Alexander Henderson (1738 – 22 November 1815) was a colonial merchant, born in Glasgow, Scotland who came to Colchester, Virginia in 1756. He served in the Virginia militia during the American Revolution. He was a member of the Virginia General Assembly and a Virginia delegate to the Mount Vernon Conference in 1785 which led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787. He also served as a vestryman at Pohick Church and a magistrate of Fairfax and Prince William Counties.
Henderson moved to Dumfries, Virginia in 1787, where his home still stands. There he opened a store with additional outlets later opening in Colchester, Occoquan, and Alexandria and leading him to be considered the "father of the American chain store."[1]
Henderson was the father of Archibald Henderson, the longest-serving Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, who served from 1820 to 1859.