Uriah Forrest

{{Short description|American politician (1756–1805)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Uriah Forrest | image = Uriah Forrest (cropped).jpg | birth_date = {{birth date text|1756}} | birth_place = St. Mary's County, Province of Maryland, British America | occupation = Tobacco trader, gentleman | alma_mater = | state = Maryland | district = 3rd | term_start = March 4, 1793 | term_end = November 8, 1794 | preceded = John F. Mercer | succeeded = Benjamin Edwards | office1 = Mayor of Georgetown, Maryland | predecessor1 = Thomas Beale | successor1 = John Threlkeld | term_start1 = January, 1792 | term_end1 = January 7, 1793 | party = Federalist | relations = | spouse = Rebecca Plater | death_date = {{death date and age|1805|7|6|1756}} | death_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | resting_place = Oak Hill Cemetery<br />Washington, D.C., U.S. | signature = Signature of Uriah Forrest (cropped).jpg }} '''Uriah Forrest''' (1756 – July 6, 1805) was an American statesman and military leader from Maryland. Forrest was born in St. Mary's County in the Province of Maryland, near Leonardtown.<ref name=BIOGUIDE>[http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000282 FORREST, Uriah, (1756 - 1805)], Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-Present, US Congress. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref><ref>Crocker Farm, Inc., [http://www.crockerfarm.com/maryland-auction/2012-09-15/lot-123/Uriah-Forrest-Maryland-Revolutionary-War-Hero-and-Politician-Hand-Written-Note-and-Print/ Uriah Forrest (Maryland Revolutionary War Hero and Politician) Hand-Written Note and Print], 2012. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref> In his early childhood, he received only limited schooling. He was born into a family with three other brothers.<ref name=renoandwhite>Linda Reno and Greg White, "[http://userpages.umbc.edu/~pdavis2/Participants/dawsonm/smc/articles_files/june04_Forrest.htm From Obscurity to Greatness, the Story of Uriah Forrest]", St. Mary's Families, June 13, 2004.</ref><ref>He also is a direct male descendant of Thomas Forrest, Esq, a financier with the Virginia Company who came to the Jamestown colony on the Second Supply ship in 1608.</ref><ref name=Papenfuse1>A Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., ''Archives of Maryland Online'', Vol. 426, [http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000426/html/am426--324.html 324].</ref>

==Revolutionary War== He served in varying roles within the Maryland Line.<ref>Francis Bernard Heitman, ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army During the War of the Revolution, April 1775, to December 1783'' (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1982), 30-32, 233.</ref><ref name=BIOGUIDE /> From January 14, 1776, until July 1776 he served as a 1st lieutenant in John Gunby's Independent Maryland Company. When this ended, he became a captain in the 3rd Battalion of the Maryland Flying Camp, until December 1776 when he was promoted to major and transferred to the 3rd Maryland Regiment.<ref>Muster Rolls and Other Records of Service of Maryland Troops in the American Revolution, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 18, [http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000018/html/am18--30.html 30].</ref><ref>[http://amarch.lib.niu.edu/islandora/object/niu-amarch%3A91609 Officers of the Flying Camp elected, Committee to examine the Accounts of the Supervisors of Saltpetre Works Resolution empowering the Council of Safety to contract for building a Powder-Mill on the publick account, repealed], American Archives, v6:1491.</ref> As a result of the change of military positions, he did not fight at the Battle of Brooklyn, unlike the 1st Maryland Regiment commanded by William Smallwood ("Smallwood's Battalion") and other military units, which fought under the command of General George Washington. By April 1777, his unit changed yet again when he was promoted to lieutenant colonel, and he served in "Smallwood's Battalion" until August 1779. He was injured at the Battle of Germantown where he lost a limb.<ref name="Ecker 1933, p. 12">Ecker (1933), p. 12</ref><ref>Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land-Warrant Application Files. National Archives and Records Administration, retrieved February 22, 2022.</ref>

In August 1779, he left Smallwood's unit and served as a Lieutenant Colonel as part of the 7th Maryland Regiment.<ref>Heitman, ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army'',30-31.</ref><ref>Journal and Correspondence of the Council of Maryland, 1779-1780, Archives of Maryland Online, Vol. 43, [http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000043/html/am43--35.html 35].</ref> He retained that position until February 23, 1781, when he resigned.

