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James Greenleaf (June 9, 1765 – September 17, 1843) was an important early American land speculator. A member of a prominent and wealthy Boston family, he married a Dutch noblewoman (whom he later abandoned and then divorced) and was briefly consul at the United States embassy in Amsterdam. Returning to the United States, he engaged in land speculation in the District of Columbia, New York state, and other areas. He was a central figure in the early development of Washington, D.C. 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== James Greenleaf was born on June 9, 1765, in Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States to William and Mary (Brown) Greenleaf.〔(Clark, ''Greenleaf and Law in the Federal City'', p. 211. ) Accessed 2012-10-29.〕〔(Greenleaf, p. 101. ) Accessed 2012-10-29.〕 He was the 12th of 15 children.〔 His father was William Greenleaf, a merchant who was later appointed sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts during the American Revolutionary War.〔(Roberts, et al., p. 407. ) Accessed 2012-10-29.〕 and was a member of the committee of correspondence which secretly communicated with other cities regarding British policy and military actions in the years prior to the American Revolution.〔(Greenleaf, p. 91. ) Accessed 2012-10-29.〕 William Greenleaf announced American independence in July 1776 from the balcony of the Old State House. In the crowd were John Quincy Adams and William Cranch. Adams would later be President of the United States; Cranch would be chief judge of the District of Columbia circuit court and the second reporter of decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States.〔 The Greenleafs were Huguenots who fled France, anglicizing their family name (Feuillevert) to Greenleaf. Greenleaf's great-great-grandfather, Edmund, was born in 1574 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. His great-grandfather, Stephen, was born there in 1628, and the entire family emigrated to Newbury, Massachusetts, in 1635.〔(Greenleaf, p. 71, 78-70. ) Accessed 2012-10-29.〕 The Greenleaf family became one of the best connected in early American history. His sister, Rebecca, married Noah Webster (who created the first American dictionary). Another married Nathaniel Appleton, the noted minister and a trustee of Harvard University. His sister Margaret married Thomas Dawes, a member of the powerful Massachusetts Governor's Council, while his sister Abigail married William Cranch. The family's descendants also played a large role in American literature. The celebrated poet John Greenleaf Whittier was descended from James' great-grandfather, Stephen. The 20th century poet T. S. Eliot was a descendant of Abigail Greenleaf Cranch.〔Snyder, p. 87.〕 Little is known about Greenleaf's early life or education. In 1781, when James was 16, his father retired from business and the Greenleaf family moved to New Bedford, Massachusetts. Seven years later, Greenleaf left Massachusetts and moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Noah Webster introduced him to businessman James Watson,〔Kendall, p. 142.〕 and the two men established an import business, Watson & Greenleaf. The firm had offices in Philadelphia and New York City.〔(Clark, ''Records of the Columbia Historical Society'', p. 214. ) Accessed 2012-10-30.〕 After his business was incorporated, Greenleaf traveled to the Netherlands, where he tried to sell American bonds.〔Livermore, p. 164, fn. 66.〕〔At least one source says Greenleaf left for the Netherlands in the mid-1780s, not in 1788. See: Smith and Goebel, p. 151, fn. 72.〕 According to John Quincy Adams, who was in Amsterdam at the same time, Greenleaf rented a magnificent mansion and immediately began circulating in high society.〔 Greenleaf was in Amsterdam from January 31, 1789, through August 1793, where he conducted business with Daniel Crommelin & Sons (a major Dutch investment banking house marketing American bonds).〔Livermore, p. 164-165, fn. 66.〕 He sold nearly two million bonds during this time, as well as $160,000 worth of stock in the Bank of the United States (a central bank established by the United States federal government).〔Livermore, p. 165, fn. 66.〕 He amassed a fortune worth $1 million, a very large sum at the time.〔Roberts and Schmidt, p. 15.〕〔Berg, p. 206.〕〔Historian Joshua Kendall pegs the figure at $1.3 million, or about $400 million in 2010 inflated-adjusted dollars. See: Kendall, p. 165.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「James Greenleaf」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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