Alexander Macomb (merchant)

Alexander Macomb (1748–1831) was a prosperous American merchant and land speculator, who purchased nearly four million acres from New York after the American Revolutionary War. A Loyalist sympathizer, he operated from New York City after the war. Before the New York purchase, he had speculated on land in North Carolina, Kentucky and Georgia. He was unable to sell the New York land fast enough to meet his debts and never regained his fortune.
Early life and education
Alexander Macomb was born in Ballynure, a tiny rural village in County Antrim, Ireland, in 1748. His merchant father John Macomb had immigrated from Ireland to New York about 1742, and removed to Albany, New York, in 1745. Macomb and his mother joined his father there. Macomb and his brother William also became merchants and fur traders, operating around the Great Lakes as far west as Detroit.
Career
In Detroit, Michigan during the American Revolution, Macomb and his brother...