[3] Colden was born on August 13, 1716, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in what was then a part of British America.
[6] In 1751, he was appointed Joint Surveyor General of the Province of New York with his father, and succeeded him in that office from 1761 to 1762.
[4] Colden was one of the founders and an original member of the Saint Andrew's Society of the State of New York, serving as president from 1764 to 1766.
[6] Colden was married to Elizabeth Nicolls (1720–1774), the second daughter of Richard Nicholls and Margaret Tudor.
Together, Alexander and Elizabeth were the parents of: Colden died in 1774, at Spring Hill in Flushing, New York.