During his military service, he fought to defend St. George's Island, in Saint Mary's County, in July 1776 and at other major battles throughout the war, such as the Battle of Brandywine. He served in varied regiments before he resigned as Auditor General within the Continental Army on February 19, 1781.<ref name=renoandwhite /><ref name=house>[http://history.house.gov/People/Detail/13328 FORREST, Uriah], U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Historian, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.stgeorgeislandinnandsuites.com/st_george_island.htm A Proud Place in American History], Island Inn and Suites, 2012.</ref>

==State politics== In 1780, a bill was passed by both houses of the Maryland General Assembly concerning the confiscation of Loyalist property in the state.<ref>Joan Grattan, [http://ead.library.jhu.edu/ms380.xml Documents of Confiscations of Loyalists' Holdings (1787-1801)], The Johns Hopkins University, 2005.</ref> Forrest was one of the three commissioners, the others being William Paca and Clement Hollyday, to confiscate holdings of such property, which was later apportioned out and sold to certain individuals. He was qualified for that position in February 1781 and resigned by July.<ref name=Papenfuse2>Biographical Dictionary of the Maryland Legislature 1635-1789 by Edward C. Papenfuse, et al., ''Archives of Maryland Online'', Vol. 426, [http://msa.maryland.gov/megafile/msa/speccol/sc2900/sc2908/000001/000426/html/am426--325.html 325].</ref>

After the war, he traveled to London from St. Mary's County and stayed until 1786, when he returned to Georgetown.<ref name=Papenfuse1 /> He returned to Maryland in 1783 to establish a tobacco export business in Georgetown, with business partners Benjamin Stoddert and John Murdock and then returned to London. He was the "resident partner of Forrest, Stoddert & Murdock" <ref name="Ecker 1933, p. 12"/><ref name=Papenfuse1 />

In 1784, Forrest was admitted as an original member of The Society of the Cincinnati of Maryland.<ref>Metcalf, Bryce (1938). ''Original Members and Other Officers Eligible to the Society of the Cincinnati, 1783–1938: With the Institution, Rules of Admission, and Lists of the Officers of the General and State Societies'' Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., p. 129.</ref><ref>Society of Cincinnati, "[http://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/pdf/downloads/exhibition_Maryland.pdf Maryland in the American Revolution] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020054455/https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org/pdf/downloads/exhibition_Maryland.pdf |date=October 20, 2020 }}, 2009. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref> When he learned of its founding, he said:

<blockquote>I cannot express my feelings on reading today, for the first Time, the constitution of the Society of the Cincinnati... though, separated by an Ocean of 3000 Miles, and a slave to Business; there is not one among you, who feel more Affection, for that brave handful, who persevered to the last, than I do.</blockquote>

Forrest was elected to the Maryland State House of Delegates in numerous terms and served from 1781 to 1783, 1786 to 1787, and 1787 to 1790, as a member of the Maryland State Senate from 1796 to 1800, and a State Court Judge from 1799 to 1800.<ref name=Papenfuse2 />

He represented St. Mary's County in most of the 1780s and then Montgomery County and in the Maryland Senate represented the Western Shore of Maryland.

He also served as churchwarden of St. Andrew's Parish within St. Mary's County (1782-1783), justice in Montgomery County (1799-1800). He owned five black slaves in 1790, which had increased to nine by 1801.<ref name=Papenfuse2 /> In 1800, he had a bounty land warrant for his military service. However, he never occupied the land, which remained vacant.<ref>Uriah Forrest, Warrant Number 756, 1800, U.S. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants Used in the U.S. Military District of Ohio and Relating Papers (Acts of 1788, 1803, and 1806), 1788-1806, National Archives, NARA M829, Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Record Group 49, Courtesy of Ancestry.com.</ref>

==Federal politics== Forrest was also active in politics by representing Maryland as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1787.<ref name=BIOGUIDE /> Thomas Jefferson would tell him in a letter from Paris on December 31 that he admired the framers of the Constitution but also was concerned about them sowing the "seeds of danger" by thinking that rulers after them would be "as honest as themselves."<ref>[http://libblogs.princeton.edu/republic/2013/02/letter-to-uriah-forrest-december-31-1787/ Letter to Uriah Forrest, December 31, 1787]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, The Trustees of Princeton University, 2013.</ref><ref>[https://declaration.fas.harvard.edu/blog/dd-rights Delegate Discussions: Bill of Rights], The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 2017.</ref><ref>"[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0490 From Thomas Jefferson to Uriah Forrest, with Enclosure, 31 December 1787," Founders Online, National Archives, last modified March 30, 2017.]</ref>

