McDougall, Alexander, 1732-1786

MCDOUGALL, Alexander, a Delegate from New York; born in the Parish of Kildalton, on the island of Islay, Scotland, in 1731; immigrated to the United States in 1740, with his parents, who settled in New York; commanded two privateers during the war with France in 1756; at the conclusion of peace engaged in mercantile pursuits; was imprisoned as the author of Revolutionary pamphlets; member of the provincial convention in April 1775; served in the Revolutionary War; commissioned colonel of the First New York Infantry June 30, 1775; promoted to brigadier general, Continental Army, August 9, 1776; and major general October 20, 1777, and served until the close of the war; Member of the Continental Congress in 1781; member of the state senate from 1783 until his death; first president of the New York Society of the Cincinnati; first president of the Bank of New York; died in New York City June 9, 1786; interment in the family vault in the First Presbyterian Church, New York City.

<p>Alexander McDougall (1732 – 9 June 1786) was a Scottish-born American seaman, merchant, a Sons of Liberty leader from New York City before and during the American Revolution, and a military leader during the Revolutionary War. He served as a major general in the Continental Army, and as a delegate to the Continental Congress. After the war, he was the president of the first bank in the state of New York and served a term in the New York State Senate.</p>

<p>McDougall was born on the Isle of Islay, in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland in the summer of 1732. He was one of the five children of Ranald and Elizabeth McDougall. In 1738 the family emigrated to New York as part of a party led by a British Army veteran, Captain Lachlan Campbell. Campbell had described fertile land available near Fort Edward, but when they arrived in New York City, they discovered that Lachlan had been awarded a patent for about 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) and expected them to become tenants to his estate. Ranald withdrew and found work on a dairy farm on the island of Manhattan. The family prospered and young Alexander began his commercial career as a delivery boy for milk in New York.</p>

<p>In around 1745, when he was fourteen, Alexander signed on as a merchant seaman. He worked on a number of vessels, and then in 1751 he returned to Great Britain for 4 months.</p>

<ul><b>RACES</b>
<li>12/31/1780 NY Continental Congress Won 100.00% (+100.00%)</li>
<li>06/01/1777 NY Governor Lost 0.03% (-48.26%)</li>
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