Alexander Duncan (1805-1889)
of Providence, Rhode Island & Knossington Grange, Leicestershire
He went to America as a young man in 1821, graduating from Yale Law School. He was called to the Bar in the State of New York, naturalized as an American, and later established himself in business at Providence, Rhode Island, co-founding the banking firm of Duncan, Sherman & Co., of New York. His success allowed him to buy Knossington Grange (see images) in England, a large mansion built of stone in the Tudor-Revival style. It stands at the north-west corner of the village and is surrounded by gardens and plantations. The house was begun by Francis Thursby about 1864, but he died before it was finished. Duncan bought the property in 1867, finished the building, and lived there until 1883. His son, Alexander Lauderdale Duncan, enlarged the house in 1895. Alfred Hassall Straker lived in the Grange until 1924, and his widow until 1948. After her death, it was sold in 1949. Since 1955 it has served as a preparatory boarding school. It is now the Knossington Grange Therapeutic School.