Forrest would be nominated to be a US senator the following year.<ref>[http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.ussenator2.second.1788 Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201107135603/https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.ussenator2.second.1788 |date=November 7, 2020 }}, Lampi Collection of American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825. -- American Antiquarian Society, 2007, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref> All of the people nominated would be Federalists, as he was, he lost to Charles Carroll in the second and third ballot voting by a few votes.<ref>[http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.ussenator.thirdballot.1788 Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 3] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210421221245/https://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.ussenator.thirdballot.1788 |date=April 21, 2021 }}, Lampi Collection of American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825. -- American Antiquarian Society, 2007, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.ussenator.firstballot.1788 Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Lampi Collection of American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825. -- American Antiquarian Society, 2007, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.ussenator.secondballot.1788 Maryland 1788 U.S. Senate, Ballot 2]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Lampi Collection of American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825. -- American Antiquarian Society, 2007, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref>

In 1792, he ran for US House of Representatives within the third district of Maryland as a "Pro-Administration candidate."<ref name=BIOGUIDE /><ref name=house /> The Federalist won against the Anti-Federalist William Dorsey, by 669 votes, with most of his votes coming from individuals within Montgomery County, Maryland, and almost 100 more from Frederick County, Maryland, counties that made up parts of the Third District.<ref>[http://elections.lib.tufts.edu/catalog/tufts:md.uscongress3.1792 Maryland 1792 U.S. House of Representatives, District 3]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Lampi Collection of American Electoral Returns, 1788-1825. -- American Antiquarian Society, 2007, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref> He would serve as a representative from March 1793 to November 1794, when he resigned. During his time in office, he missed 79.6% of the roll call votes, which is "much worse than the median of 13.0% among the lifetime records of representatives serving in Jun 1794."<ref>GovTrack, [https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/uriah_forrest/404232 Rep. Uriah Forrest: Former Representative from Maryland's 3rd District], Civic Impulse, LLC. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref>

He stayed a "friend and host to George Washington," cementing his role in the Federalist Party and national politics.<ref>Winthrop Faulkner, [http://moderncapitaldc.com/1978-wynn-faulkner-house-in-cleveland-park-3-85-million/ 1978 Win Faulkner House in Cleveland Park&nbsp;– $3.85 Million] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812183458/https://www.moderncapitaldc.com/1978-wynn-faulkner-house-in-cleveland-park-3-85-million/ |date=August 12, 2020 }}, Modern Capital DC, January 24, 2013.</ref><ref>"[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-12-02-0011 From George Washington to Uriah Forrest, 20 January 1793]," Founders Online, National Archives, last modified March 30, 2017.</ref><ref>Larry Luxner, [http://washdiplomat.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12645&Itemid=436 Ambassador Valeriy Chaly: Ukraine Still in ‘State of War’], The Washington Diplomat, October 29, 2015.</ref> However, he still hosted Thomas Jefferson, later a Democratic-Republican, for a dinner in 1790 on his trip to see "the Little Falls of the Potomac River."<ref>Thomas Jefferson Foundation, [https://www.monticello.org/site/research-and-collections/washington-dc Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia: Washington, D.C.], 2015. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/mtjbib004804/ Thomas Jefferson to Uriah Forrest, June 13, 1790], Library of Congress, series: Series 1: General Correspondence. 1651-1827, Microfilm Reel: 012, The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress.</ref>

In 1795, Forrest was commissioned a brigadier general of Maryland Militia's Fourth Brigade in 1795 and major general of the Maryland Militia's First Division from 1795 to 1801.<ref name=BIOGUIDE /><ref name=Papenfuse2 /> That failed to end his involvement in national politics. In December 1797, he wrote to James McHenry and remarked on his successful efforts to get James Lloyd elected to the US Senate, which filled a vacancy that had been left by John Henry's resignation.<ref>Uriah Forrest to James McHenry, [http://wardepartmentpapers.org/document.php?id=24273 On the election of James Lloyd to the U.S. Senate] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823010933/http://wardepartmentpapers.org/document.php?id=24273 |date=August 23, 2016 }}, December 8, 1797, Papers of the War Department 1794-1800, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref>

