James Greenleaf, after making his fortune selling…
1793 CE
He is present at the laying of the cornerstone of the United States Capitol on September 18, at which time he meets President George Washington.
Greenleaf quickly ingratiates himself with several of Washington's closest friends.
One of these is Tobias Lear, who had served as Washington's secretary from 1785 to June 1793.
Greenleaf provides seed money for Lear's mercantile venture, Tobias Lear & Co., in 1793.
Another is Thomas Johnson, whom Washington had appointed as one of three commissioners of the District of Columbia.
Greenleaf purchases fifteen thousand acres (sixty-one square kilometers) of Johnson's land in Frederick County, Maryland, for $14,000 in September.
The Residence Act of 1790, which had established the site for the nation's capital, provided for the appointment of three commissioners by the President (and without the need for Senate confirmation) to govern the District of Columbia, survey its land, purchase property from private landowners, and construct federal buildings.
Greenleaf purchases three thousand city lots from the commissioners on September 23, 1793.
The city offers him the lots at $66.50 each, a significant discount from the going price of $200 to $300 per lot.
To get this low price, Greenleaf is required to construct seventy homes on the lots before 1800, not sell any of the land before 1796, and lend the commissioners $2,200 a month until certain public buildings are constructed.
To raise money to improve the lots, Greenleaf executea a power of attorney on November 2, 1793, with Sylvanus Bourne, the American vice consul in Amsterdam.
Bourne, who had served as vice consul in Amsterdam under Greenleaf, is empowered to sell lots or obtain mortgages on them.
On November 19, 1793, Greenleaf moves into the Pearl Street home of Noah Webster in New York City.
The September 23 agreement with the commissioners is superseded by a new one on December 24, 1793.
For this agreement, Greenleaf has a new business partner, Robert Morris.
Morris, already legendary in the United States, is a merchant who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution.
He was Chairman of the Pennsylvania Committee of Safety during the Revolutionary War, and was a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, and was Superintendent of Finance for the fledgling United States.
Next to General George Washington, he is considered "the most powerful man in America."
At the time he becomes Greenleaf's business partner, he is one of Pennsylvania's original United States senators (his term will end in 1795).
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