Duer was born in county of 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. Duer was educated at Eton, 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.
Career
Having left the army, Duer went to Antigua. He traveled to New York State, for the first time in 1768, to arrange for a regular and constant supply of lumber for his plantations in Antigua and Dominica. As a planter, he traded extensively with Philip Schuyler, who persuaded him to move to New York early in the 1770s. On a previous trip to the area, Duer had purchased tracts of land on the upper Hudson River near Albany. The area, known as Fort Miller, served both as Duer's first residence and as the site of his early financial ventures. Duer set up sawmills, warehouses, and a store. In 1773 he returned to England, where he obtained a contract to supply the Royal Navy with timber for masts and spars. By 1776, had built a moderately successful mercantile business based primarily on lumber production.
American Revolution
Duer was originally a moderate Whig, somewhat reluctant to become involved in active resistance to the British government. But he became a member of the Provincial Congress in 1775; he was one of the committee which drafted the original New York Constitution the next year. Duer was a member of the 1st New York State Legislature, serving in the New York State Senate for the Eastern District from September 9, 1777 to June 30, 1778. He served as a member of the Continental Congress in 1778 and 1779. While in Congress, he reportedly impressed future president John Adams and financier Robert Morris from Philadelphia, with whom he served on the finance committees as well as the "Board of War," the precursor to the War Department. In 1779, Duer returned to private business, in partnership with John Holker, the French commercial agent. He also did well in his business of supplying the American army, under contracts arranged for him by Robert Morris.
Later life
Duer became a prominent speculator after the peace; he was also elected to the New York General Assembly in 1786. When Alexander Hamilton, Schuyler's son-in-law, became first Secretary of the Treasury in 1789, Duer became the first Assistant Secretary. He continued to speculate in American bonds, including the failed Scioto Company scheme to buy up the American debt to France at a discount. Duer went bankrupt as a result of the Panic of 1792, and was held in debtor's prison for the rest of his life. His failure has been cited as a cause of the panic, reportedly the first in New York caused by speculation. The loss was estimated at $3,000,000, and impoverished many in all classes.
Maria Theodora Duer, who married Beverly Chew in 1810.
Henrietta Elizabeth Duer, who married Morris Robinson, brother of Beverley Robinson.
Alexander Duer, who married Ann Maria Westcott, daughter of Col. and New York State Senator David M. Westcott, in 1815.
Duer died in New York City on April 18, 1799 at the age of 57. He was buried in the family vault under the old church of St. Thomas, and later reinterred in Jamaica, Long Island, New York. After his death, his widow remarried to William Neilson on September 15, 1801.
Descendants
Through his eldest son William, he was the grandfather of Denning Duer, great-grandfather of James Gore King Duer, and the great-great-grandfather of Alice Duer Miller, the feminist poet and writer. Through his son John, he was the grandfather of William Duer who served in the U.S. Congress representing New York.
Duer was featured as a figure in the 1986 television series , where he was portrayed by Richard Fancy. Duer appears as a major character in The Whiskey Rebels, a historical novel by David Liss. Duer is mentioned in Billions, season 5, chapter 6; as the reason why stock exchange market was created in the United States, to keep him out for being a "crook and a market manipulator".
