Duer, William, 1747-1799

DUER, William, (Grandfather of William Duer [1805-1879]), a Delegate from New York; born in Devonshire, England, March 18, 1747; completed preparatory studies and attended Eton College (England); in 1765 became aide-de-camp to Lord Clive, Governor General of India; immigrated to America in 1768 and settled in Fort Miller, N.Y.; appointed justice of the peace on July 1, 1773; first judge of Charlotte (now Washington) County; built the first saw and grist mills at Fort Miller, and later erected a snuff mill and a powder mill; was prominent in the Revolutionary movement; member of the Provincial Congress in 1776 and 1777; served in the State senate in 1777; appointed judge of the court of common pleas in 1777 and reappointed in 1778; moved to Fishkill, N.Y., and later to what is now Paterson, N.J., where he erected the first cotton mill; Member of the Continental Congress in 1777 and 1778; moved to New York City in 1783; served as a member of the State assembly in 1786; assistant secretary of the treasury department 1789-1790; died in New York City April 18, 1799; interment in the family vault under the old church of St. Thomas; reinterment in Jamaica, Long Island, N.Y.

<p>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 and is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States.</p>

<p>Duer was born in Devon, Great Britain, in 1743. He was the son of John Duer, a planter in Antigua in the West Indies, 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.</p>

<p>Duer was educated at Eton College, and while still under age, was put into the army as ensign. He accompanied Robert Clive 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.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>12/31/1777 NY Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>06/01/1777 NY State Senate - Eastern Won 13.81% (+0.00%)</li>
<li>12/31/1776 NY Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
</ul>

William Duer was the patriotic progenitor of a family which has long been distinguished in New York city. Besides having been a member of that Congress which framed the Articles of Confederation, he took an active part in local resistance to the British authorities at New York, and held a number of important civil offices after the Revolution. Some of his descendants have risen to distinction in judicial and congressional life.