A Wilson Family Tree
Notes for Abiel Leonard
Biographical sketch from the introduction to Abiel Leonard Papers (C1013) at the State Historical Society of Missouri Manuscript Collection (http://shsmo.org/manuscripts/columbia/c1013):
Abiel Leonard was born May 16, 1797, in Windsor, Vermont, to Nathaniel and Mary Leverett Leonard. His family moved to Lewiston, New York, shortly afterward, where he spent his boyhood. He began his studies at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, in 1813, but left in 1815, possibly because of a scandal involving his father, a military officer in command of Fort Niagara, which was captured by British forces in the War of 1812. Abiel would always regret not having more education and kept an extensive personal library all his life.
Leonard made his way to Missouri by 1819, and began to practice law in Franklin and Boonville by 1820, slowly building his practice and his reputation over the next decade. His reputation seems to have been impeccable except for one incident. In 1824 Leonard fought a duel, which was illegal in the new state of Missouri, and killed his opponent Taylor Berry. For this he received a fine of $150, was disbarred and disfranchised. A few months later, however, he was fully reinstated, though the fine was still paid.
He remained in touch with his family back east. Because they were having a difficult time financially, Abiel's growing success encouraged his younger brother, Nathaniel Leonard, Jr., to follow him west. After a few stops along the way, Nat settled in Cooper County, Missouri, where he established a small plantation, Ravenswood, and lived his entire life. Older sister Margaret, and her husband Jonathan Bailey, also migrated to Missouri, settling in St. Louis after some earlier business failures in mid-Missouri. Although brother Benjamin never moved farther west than Ohio, he purchased large amounts of land in Missouri for speculation. Sister Mary Bell who died in childbirth in 1836, never moved to Missouri, though Abiel kept in close contact with her children throughout their lives. In 1840, several months after his mother's death, Abiel brought his father to Missouri to live with him until his death in 1844. The support and education of his entire family, including nieces, nephews, and in-laws, would remain a primary focus of Abiel Leonard's entire life.
On October 31, 1830, Leonard married Jeanette Reeves, daughter of Benjamin H. Reeves, who was one of three commissioners appointed by President Andrew Jackson to survey the Santa Fe Trail. Oakwood, the home the Leonards built in Fayette in 1833, was one of the loveliest in the mid-Missouri area and they entertained extended family and friends there on a regular basis. Abiel and Jeanette had seven children. Mary, born in 1833, married distant cousin, Horace Everett, in 1851; Martha, born in 1836, married Dr. Joseph Smith in 1854; Reeves, born in 1838, was educated at Dartmouth and in Germany and married Alice Gardenhire in 1868; Ada, born in 1841, married Episcopal Bishop Cicero Hawks in 1864; Kate, born in 1844, married General Odon Guitar in 1865; Abiel, Jr., born in 1848, became a minister and married Flora; and Nathaniel William (Willie), born in 1851, completed the family.
By 1831 Leonard's legal skills and personal integrity were bringing him considerable prestige within the mid-Missouri legal, business, social, and political communities. Several prominent business and political figures urged him to run for political office in that year and several other times throughout his career. Although Leonard did attempt a Senate bid in 1838, most of the time he chose to support his chosen party, the Whigs, through speeches and behind-the-scenes help. He decided that his family obligations and his legal career, which involved a great deal of traveling from court to court around the state, took up too much of his time to allow for political office.
In late 1854, however, the opportunity to serve as a judge in the Missouri Supreme Court proved to be too intriguing to pass up. The position again required much time away from home, usually in Jefferson City or St. Louis. Within only a few months of accepting the office, Leonard wrote, "I doubt whether the honor of the office will compensate for the sacrifice on the part of both myself and my family," and a short time later, ". . .as soon as my present term of service is over, I will accept no office -- nor engage in any business that shall hereafter separate me from my family." In addition to the loneliness and the health problems that were aggravated by his travels, the "sacrifice" he mentioned also referred to the fact that accepting the judgeship meant a loss of revenue from the considerable fees he could receive for his well-respected legal opinions.
Throughout the 1840s and early 1850s, Abiel Leonard, like many other men of means of the period, engaged in land speculation. They assumed that the west, as Missouri and Iowa were considered in the mid-nineteenth century, had plenty of land that could be bought up and later sold to immigrants at substantial profit. Leonard and many of his family and friends bought heavily and, unable to sell as profitably as they wished, found that the taxes on the land became quite a burden. Leonard, in discussing his financial difficulties after leaving the Supreme Court in 1857, stated that, "all my means are locked up in unproductive property."
One reason that Leonard required more money than he could make as a judge was that he placed great importance on the education of his children. When he stepped down from the court, he had the considerable expense of educating daughter Ada at St. Mary's Hall in New Jersey, and Reeves at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire. Reeves was expected to continue his education for two years in Germany, while Kate, Abiel, Jr., and Willie were still to be educated at their various schools. In addition, the family home had to be maintained, including the maintenance of several slaves.
At 61 years old, in failing health, and in spite of his promise not to be separated from his family again, Leonard had little choice but to return to the profession of law to earn the money needed to support his family in the manner to which they were accustomed. He wrote, "I am provoked with myself -- that I have so conducted my affairs as to place this necessity upon me." His reputation was such that he could command rather large fees practicing as a counselor, "leaving the attorney's business to younger members of the profession." He decided that he could earn more money in St. Louis, so he spent most of his time there for the next couple of years, until his health precluded his working any longer.
In spite of the fact that they had owned slaves most of the time they lived in Missouri, the Leonards were strong supporters of the Union in the Civil War, with Reeves serving as an officer in the Missouri Militia upon his return from Germany in 1861. Leonard continued to correspond with professional acquaintances, family, and friends, maintaining his prominence in the community and in the state until his death on March 28, 1863.
After his father's death Reeves Leonard took responsibility as head of the family until his own early demise in 1878. The estate was in deep debt, partly due to Leonard's penchant for land speculation, but also because sons-in-law Horace Everett and Joseph Smith owed huge amounts to the estate. Much of Reeves' time was spent selling off the land that his father had accumulated in order to support his mother and provide for the education of his younger brothers. Upon Reeves' death, Willie headed the family, taking care of his father's estate and eventually marrying Reeves' widow.
Charles Hammond Darby's obituary listed a middle initial of "J", but I have not seen that anyplace else (including the book-length biography by Boman), so I'm not including it.
The Web site of the Missouri Secretary of State (http://www.sos.state.mo.us/archives/history/historicallistings/molegw.asp) shows Abiel Leonard elected to the state house of representatives in 1834.
A detailed biography is available:
Dennis K. Boman, "Abiel Leonard, Yankee Slaveholder, Eminent Jurist, and Passionate Unionist" (Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY, 2002).
Note: Some of the information in these pages is uncertain. Please let me know of errors or omissions using the email link above. ...Mike Wilson
Page generated on 31 October 2023