==Involvement in founding of Washington, DC==

On October 13, 1790, he would be one of the "original proprietors" of land that was taken for the Washington City.<ref>[Historic-Structures, "[http://www.historic-structures.com/washington_dc/dc/brickyard_hill_house.php Brickyard Hill House, Washington DC]," October 26, 2010.</ref> Taking the suggestions of leading Georgetown merchants, suggesting that the "proposed Federal City be on the land opposite Georgetown across Rock Creek" since Georgetown was already a port. Forrest, would sign a document<ref>Bob Arnebeck, [http://dcswamp.blogspot.com/2017/01/seat-of-empire.html Seat of Empire: the General and the Plan 1790 to 1801], January 2, 2017. Arnebeck's post is a summary of his book, [https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781461713968/Through-a-Fiery-Trial Through a Fiery Trial: Building Washington, 1790-1800]{{Dead link|date=January 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}.</ref><ref>H.P. Caemmerer, [http://www.boundarystones.org/articles/caemmerer_1932.pdf Washington: The National Capital] (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1932), 19, 21.</ref> saying the following:

<blockquote>We the subscribers, do hereby agree... to sell and make over by sufficient Deeds, in any manner which shall be directed by General Washington, or any person acting under him, and on such terms as he shall determine to be reasonable and just; and of the Lands which we possess in the vicinity of Georgetown, for the uses of the Federal City, provided the same shall be erected in the said vicinity.</blockquote>

As the historical writer Bob Arnebeck wrote, Forrest would be a major landholder who would buy up land in the area, which would be sold to another speculator, James Greenleaf, and ultimately the federal government.<ref>Bob Arnebeck, [http://bobarnebeck.com/speculators.html Tracking the Speculators], 2010. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref><ref>[https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/34/292/case.html Greenleaf v. Birth 34 U.S. 292 (1835)], Justia, 2017.</ref> All of the speculators, including Benjamin Stoddert, Robert Morris, and John Nicholson, would make out handsomely from that agreement, with some conspiring with Forrest against other landholders. Ultimately, 15 landowners would negotiate with Washington to "give the government land for the creation of a new federal capital, Washington," and in 1792, Forrest and James Williams would buy land that would become the National Mall from the State of Maryland and then sell it to the federal government.<ref>[http://mallhistory.org/items/show/94 Original Proprietors of the National Mall's Land], Histories of the National Mall, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref>

Later, in 1791, Forrest would serve served as mayor of the Town of George, now Georgetown, when George Washington met with local landowners at his home to negotiate purchase of the land needed to build the new capital city.<ref>[https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=82654 Forrest Marbury House], The Historical Markers Database, 2013.</ref><ref>Historic American Buildings Survey, [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/DC0112/ Forrest-Marbury House, 3350 M Street Northwest, Washington, District of Columbia, DC], Library of Congress, Documentation compiled after 1933, HABS DC, GEO,55-.</ref><ref>[https://www.loc.gov/item/mtjbib026127/ Uriah Forrest, Mayor of Georgetown to William Thornton, Alexander White, and Tristam Dalton, Commissioners, March 28, 1801], Library of Congress, Microfilm Reel: 057, series: Series 3: District of Columbia Miscellany. 1790-1808, The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress.</ref> The meeting, on March 29, would be attended by landowners of Georgetown, Carollsburg, and others like Washington, agreeing to sell "half of their land within the newly designated 10-mile-square Federal District thus creating a new capital city for the United States of America," and Pierre L'Enfant later laid out the plan for Washington City.

In 1796, Ninian Beall would sell a "bluff overlooking the new capital to one Peter Casanave," who would sell it in two months to Uriah Forrest, "who sold it the next year to Isaac Pollock."<ref>John Foreman, [http://www.newyorksocialdiary.com/the-way-they-live/2014/big-old-houses-not-so-big-but-really-old BIG OLD HOUSES: Not So Big, but Really Old], New York Social Diary, 2014.</ref><ref>[http://dumbartonhouse.org/residents Chronology], The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America, 2015.</ref> The latter would then "traded it to the over-leveraged Samuel Jackson," and then Joseph Nourse, Register of the US Treasury under six presidential administrations would repurpose the "modest dwelling as one of two symmetrical wings on a new Federal Palladian mansion, which he called Bellevue." Also, Forrest would be instrumental in incorporation of "the Georgetown Bridge Company, the Bank of Columbia, and the Georgetown Mutual Insurance Company."<ref name=Papenfuse1 /><ref name=Papenfuse2 />

