70 Facts About James Greenleaf

James Greenleaf was a late 18th and early 19th century American land speculator responsible for the development of Washington, DC, after the city was designated as the nation's capital following passage of the Residence Act in 1790.

James Greenleaf married a wealthy Pennsylvania heiress after his release, and spent the remainder of his life in genteel poverty, fending off lawsuits.

James Greenleaf's father William Greenleaf was a merchant who was appointed Sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War.

James Greenleaf was a member of the committee of correspondence, which communicated secretly with other cities regarding British policy and military actions and was a core base of support for the American Revolution.

James Greenleaf's great-grandfather Edmund was born in 1574, in Ipswich in Suffolk, England.

The James Greenleaf family was among the best connected in early American history.

The poet John Greenleaf Whittier was descended from James' great-grandfather Stephen.

In 1781, when he was 16, his father retired from business and the James Greenleaf family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts.

James Greenleaf sold nearly two million bonds during this time and $160,000 worth of stock in the Bank of the United States, a central bank established by the US federal government.

James Greenleaf amassed a fortune worth $1 million, a very large sum at the time.

James Greenleaf associated with Thomas Johnson, who Washington had appointed as one of three commissioners of the District of Columbia.

Bourne, who served as vice consul in Amsterdam under James Greenleaf, was empowered to sell lots or obtain mortgages on them.

James Greenleaf then turned to Morris, then the richest man in America and a speculator in millions of acres of land.

James Greenleaf purchased the western portion of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase.

At least 1,500 of these lots were required to be in the northeast quadrant of Washington, DC, but James Greenleaf could take his pick of lots anywhere else in the city for the remainder.

James Greenleaf purchased 239.25 lots east of Georgetown from local landowners Uriah Forrest and Benjamin Stoddert.

James Greenleaf relied on his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Appleton, for assistance with his land purchases.

Sources differ on whether James Greenleaf traveled to the Netherlands in 1794 or stayed in Philadelphia and New York City during the year.

James Greenleaf continued to be active in land speculation in New York state in addition to his speculation elsewhere in the US In 1791, New York merchant Alexander Macomb purchased 4,000,000 acres from New York state, a tract known as "Macomb's Purchase".

James Greenleaf purchased a cargo of tea from Rhode Island merchant John Brown, whose family funded and lent its name to Brown University.

James Greenleaf paid for the cargo partly in cash, and took out a mortgage with Philip Livingston in 1795 on the Angerstein land to pay for the remainder.

Angerstein was unhappy as well, upset that Ward had sold 210,000 acres and that James Greenleaf had mortgaged the property.

James Greenleaf had co-signed for loans taken out by Morris and Nicholson.

Under the agreement, James Greenleaf's shares were not to be transferred to Morris and Nicholson until the fourth annual payment was received.

James Greenleaf later purchased 541 NALC shares on the open market and was again elected secretary of the company.

James Greenleaf sent agents throughout Europe to try to find investors, but found few takers.

James Greenleaf's funds were exhausted and he unable to pay even a single debt by 1797.

James Greenleaf was sentenced to serve time in the Philadelphia Debtors' Prison.

From 1797 to 1843, James Greenleaf was a party, plaintiff, or defendant in six lawsuits, which proceeded to the US Supreme Court.

James Greenleaf successfully defended himself in all six of the cases.

James Greenleaf spent Christmas 1830 at the Washington, DC home of his brother-in-law, William Cranch.

In 1831, or shortly before, James Greenleaf constructed a two-story wooden house on the corner of 1st and C Streets NE in Washington, DC, just around the corner from William Cranch's home.

James Greenleaf's property included a stable with two horses and some cows.

James Greenleaf grew mulberry trees, a widower acted as his housekeeper and cook, and her son-in-law worked as his gardener.

James Greenleaf owned a small farm of perhaps an acre or less at 6th Street and Virginia Avenue, SW.

James Greenleaf associated with childhood friends John Quincy Adams, William Cranch, and Cranch's wife Nancy, who was Greenleaf's sister, and attended the Unitarian Church.

James Greenleaf otherwise had few friends and did not socialize much, preferring to spend most of his time sleeping, eating, and reading in the library on the ground floor of his home.

James Greenleaf continued to make occasional visits to Allentown to see his wife.

At the time he knew James Greenleaf, Robinson was still in his early 20s.

James Greenleaf's health did not decline too much and the illness seemed minor.

James Greenleaf's health deteriorated rapidly over the next few hours, and he died in the early morning hours of September 17,1843, at age 78.

Ann James Greenleaf continued to live in her Allentown mansion for the next eight years.

James Greenleaf was originally buried in the family vault in the Christ Church cemetery in Allentown.

James Greenleaf's remains were later moved to North Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

In 1788, James Greenleaf married Dutch Baroness Antonia Cornelia Elbertine Scholten van Aschat et Oud-Haarlem.

James Greenleaf was a member of a powerful Dutch banking family, and noble-born.

James Greenleaf said that, in 1796, he and the baroness made love soon after his arrival in Amsterdam.

James Greenleaf made it clear that neither had seduced the other.

James Greenleaf said that his wife's maid soon revealed that there had been no pregnancy.

James Greenleaf says his wife later tried to commit suicide after which he separated from her.

Historian Allen Clark, who in the late 19th century interviewed James Greenleaf's contemporaries, dismissed the account of deception and said that the couple fell in love and, after a three-month romance, married.

Congress did not pass one until the Bankruptcy Act of 1800, so James Greenleaf was forced to apply for bankruptcy in each state where he had conducted business.

James Greenleaf first applied for bankruptcy in Pennsylvania on March 10,1798, although his debts were not settled and his case was not discharged there until March 1804.

In 1802, James Greenleaf applied for bankruptcy under the new federal bankruptcy law.

James Greenleaf came from a wealthy and famous family; her father was James Allen, a prominent businessman and political figure in Allentown.

James Greenleaf's grandfather was William Allen, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and founder of Allentown.

James Greenleaf's mother was Elizabeth Lawrence, daughter of Tench Francis Sr.

James Greenleaf's parents forbade her to marry, but she eloped.

Dale forced his way into the Greenleaf home, and James had him arrested.

The primary James Greenleaf home from 1800 to 1807 was a large mansion in Allentown located at the corner of 5th and Hamilton Streets.

James Greenleaf helped promoted the construction of a bridge across the Lehigh River.

From 1807 to 1828, James Greenleaf listed his primary residence as Philadelphia.

James Greenleaf spent much of the last 40 years of his life defending himself from lawsuits, and he returned to Washington regularly to defend himself in these cases.

James Greenleaf made his first trip back to Washington on August 17,1799, and returned repeatedly to the city between 1800 and 1828.

James Greenleaf usually stayed two weeks, advertising in the National Intelligencer his arrivals and departures.

James Greenleaf usually stayed at either Davis' Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Captain Wharton's boarding house on F Street NW, or Miss Heyer's boarding house on New Jersey Avenue SE.

Little of James Greenleaf Point was developed by the time James Greenleaf was forced into bankruptcy.

Twenty half-finished structures, begun by James Greenleaf, clustered around high land on South Capitol Street.

In 1871, an existing red brick schoolhouse at that location was renamed the "James Greenleaf Building" a name "suggested by [its] location" in the James Greenleaf part of Washington.

James Greenleaf provided critical financial support to Noah Webster during Webster's financially distressed early years.