Benjamin Dulany
Benjamin Tasker Dulany
b. 1752 · d. 1816
Maryland-born merchant and planter with extensive landholdings on both sides of the Potomac, including Shuter’s Hill west of Alexandria. His household straddled the social world of late-colonial Alexandria and the plantation economy of Fairfax County.
Benjamin Tasker Dulany inherited part of the large Dulany family estate in Maryland and married Elizabeth French, heiress to a substantial tract west of Alexandria. Their residence, Shuter’s Hill, sat on the high ground later occupied by the George Washington Masonic Memorial [1] Miller, Artisans and Merchants, 1991 Book .
Dulany’s commercial interests in Alexandria included warehouses along the waterfront and participation in the town’s merchant community during the years that saw Alexandria incorporated into the new District of Columbia in 1801. His household held enslaved persons and his surviving estate papers record their names in inventories [2] Powell, History of Old Alexandria, 1928 Book .
Associated places
- 1839–1845
The Alexandria merchant class, including Dulany family members active in local civic life, subscribed to the Lyceum's lecture series.
- 1840–1845
Dulany family descendants held stock in the Alexandria Canal Company at the time of its opening.
Sources
- 1.
T. Michael Miller, Artisans and Merchants of Alexandria, Virginia 1780-1820, Heritage Books, 1991.
Book
- 2.
Mary G. Powell, The History of Old Alexandria, Virginia, from July 13, 1749 to May 24, 1861, Richmond: William Byrd Press, 1928.
Book
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