His father (1727–1776) and son were also named Richard Alsop, which has led to confusion in historical sources.

[1] He was a member of the literary group called the Hartford Wits, and contributed verse to the Political Greenhouse and the Echo.

Although he translated a work on Chile (largely from an Italian edition), he never traveled to South America or anywhere else abroad.

(The Richard Alsop who made a fortune trading in Peru and Chile in the 1820s was his son.)

He married Mary Wyllis and died on August 20, 1815, in Long Island, New York.