Alsop, John, 1724-1794

John Alsop Jr. (1724 – November 22, 1794) was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from New York City. As a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1776, he signed the 1774 Continental Association.

Born in New Windsor, Orange County in the British Province of New York, Alsop moved to New York City as a young man and entered the mercantile world with his brother Richard. Their enterprise prospered, and the Alsops, for several generations, became one of the great merchant houses of the city. During the first phases of the American Revolution, the Province of New York Assembly could not reach a conclusion about the Continental Congress. As a result, delegates were selected by the revolutionary committees in each county. In 1774, Alsop, along with James Duane, John Jay, Philip Livingston, and Isaac Low, was named as a delegate. When the Congress convened on September 5, Jay presented their credentials, and the Congress accepted.

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