Bollan, William (1710?–1782), colonial agent and lawyer, was born in England and emigrated from there to America while a teenager. He pursued a legal career by studying as an apprentice under the tutelage of Massachusetts attorney Robert Auchmuty. Little is known of Bollan’s early life and career. However, by 1733 he had begun to gain prominence as an attorney, as evidenced by his acquisition of Harvard College and Boston’s Anglican parish, King’s Chapel, as clients. Bollan was an Anglican, which placed him in a religious minority in Congregational-dominated Boston. By the mid-1730s he had begun to venture into land speculation in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island....
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Bollan, William (1710?–1782), colonial agent and lawyer
Ronald Lettieri
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Dulany, Daniel (1685-1753), lawyer and officeholder
Gregory A. Stiverson
Dulany, Daniel (1685–05 December 1753), lawyer and officeholder, was born in Queen’s County, Ireland, the son of Thomas Dulany (occupation unknown). His mother’s name is unknown. He is often called Daniel Dulany, the Elder, to distinguish him from his son Daniel Dulany, Jr....
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Ingersoll, Jared (1722-1781), lawyer and royal official
Ann Gorman Condon
Ingersoll, Jared (23 June 1722–25 August 1781), lawyer and royal official, was born in Milford, Connecticut, the son of Jonathan Ingersoll, a joiner, and Sarah Miles. Ingersoll went to Yale, graduating in 1742 but able to stay on at the college for another year of study, thanks to a Berkeley scholarship. He then prepared for the law and in 1743 married Hannah Whiting, the daughter of a prominent New Haven family....
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Jamison, David (1660-1739), colonial lawyer and provincial official
Ronald W. Howard
Jamison, David (1660–26 July 1739), colonial lawyer and provincial official, was born in Scotland and probably went to college there. Nothing is known for certain regarding his parentage or early life. His coming to New York in 1685 was hardly auspicious. Jamison was expelled from his native country and transported to America because of his association with religious zealots known as the “Sweet Singers.” Their defiance of both Anglican orthodoxy and the restored Stuart monarchy landed them in jail, from whence they were deported. However, his arrest in Scotland, transportation to New York, and subsequent servitude apparently wrought a change in Jamison’s attitude. Far from remaining the religious and political outcast, he diligently sought acceptance....
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Van der Donck, Adriaen (1620-1655), colonial officer and attorney
Edward L. Lach, Jr.
Van der Donck, Adriaen (07 May 1620–1655), colonial officer and attorney, was born in Breda, Province of North Brabant, Holland, the son of Cornelis van der Donck, occupation unknown, and Agatha van Bergen van der Donck. After beginning his education in his hometown, he entered the University of Leyden in about 1638 and studied law. While searching for employment Van der Donck came to the attention of Kiliaen Van Rensselaer, an Amsterdam diamond merchant who also happened to be a director of the powerful Dutch West India Company. The company had sought to increase the number of permanent residents at its operations in New Netherland through the granting of patroonships, which entitled the patroon to near-feudal lord status over a large parcel of land within the territory in exchange for the establishment of settlers. While many such patroonships were contemplated, Van Rensselaer's manor, Rensselaerswyck (located in what is today Albany and Rensselaer counties in New York state), was the only one that was successfully established. Impressed by Van der Donck, Van Rensselaer commissioned him ...
