William Alexander papers

1709-1835 [bulk 1762-1812]

William Alexander (1726-1783) of New York City, popularly known as Lord Stirling, was a merchant, public official, the first governor of King's (Columbia) College, and a soldier in the American Revolution. He joined the British army at the onset of the French and Indian War, acting as commissary, aide and secretary to Governor William Shirley. In 1757 the House of Lords officially revoked his appeal as rightful heir of the earldom of Stirling; despite the ruling, Alexander assumed the title of Lord Stirling. On his return to America in 1761 he was made a member of the New Jersey Council and he acted as surveyor-general and assistant to the governor of the colony. He subsequently became the leader of the first New Jersey Regiment of the Revolutionary army. Alexander fought throughout the war in the Battles of Long Island, Trenton, Princeton, Matouchin, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. In 1781 Alexander took command of a battalion in Albany, New York, and two years later he died after preliminary peace negotiations were drafted. Collection consists of correspondence and documents dealing with personal, legal and commercial matters. Correspondence, ca. 1762-1779, includes Alexander's incoming and outgoing mail with some supplementary copies and facsimiles of letters held in other repositories. Core of the collection contains letters, ca. 1753-1835, exchanged between well-known merchants of the day. Also, legal and commercial papers, ca. 1790-1833, relating to Alexander, his family and his business associates.