Thomas Corcoran (mayor)
| Thomas Corcoran | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1754 County Limerick, Kingdom of Ireland |
| Died |
(aged 76) Georgetown, District of Columbia, United States |
| Nationality | Irish American |
| Occupation | Merchant, real estate developer |
| Known for | Mayor of Georgetown |
Thomas Corcoran, Jr. (1754 - January 27, 1830) was an Irish American merchant who served as mayor of the town of Georgetown, District of Columbia and 22 terms on the Georgetown Common Council. He also held several appointed positions with the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. He was one of Georgetown's and Washington's first philanthropists, and the father of banker and philanthropist William Wilson Corcoran.
Thomas Corcoran, Jr. was born in 1754 (the exact date is not known) to Thomas and Elizabeth (née Wilson) Corcoran in County Limerick in the Kingdom of Ireland. Thomas Sr. had emigrated to Ireland from London, and the Corcorans were a merchant family. Thomas' uncle, William Wilson, emigrated in 1769 to the city of Baltimore in the Province of Maryland in North America. Thomas Jr. emigrated to the Baltimore himself in 1783, where he took a position as a clerk in his uncle's import and export business. Over the next few years, William Wilson became one of the biggest importers in Maryland. Between 1783 and 1788, Thomas made three business trips aboard his uncle's merchant vessels, traveling twice to the city of Cork in Ireland and once to Amsterdam in the Netherlands.
Corcoran married Hannah Lemmon of Baltimore in 1788. That year, he traveled south with the intent of settling in Richmond, Virginia. Corcoran's first stop, however, was the village of Georgetown on the northern shore of the Potomac River in southern Maryland. Impressed with the large number of ocean-going vessels docked at the port of Georgetown, Corcoran decided to forgo his trip to Richmond and settle in Georgetown. He brought his wife and children to Georgetown in late 1788, and rented a house on Congress Street (now 31st Street NW) from which he operated a shoemaker's shop and leather goods business. He swiftly grew wealthy supplying shoes for the faculty and students at nearby Georgetown College. Corcoran also began buying tobacco and flax seed for export on his uncle's ships. He built a three-story brick home at 122 Bridge Street (now M Street NW) and moved into it in 1791.
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