Mayor of Georgetown, District of Columbia, United States
John Threlkeld (1757 – 1830) was an American politician, farmer, and landowner who served as an alderman and mayor of Georgetown and a member of the Maryland House of Delegates.[1]
Threlkeld was a prominent landowner and farmer in Virginia and Maryland. He owned considerable land holdings and was an early adopter of the rental property business.[3] By the mid-1780s, he owned land along the Potomac River and in much of the area of what is now known as Glover Park and Wesley Heights, which was used for pastures and orchards. Threlkeld and his father's consolidated land holdings in excess of 1,000 acres were referred to as "Alliance."[6]
Threlkeld raised Merino sheep and English cattle on the land and grew apples, mulberry, and peach apricots. In 1797, George Washington purchased English cattle and a bull from Threlkeld.[7][8][9] Threlkeld was associated with another U.S. president, Thomas Jefferson,[10] and exchanged cuttings of fruit trees and other plant specimens with him during his presidency.[11][12] Jefferson received mulberry and peach apricot cuttings from Threlkeld in 1809.[13] Jefferson considered Threlkeld a close friend and they frequently corresponded for several years.[14]
In 1809, Threlkeld was one of the founders of the Columbian Agricultural Society for the Promotion of Rural and Domestic Economy.[4]
Threlkeld used slave labor and owned at least fifty enslaved persons during his adult life, the vast majority of whom had been inherited from his grandfather. Threlkeld is recorded as having freed a small amount of his enslaved workers through manumission.[3]
Public service
Threlkeld was heavily involved in political affairs in Georgetown. When Georgetown was incorporated in 1789, he served as one of its first aldermen.[15] In the same year, Threlkeld sold a portion of his land to Bishop John Carroll in 1789 which became Georgetown College.[16][17]
After serving as mayor, Threlkeld was a member of the Levy Court, which governed the areas of the District of Columbia outside of Georgetown and Washington proper, known at the time as Washington County, D.C.[19] On March 2, 1801, two days before his last day in office, outgoing President John Adams nominated Threlkeld as a justice of the peace for Washington County, but the nomination sent to the United States Senate expired after Adams' presidency ended.[20] In 1807, Threlkeld received a recess appointment from President Jefferson as a Justice of the Peace for Washington County.[21] In the same year, Threlkeld wrote to President Jefferson promoting the appointment of his friend William D. Beall for an appointment to the Marshals Office for the District of Columbia.[22]
For several years, Threlkeld was a director of the Bank of Columbia.[4] The 1826 closure of the bank led to a "calamitous" period of severe financial and personal hardship for Threlkeld and his family. After the closure of the bank, Threlkeld was forced to auction hundreds of acres of property and land holdings to satisfy his debts.[25] He also sold his remaining twenty-five enslaved workers during this period. During the same year, Threlkeld's wife and daughter both died. His daughter was only sixteen years of age.[26]
Threlkeld's son-in-law John Cox served as mayor of Georgetown from 1823 to 1845.[5] His grandson was Major Richard Smith Cox, a Confederate paymaster on the staff of General George Washington Custis Lee.[29]
^George Washington to Thomas Peter, 14 June 1797: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1797 – 30 December 1797, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, p. 186
^“From George Washington to Thomas Peter, 14 June 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-01-02-0152 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1797 – 30 December 1797, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, p. 186.]
^“From George Washington to John Eager Howard, 30 April 1797,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/06-01-02-0097 . [Original source: The Papers of George Washington, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1797 – 30 December 1797, ed. W. W. Abbot. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1998, p. 129.]
^ ab“Thomas Jefferson to John Threlkeld, 8 March 1809,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-01-02-0024 . [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 1, 4 March 1809 to 15 November 1809, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004, p. 40.]
^“Thomas Jefferson to John Threlkeld, 17 March 1811,” Founders Online, National Archives, https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/03-03-02-0349 . [Original source: The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, Retirement Series, vol. 3, 12 August 1810 to 17 June 1811, ed. J. Jefferson Looney. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006, pp. 458–459.]