Alexander Chalmers was born in 1645, in
Dyce,
Kingdom of Scotland (now part of the
United Kingdom). At some point he converted to
Catholicism. He emigrated to the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1659, at the age of 14. He eventually settled in the city of
Old Warsaw (now part of
Warsaw,
Poland). There he married Krystyne Legowna and they both engaged in the textile trade. They both became citizens of the city in 1672. Some sources list the name of his spouse as Christina Lang instead. He also began using
Polonised version of his name, which was
Aleksander Czamer. In 1676, King
John III Sobieski confirmed the rights of the eight Scottish merchants who served his court, including Chalmers. He was also a leader of the Scottish community in Old Warsaw. While deputy mayor, he went into conflict with the
Dominican Order, which organized congregation in the city without paying fees. It led to the riot in November 1767, near the
St. Hyacinth's Church. One person died during the riot, and the aftermath led to long-lasting disagreement between the city and the
Catholic Church. The court organized after the riot, decided in favour of Dominican Order, and removed Chalmers from his position, and barred him from holding public offices for the following three years. He owned the
Falkiewicz Tenement building located at 28
Old Town Market Place, and the
Shoemakers Tenement, located at 10
Wąski Dunaj Street. In 1690, the city authorities decided to grant Alexander and his wife, Christina Lang, a piece of land in perpetuity for an annual fee of 20
florins. == Legacy ==