James Greenleaf

James Greenleaf (June 9, 1765 – September 17, 1843) was a late 18th and early 19th century American land speculator responsible for the development of Washington, D.C., after the city was designated as the nation's capital following passage of the Residence Act in 1790. A member of a prominent and wealthy Boston family, he married a Dutch noblewoman, who he later abandoned and then divorced, and served briefly as consul at the United States embassy in Amsterdam. After his return to the United States, Greenleaf engaged in land speculation in Washington, D.C., New York state, and other areas. His land business collapsed in 1797, and he spent a year in debtor's prison. He married a wealthy Pennsylvania heiress after his release, and spent the remainder of his life in genteel poverty, fending off lawsuits. Early life and education Greenleaf was born on June 9, 1765, in Boston, Massachusetts to William and Mary (Brown) Greenleaf. He was the 12th of 15 children. His father William Greenleaf was a merchant who was appointed Sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War. 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. In July 1776, following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, Greenleaf announced American independence from the balcony of the Old State House in Boston. Among the crowd assembled for the announcement in Boston were John Quincy Adams and William Cranch. Adams was later elected President of the United States; Cranch was appointed as Chief Justice of the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia and the second Reporter of Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Greenleafs were Huguenots who fled France for England, seeking to escape religious persecution. They anglicized their family name of Feuillevert to Greenleaf. Greenleaf's great grandfather Edmund was born in 1574, in Ipswich in Suffolk, England. His great grandfather Stephen was born there in 1628. The entire family emigrated to Newbury, Massachusetts in 1635.