During his short life, William Alexander Leidesdorff accumulated great wealth. Yet, what happened to his wealth after he died is a story in itself.  The Aftermath of Leidesdorff’s Death In addition to his riches, Leidesdorff left many debts. Many of those were a result of his financing of businesses and other ventures like Fremont’s expeditions.  According to Sue Bailey Thurman, author of Pioneers of Negro Origin in California, at the time of his death, Leidesdorff’ ‘s property was saddled with $50,000 in debts. In today’s money that is almost $2 million. The discovery of gold in 1848, the same year he died increased Leidesdorff’s property’s value immensely. Soon his estate…