==Personal life== On October 11, 1789, at 43, Forrest married Rebecca Plater, of a well-off family deeply involved in State politics, who was born at Sotterley Plantation.<ref name=renoandwhite /><ref name=rosedale>[http://www.rosedaleconservancy.org/rosedales-history/ Rosedale's History], The Rosedale Conservancy, 2017. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref> They would have seven children.<ref>They would be named Ann "Nancy" Forrest (1790-1870), George Plater Forrest (1794-1843), Henry Forrest, Eliza Forrest, Maria Forrest (1799-1869), Benjamin Stoddert Forrest (d. 1840), and Uriah Forrest, Jr.</ref>

==Later life== thumb|upright|right|Grave of Forrest at Oak Hill Cemetery By 1790, the Forrest family was living next to Benjamin Stoddert, a friend of Forrest, a fellow business partner and Southern Marylander. <ref name=renoandwhite /> In 1794 Forrest would build a home near Washington, D.C., called Rosedale. It would be closely resembling the architectural style of Mount Vernon, surrounded by stone buildings that had been constructed in the 1740s.<ref>Carol B. Thompson (State Preservation Officer, National Park Service's "[https://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Cleveland%20Park%20HD%20nom.pdf National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Cleveland Park District]," DC Office of Planning, April 27, 1987. See pages 6-7 of this PDF.</ref><ref>Fritz Hahn and Harrison Smith, [https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/the-6-best-scenic-urban-strolls-around-dc-a-walkers-guide/2017/05/10/a536df04-33f6-11e7-b373-418f6849a004_story.html No hiking boots required: 6 great city strolls in Washington], Washington Post, May 11, 2017.</ref>

The large-frame house would be located in the Northwest quadrant of Washington, DC.<ref>Kathleen Eder Group, [http://kathleeneder.com/neighborhoods/district-of-columbia/cleveland-park/ Cleveland Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523132553/https://www.kathleeneder.com/neighborhoods/district-of-columbia/cleveland-park/ |date=May 23, 2022 }}, 2017.</ref> In later years, it would be considered "to be the oldest home in Washington". The home would become for the Forrest family a respite for Rebecca and their children "from the bustling port city life of Georgetown" and remove them from "impending war."<ref name=rosedale /> Throughout the years, the house and its grounds would serve as a "center for political discussions and social entertaining" with the hosting of "a large dinner party for President John Adams" in 1800. Overall, Forrest would exchange numerous letters to Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Alexander Hamilton between 1780 and 1804.<ref>See the following as examples of such contact: "[http://tjrs.monticello.org/letter/1753 Extract from John Adams to Uriah Forrest]," June 20, 1797, "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-01393 To George Washington from Uriah Forrest, 7 April 1780] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825074214/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-01393 |date=August 25, 2018 }}," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-02959 To George Washington from Uriah Forrest, 17 August 1780] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825081200/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-02959 |date=August 25, 2018 }}," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-07-02-0336 To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 8 October 1784]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-11-02-0063 To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 20 January 1787]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0423 To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 11 December 1787]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-12-02-0446 &#91;To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 18 December 1787&#93;]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-0309 To John Adams from Uriah Forrest, 10 January 1788] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180825074139/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-0309 |date=August 25, 2018 }}," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0105 To George Washington from Uriah Forrest, 27 April 1791]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-08-02-0183 To George Washington from Uriah Forrest, 14 June 1791 &#91;letter not found&#93;]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-22-02-0209 To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 19 October 1791]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Hamilton/01-13-02-0022 To Alexander Hamilton from Uriah Forrest, 7 November 1792]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-11-02-0386 To George Washington from Uriah Forrest, 10 January 1793]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/05-15-02-0159 To George Washington from Uriah Forrest, 11 February 1794]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-2027 To John Adams from Uriah Forrest, 23 June 1797]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-3468 To John Adams from Uriah Forrest, 28 April 1799]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-4151 To John Adams from Uriah Forrest, 25 January 1800]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Adams/99-02-02-4394 To John Adams from Uriah Forrest, 4 June 1800]," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-0206 To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 11 August 1804] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809014522/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-0206 |date=August 9, 2021 }}," "[https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-0238 To Thomas Jefferson from Uriah Forrest, 17 August 1804] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210809011226/https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-0238 |date=August 9, 2021 }}," [http://franklinpapers.org/franklin/framedVolumes.jsp?vol=41&page=502 Letter from Uriah Forrest to Benjamin Franklin, Apr. 10, 1784]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}.</ref>

