikipedia appears to be wrong. Sources closer to the time and place say she was the daughter of Col. John Frye.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Duer_(Continental_Congressman)

William Duer (March 18, 1743 – May 7, 1799) was a British-born American lawyer, developer, and 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, he signed the United States Articles of Confederation.

Early life

Duer was born in Devon, Great Britain in 1743. He was the son of John Duer, a planter of Antigua 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, and while still under age, he was put into the army as ensign, and accompanied Robert Clive 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, 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 Dominica. 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, he 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. Duer set up sawmills, warehouses, and a store. In 1773 he went again to England and obtained a contract to supply the Royal Navy 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 Congress 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 in 1777-78; and a member of the Continental Congress 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, 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 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. He went bankrupt as a result of the Panic of 1792, and remained in debtor's prison 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 Army during the American Revolutionary War. The marriage took place at Alexander's country seat, “The Buildings,” near Basking Ridge, New Jersey, 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 was a justice of the New York State Supreme Court, and for many years the President of Columbia University. Another son, John Duer, was a noted lawyer and jurist of New York. William Alexander Duer's son William Duer served in the U.S. Congress.

See also: https://books.google.com/books?id=UqKwn4gtci4C&pg=PA113&lpg=PA113&d... p.111ff.

and

https://books.google.com/books?id=DmcKAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA292&lpg=PA292&d...

William Duer appears as a major character in The Whiskey Rebels, a historical novel by David Liss (Random House, 2008).

From Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders, Vol. 1: "His father was quite wealthy, owning plantations in Antigua and Dominica. William Duer was educated at Eton and commissioned an ensign in the British army. He was appointed aide-de-camp to Lord Clive, and accompanied him when he returned to India as Governor of Bengal in 1764. Duer was not able to withstand the climate, however, and returned to England. Shortly thereafter, upon his father's death, he inherited a share of the paternal plantations and went to the West Indies. In 1768, having obtained a contract to supply masts and spars for the British navy, he visited New York for the purpose of purchasing timber. There he met Philip Schuyler of Albany, on whose advice he purchased an extensive tract of timberland on the Hudson River above Saratoga, New York, and established large sawmills there. He also made other investments. In 1773 he went to England, settled his affairs in that country, and upon his return made the province of New York his home." (...more)

http://www.politicalfamilytree.com/samples%20content/members/signer...

http://www.merchantnetworks.com.au/genealogy/web/duer/pafg03.htm

There appears to be no truth to the theory that the Duer name derived from DeVere "Okay, the only De Vere who supported Charles I was Aubrey, the 20th (and last) Earl of Oxford. Aubrey had no surviving sons (his only son Charles died as an infant). He was an officer with the English Regiment of Foot, but spent most of his time in Holland (as had his father). He only returned to England in 1651, and supported first Charles II and then James. Aubrey did not flee anywhere and did not change his name. He died in England in 1703 at the ripe old age of 76 of natural causes.

Charles I was beheaded in 1649, Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II in 1685. The dates don't segue well with the family tales of coming to Barbados to escape Cromwell's wrath. The first proven visit to Barbados was Stephen's arrival in 1679.

I didn't find online any record of a De Vere changing his name to Duer. The records of the christenings of Stephen (1663) and his father Edward (1635) are plainly recorded as Duer, not De Vere. It's a fanciful story, but I found no evidence to support it." Okay, the only De Vere who supported Charles I was Aubrey, the 20th (and last) Earl of Oxford. Aubrey had no surviving sons (his only son Charles died as an infant). He was an officer with the English Regiment of Foot, but spent most of his time in Holland (as had his father). He only returned to England in 1651, and supported first Charles II and then James. Aubrey did not flee anywhere and did not change his name. He died in England in 1703 at the ripe old age of 76 of natural causes.

Charles I was beheaded in 1649, Cromwell died in 1658 and Charles II in 1685. The dates don't segue well with the family tales of coming to Barbados to escape Cromwell's wrath. The first proven visit to Barbados was Stephen's arrival in 1679.

I didn't find online any record of a De Vere changing his name to Duer. The records of the christenings of Stephen (1663) and his father Edward (1635) are plainly recorded as Duer, not De Vere. It's a fanciful story, but I found no evidence to support it."