April 26, 1726, 300 years ago: William Alexander is born in Manhattan. He held a claim to be the male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling, through Scottish lineage, being the senior male descendant of the paternal grandfather of an earlier William Alexander, the 1st Earl of Stirling, who had died in 1640, and he sought the title sometime after 1756. The goal was vast land holdings in America that the holder of the title was to enjoy.
His claim was initially granted by a Scottish court in 1759. But in 1762, Britain's House of Lords overruled the court, and denied him the title. He continued to refer to himself "Lord Stirling" regardless. Officially, the British government considers the title of Earl of Stirling to have tied out with Henry Alexander, the 5th Earl, in 1739.
He inherited a large fortune from his father, dabbled in mining and agriculture, and lived a life filled with the trappings befitting a Scottish lord. This was an expensive lifestyle, and he eventually went into debt to finance it.
In 1747, he married Sarah Livingston (1725–1805), daughter of Philip Livingston and sister of Governor William Livingston. They had a son, William; and 2 daughters, Mary and Catherine.
The elder William began building a grand estate in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, Somerset County, New Jersey. Upon its completion, sold his house in New York and moved there. George Washington was a guest there on several occasions during the War of the American Revolution, and gave away Catherine at her wedding to Continental Congressman William Duer.
He was commissioned a Major General in the Continental Army, and commanded a brigade at the Battle of Long Island in Brooklyn, where his rearguard action resulted in his capture, but allowed the main body of the army to escape. He was later returned by prisoner exchange, received a promotion, and continued to serve with distinction throughout the war. Trusted by Washington, in 1778 he commanded troops at the Battle of Monmouth Courthouse in Manalapan, New Jersey, and exposed the Conway Cabal. He was with Washington when he accepted the British surrender at the Battle of Yorktown in 1781.
By that point, he was suffering from gout and rheumatism, and his heavy drinking didn't help. He died on January 15, 1783 in Albany, New York, and did not live to see the official end of the war, with the Treaty of Paris.
His grandson, William Alexander Duer, served as President of Columbia University, which was built on land owned by the Livingston family. He was also an ancestor of General Philip Kearny Sr. and General Philip Kearny Jr.
Stirling Township in Somerset County, near his home in Basking Ridge, and Sterling, Massachusetts were named for him. So were a middle school built on land once occupied by the Long Island battlefield, in the Gowanus section of Brooklyn; and an elementary school in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where he had once been stationed.
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