In 1796, Forrest would mortgage "Rosedale" to obtain loans from the state of Maryland to boost the district's economy, but by 1802, he would be led into bankruptcy, with Philip Barton Key, his brother-in-law, accepting the mortgage.<ref name=renoandwhite /><ref name=rosedale /> Key then granted Forrest lifetime use of the property. Forrest also served in a local governmental position in his late life. From 1800 until his death in 1805, he would serve as the clerk of the District of Columbia's circuit court.<ref name=BIOGUIDE /><ref>Hilary Russell, [https://web.archive.org/web/20150514031132/http://www.nps.gov/subjects/ugrr/discover_history/upload/dc-UGGR-Report-H-Russell.pdf The Operation of the Underground Railroad in Washington, D.C., c. 1800–1860], National Park Service, July 2001.</ref>

Forrest died on July 6, 1805, in the parlor of the Rosedale's farmhouse and was buried in the Presbyterian Burying Ground in Washington, D.C.<ref name="ProctorHistoric">{{cite news|last=Proctor|first=John Clagett|title=Georgetown's Most Historic Cemetery|newspaper=The Sunday Star|date=October 4, 1942|page=31}}</ref><ref>Heitman, ''Historical Register of Officers of the Continental Army'', 233.</ref><ref name=BIOGUIDE /><ref name=rosedale /><ref name=house /> His remains were later disinterred, and he was reburied at Oak Hill Cemetery.<ref name="ProctorHistoric" /><ref name=BIOGUIDE />

At the time of his death, Forrest owned, as noted by now-retired State Archivist for the Maryland State Archives, Edward C. Papenfuse, about "1,680 acres in Allegany, St. Mary's, and Montgomery counties, and the District of Columbia, plus ca. 150 lots in the District of Columbia."<ref name=Papenfuse2 /><ref>[http://msa.maryland.gov/ecp/10/214/html/0004.html Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner of Land Patents], Maryland State Archives.</ref><ref>[http://advanced.jhu.edu/about-us/faculty/edward-papenfuse/ Edward Papenfuse, Adjunct Faculty] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200306011506/https://advanced.jhu.edu/about-us/faculty/edward-papenfuse/ |date=March 6, 2020 }}, Johns Hopkins University, 2017.</ref><ref>[http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/series/pioneers/papenfuse.html Ed Papenfuse: Digital Preservation Pioneer], Library of Congress blog, February 2011.</ref><ref>[https://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty/conferences/balthistory/papenfuse.html Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017084704/http://www.law.umaryland.edu/faculty/conferences/balthistory/papenfuse.html |date=October 17, 2015 }}, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, 2017.</ref><ref>Michael Dresser, [https://www.baltimoresun.com/2013/11/04/papenfuse-ends-38-year-run-as-marylands-memory-keeper/ Papenfuse ends 38-year run as Maryland's memory keeper], Baltimore Sun, November 4, 2013.</ref><ref>[http://www.jeffersoninst.org/about-us/board-of-directors/edward-papenfuse Edward Papenfuse: Maryland State Archivist and Commissioner (Rt)], Jefferson Institute, 2017.</ref>

==Legacy== His estate was "still plagued with debt" after his death and was almost lost "to debts and litigation" but kept in the family for many years to come.<ref name=renoandwhite /><ref name=Papenfuse2 />

Before her death on September 5, 1843, at "Rosedale," Rebecca would file for a widow's pension from the federal government for her husband's military service. In her September 1838 filing, she would be described as a resident of Georgetown who married Forrest in 1789 and it says that he had fought in the Battle of Brandywine.<ref>Rebecca Forrest, Widow's Pension Application File, W. 24,225, 1838, Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, National Archives, NARA M804, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. Courtesy of Ancestry.com.</ref> Apart from the pension money granted to Rebecca, $600 per year, his descendants many years later would pursue the same records and wanted to know about Forrest's military career. The pension papers of Rebeca would later become the "Rebecca Forrest (the widow of Uriah Forrest) Papers, 1838-1843," held at the Historical Society of Washington D.C.<ref>Historical Society of Washington D.C, [http://www.dchistory.org/uploads/research/HSW_Guide_OriginalProprietorsResources.pdf Selected Original Proprietors Resources Available at the Kiplinger Research Library] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170131193937/http://www.dchistory.org/uploads/research/HSW_Guide_OriginalProprietorsResources.pdf |date=January 31, 2017 }}, accessed May 28, 2017.</ref>

