Adams Papers
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To John Adams from William Stephens Smith, 3 December 1790

From William Stephens Smith

New York December 3d. 1790.

Dear Sir—

Permit me to introduce to your acquaintance Mr. Blodget, tho’ I believe you may recollect seeing him in London—he will present himself to the President being charged with the prosecution of a plan relative to the building of the fœdral City,1 he is a young man of great property and supported in his project by most undoubted security, he will if you give him an opportunity communicate his intentions out of civility and respect for your Character and station but has not the most distant wish, that you should in any manner interest yourself in the business, but as it will doubtless become a matter of conversation, your knowing from himself the principles of his project will be sufficient master of the subject to say when it is mentioned what you think of it, founding your observations on the engenuity of the project the Genius of a Boston Lad, & the effect it will have on the public purse— You will oblige me by telling him I have written to you on the subject as I promised him I would, & as a young rising Genius, I think him at least entitled to smiles and protection, remember me to Mrs: Adams Mr. Thomas & kiss my dear boy for me.2

I am Dr. Sir—yours sincerely

W: S: Smith

RC (Adams Papers); internal address: “The Vice President—”

1Goffstown, N.H., native Samuel Blodget Jr. (1757–1814) was a real estate speculator and amateur architect. News of the president’s October tour of the Georgetown, D.C., area, which was designated for the capital, sparked the interest of investors like Blodget. Once the president finalized the federal seat’s location on the Potomac River in a 24 Jan. 1791 message to Congress, construction proposals poured in. Only then did Blodget act, purchasing five lots of land for $10,000 at the first auction, on 17–19 October. He also put forth an ambitious proposal to create a main thoroughfare in the new capital, but it was rejected (Jefferson, Papers description begins The Papers of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Julian P. Boyd, Charles T. Cullen, John Catanzariti, Barbara B. Oberg, James P. McClure, and others, Princeton, N.J., 1950–. description ends , 23:225; 34:xli; Bryan, Hist. of the National Capital description begins Wilhelmus Bogart Bryan, A History of the National Capital from Its Foundation through the Period of the Adaption of the Organic Act, New York, 1914–1916; 2 vols. description ends , 1:108–109, 119, 187–190; Washington, Papers, Presidential Series description begins The Papers of George Washington: Presidential Series, ed. W. W. Abbot, Dorothy Twohig, Jack D. Warren, Mark A. Mastromarino, Robert F. Haggard, Christine S. Patrick, John C. Pinheiro, David R. Hoth, and others, Charlottesville, Va., 1987–. description ends , 9:196, 230–231, 391; 10:649).

2Shortly after writing this letter, WSS made a “sudden and unexpected” trip to England to settle family debts and to pursue a speculative business venture. In London he met unofficially with William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, the British home secretary, on 9 April, and discussed the possibility of sending a minister to the United States. Failing to achieve success on any front, WSS returned to New York City on 5 June and relayed his private conversation to George Washington, who thanked WSS for his efforts (AFC description begins Adams Family Correspondence, ed. L. H. Butterfield, Marc Friedlaender, Richard Alan Ryerson, Margaret A. Hogan, Sara Martin, Hobson Woodward, and others, Cambridge, 1963–. description ends , 9:156, 157, 222).

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