1307 New Hamshire Ave NW

Today I went to the Columbia Historical Society in Washington D.C. to get some background info on Greenleaf's Point and to examine any records that they might have of use to my thesis paper. While the library and volunteer were quite helpful, little resources helped with the women. One item of note is that the CHS is currently preparing something on James Greenleaf. Although there was enough secondary materials to make the trip at least somewhat productive their were no primary documents of use.

Some things that I did find out were interesting. Taken from the Special Bicententiial Issue Washington D.C. 1791-1991 Washington History Magazine of CHS Spring Summer 1991 "Tracking the Speculators: Greenleaf and Nicholson in the Federal City" by BOB ARNEBECK. THis article was written following the publication of his book "Through a Fiery Trial "

1. Baroness Antonia Cornelia Elbertine Scholten Van Aschot et Oud Haarlem: [ James Greenleaf's wife]

Arnebeck writes " James Greenleaf claimed that his Dutch wife, the Baroness tricked him into marriage. [Arnebeck refers to her claims of premarital preganancy. After the two married she supposedly miscarried. Greenleaf claimed it was a trick to get him to marry her]. Greenleaf's enemies claimed this member of a predominent Dutch banking family was a conquest in his scheme to obtain Dutch Capital for speculation in Am. real estate." pg 114. After she attempted suicide, Greenleaf obtained a divorce in Deleware in 1796 (the state with the most liberal divorce codes) The Divorce Papers are located within the North American Company Land Records: Sept 3. 1796.

2. Wheat Row: In this article Arnebeck is MUCH MORE FAVORABLE TO CLARK than in his book. Unfortunately for Dr. P he identifies Wheat Row as being build and designed by Joseph Clark. He attributes the oldest existent structure to Clark on page 119. He also writes:

"The speculators refused to take responsibility for what they ahd begun. The four houses on Fourt St. SW known as Wheat Row, are touted by some today as architectural gems. Greenleaf said he was so shocked at their puny size and expense that he refused to pay the builder Joseph Clark. It was a convenient bit of outrage because when it came time to pay Clark, Greenleaf was running out of funds. Greenleaf, Morris, and Nicholson, all tried to avoid paying contractors by challenging acts. As a result, most buildings, Wheat Row included, were not finished by the speculators. Contractions were demoralized, workers unpaid, and all work in the city, including that on public buildings, was plagued by cheap materials and shoddy workmanship.

3. ARTICLES BY JOHN CLAGETT PROCTOR from the WASHINGTON SUNDAY STAR

1942/04/19 "But stange as it may seem, this very section of Washington & the part lying east of the Capitol, was at the time of the laying of the city, believed to be the most valuable, since it was thought that those sections would be built up first. As a matter of cat, the first houses completyed in the enw city will stand in SW Washington, being located at 1315 to 1321 4th St. They wre begun in 1794 and completed the following year, and because a citizen named John Wheat resisded at an early date in house number 1315 the group has since been known as Wheat Row"

4. Notes Taken from Gelles' "Portia: the World of Abigail Adams"

Points to consider: 18th century model of marriage patriarchal, no amount of republican gloss can disguise that fact.

Need to acknowledfe the preeminence of her {Ab. Adams] domestic role and private concerns as formitive experiences

The politics of family relationships contain power struggles as complex and as subtle as those of national officeseeking; The rituals of marriage are as valid as historical turning points as declarations and constitutions

Through her marriage Abigail Adams experienced the domestic and public spheres as a continuity (interaction)

"At the end of the Revolutionary War, Abigail complained that her sacrifices had not been appreciated, that women's contributions as patriots on the home front, domestic patrionism, was unacknowledged. Charactersitically she concluded: "I will take praise to myself "