Alexander Duncan (1805 - 1889)

Born 26 Mar 1805 in Parkhill, Angus, Scotland, United Kingdom

Husband of Sarah (Butler) Duncan — married 11 Oct 1827 in Trinity Church, New Haven, Connecticut, United States

Died 14 Oct 1889 at age 84 in London, England

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Brenda Rutherford [send private message]

Biography

Alexander came to the US in 1822, studying at Yale College. After marrying Sarah in 1827, he practiced law in upper New York state until 1839 when he and his family moved to Providence Rhode Island to assume control of his wife's family banking business upon the death of her brother, William.

Alexander was a close friend of the English writer and educator Eliza Fenwick. Eliza and family were frequent summer vacation visitors to his home in Canandaigua, New York.

Alexander Duncan Home in Canandaigua

When Eliza retired from her position at King's College in Toronto, she accepted an invitation from the Duncan's to live with him and his family at their new home in Sodus Bay on the shores of Lake Ontario. Eliza's granddaughter Elizabeth Rutherford came with her to act as governess for the Duncan's little girls.

Duncan Home in Sodus Bay^[1]

When the death of his wife's brother necessitated the Duncan's removal to Providence in 1839, Eliza and her granddaughter accompanied them.

The Duncan's were still living in Providence in 1860, but by the 1871 England Census, they had moved to London, England.

Alexander died in 1889 in London, England, less than a year after he lost his wife of sixty one years. His estate was valued at nearly 30,000 pounds. He is buried in Knossington Church Yard, Leicestershire, England. He also has a cenotaph in the North Burial Ground, Providence, Providence County, Rhode Island, USA.

Sources

• 1850 US Federal Census, Rhode Island, Providence, Providence Ward 1, pg.140 of 172.

• 1860 US Federal Census, Rhode Island, Providence, Providence Ward 1, pg. 223 of 236.

• 1871 England Census, Leicestershire, Knossington, District 2, pg. 9 of 14.

• 1881 England Census, London, St Margaret, District 18, pg. 4 of 73.

• England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1890, D, Du, pg. 24 of 50.

• Find A Grave Memorial #12621437.

• Correspondence from Eliza Fenwick to Reuben Moffatt, New York.

• sketch from: "The Biographical Cyclopedia of Representative Men of Rhode Island" pub. 1881 Providence, by National Biographical Publishing Co., 2 Vols. (FHL film 1,730,859; SLC 6/18/2008) Pg.316., added by Brett Rutherford Dec 22, 2014

• Canandaigua home photo courtesy of Bed & Breakfast at Oliver Phelps.

• Photo of Sodus Bay home from Wikimedia Commons,

1. ↑ Part of Alasa Farms or The Sodus Bay Shaker Tract, the home was originally built and occupied by the Shakers. Now known as the Deacon's House, it was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2009.