Alexander McDOUGALL, Congress, NY (1731-1786)

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.

Bibliography

MacDougall, William L. American Revolutionary: A Biography of General Alexander McDougall. Foreword by Richard B. Morris. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1977.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present