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American statesman (1762–1816) who served as Washington's personal secretary and later assumed posts in the Jefferson and Madison administrations. Manuscript DS, one page, 7.25 x 8.75, May 3, 1797. A statement that Bissett Weeks and Walter Coombs are owed specified sums with their request that the sums be paid over to John Templeman. Besides Weeks and Coombs, the front and back is signed by several luminaries associated with the Potomac company, including: Thomas Kennedy (1776-1832) (who also pens the top portion of the LS) a Maryland legislator whose ‘Jew Bill’ allowed Jewish citizens the right to hold political office in Maryland; Tobias Lear (1762-1816), who was George Washington’s personal secretary and a diplomat who negotiated the peace treaty ending the Barbary War; Phillip R. Fendall I (1734-1805), a co-founder of the Potomac Co., and uncle of Robert E. Lee, who built the Fendall-Lee House, which was Lee’s boyhood home; and James Keith (1734-1824) an Indian captive during Pontiac’s War, who later served as mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, and as director and president of the Potomac Co.; John Templeman, who superintended the construction of bridges over the Potomac River (e.g., Georgetown and Chain Bridges). In fine condition.
One of George Washington's greatest interests in the period between the end of the Revolutionary War and the start of his presidency was the development of the picturesque Potomac River as a navigable inland transportation route. The Potowmack Company, formed to accomplish this task using a series of locks and canals, was formed in 1785 and Washington was named the company's president.
With an eye toward the greater good of the nation, Washington's ambitions surpassed those of the ordinary businessman—he believed that improved infrastructure would strengthen the fledgling United States, with the Potomac Canal forming a literal link from east to west and binding together territories in a 'chain which could never be broken.' However, the project was beset by constant difficulty. Tobias Lear's engineering work failed to enable navigation around two waterfalls on the Potomac River. Insufficient funding and constant legal trouble contributed to the company's ineffectiveness and eventual failure. A significant document associated with a major early American infrastructure project.
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