In the early 19th century, his home overlooking the Potomac River, in which Forrest lived approximately from 1790 to 1794 would become the home of William Marbury, who is known by the ''Marbury v. Madison'' Supreme Court case.<ref>Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, [http://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en/embassy/history History of the Embassy of Ukraine in USA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217150100/https://usa.mfa.gov.ua/en/embassy/history |date=December 17, 2019 }}, 2012. Accessed May 28, 2017.</ref> In December 1992, it would become the Embassy of Ukraine, in Washington, D.C.

Later, his granddaughter, Alice Green, also lived at Rosedale.<ref>Claudia Swain, [http://blogs.weta.org/boundarystones/2015/04/02/georgetown-universitys-imperial-prince Georgetown University's Imperial Prince], WETA, April 5, 2015.</ref> She would marry Don Angel Maria de Iturbide y Huarte, an "exiled prince of the Mexican imperial line and a student at Georgetown University," and have a son named Don Agustín, Prince of Iturbide, the heir of Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and prince of the First and Second Mexican Empires, making Forrest his great-grandfather. His estate would become the Rosedale Conservancy.<ref>[http://ghostsofdc.org/2015/03/03/why-is-it-named-cleveland-park/ Why Is It Named Cleveland Park?], Ghosts of DC, March 3, 2015.</ref><ref>DC Preservation League, [http://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/519 Rosedale (Uriah Forrest House)], 2017.</ref>

Recently, proponents of District of Columbia voting rights have cited Forrest's representation of Maryland in the US House of Representatives because he lived within the borders of Washington, D.C.<ref>David Wheeler, [https://www.dwheeler.com/essays/dc-in-maryland.html Treat Washington, DC as Part of Maryland for Congressional Elections], April 22, 2004.</ref><ref>D.C. Vote, [http://www.dcvote.org/fight-equality/washington-dc-historical-timeline-nations-capital Emphasizing Events Important to the DC Voting Representation Movement] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210310055824/https://www.dcvote.org/fight-equality/washington-dc-historical-timeline-nations-capital |date=March 10, 2021 }}, 2007.</ref><ref>Cityhood for DC, [http://www.cityhoodfordc.org/index.php/our-plan A Real Plan for DC Voting Rights and Home Rule], 2017.</ref>

In 2010, C.M. Mayo would write a novel of historical fiction, ''The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire'', which was based upon the "true story of half-American toddler Agustín de Iturbide y Green, a great-grandson of Maryland's former governor George Plater and grandson of revolutionary war hero General Uriah Forrest."<ref>College of Southern Maryland, "[http://somd.com/news/headlines/2010/12635.php CSM Connections Welcomes Author C.M. Mayo Oct. 15 in Leonardtown] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903032251/http://somd.com/news/headlines/2010/12635.php |date=September 3, 2017 }}", ''Southern Maryland Online'', October 15, 2010.</ref>

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==Sources== * {{cite book |title=A Portrait of Old Georgetown |year=1933 |publisher=Garrett & Massie, Inc. |author=Ecker, Grace Dunlop}}

==External links== * {{commons category-inline}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20071012101639/http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc15.htm Georgetown Historic District], National Park Service * [https://washingtonian.com/2012/04/18/history-for-sale-cleveland-parks-rosedale-farmhouse/ History for Sale: Cleveland Park's Rosedale Farmhouse] * [https://www.societyofthecincinnati.org The Society of the Cincinnati] * [https://www.americanrevolutioninstitute.org The American Revolution Institute]

{{S-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{succession box | before=John F. Mercer | title=U.S. Congressman from Maryland's 3rd District | years=1793–1794 | after= Benjamin Edwards}} {{S-end}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forrest, Uriah}} Category:1756 births Category:1805 deaths Category:Continental Army officers from Maryland Category:Continental Congressmen from Maryland Category:18th-century mayors of places in Maryland Category:Mayors of Georgetown, Montgomery County, Maryland Category:United States representatives from Maryland Category:Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.) Category:Burials at Presbyterian Burying Ground Category:Maryland Federalists Category:18th-century United States representatives Category:Candidates in the 1788–1789 United States elections Category:Candidates in the 1790–1791 United States elections