Eighth Generation

3620. Elijah LEONARD Jr.³¹⁶³ was born on 10 September 1814 in near Syracuse, Onondaga Co., NY.³¹⁶⁴ He died on 14 May 1891 at the age of 76 in London, Ontario, Canada.³¹⁶⁴ Memoir of Elijah Leonard, Jr. of London, Ontario, Canada

"My father came from the old Leonard stock at Taunton, MA, having been born at or near that place May 1, 1787. My grandfather's name was Samuel, and because there were several Samuel Leonards there at the same time, my grandfather was called Black Sam. My grandmother was Mary (Sarah) Williams.

I remember them both, as when I was young, my grandparents made their home with us at a place called Constantia, NY. My grandfather was a worker in iron. In 1870 I visited Taunton and was shown the locality of the Leonard Forge. The motive power was an overshot wheel, the shaft of which extended out with cams attached that drove the trip hammers. At this time the Forge was employed in making ships anchors. As near as I can recall, the story is that my father ran away from home before he had completed his apprenticeship and going through Vermont made his way to the vicinity of Lake George where no doubt he engaged in the manufacture of iron, as that locality was and is famous for its iron manufacture.

My mother Polly Stone was born March 25, 1793, and I know little more about here except that she met my father in that locality and they were married October 31, 1811. They shortly afterwards came to live at Syracuse, NY, or near there and purchased a farm. My eldest brother, myself, and Lyman were born in this place Sept. 2, 1813, September 10, 1814, and March 16, 1816 respectively.

Farming did not seem to suit my father's views, and we moved to a place called Taburg, north of Syracuse, and he engaged in the iron business there. Our next move was to Constantia, NY, where my father purchased a furnace from a New York firm and carried on a large business but getting into a dispute with the owners he unfortunately went to law. His case was particularly successful, but the suit was expensive that shortly afterward he failed and he went back to the farm near Syracuse.

In 1829 my father and brother Lewis went to Long Point, Norfolk County, Canada, to take charge of Messrs. Joseph and Benjamin Van Norman's Iron Foundry at Normandale. In 1830 he returned for the rest of he family. The Normandale Furnace was established by an Englishman named Capron -- it did not pay so he sold it to the Van Normans. The furnace consisted of a stack or brick chimney about thirty feet high and five feet "bosh" built on the side of a hill. Motive power was obtained from a fair stream of water running through the village which kept in motion an overshot wheel about 14 feet in diameter that in turn drove a double piston bellows by means of cranks. The charcoal was made back in the bush and the iron ore came from a swamp about .7 mile west. My father had charge of the works and directed the mixing of the ore and charcoal in the top house. The material was dumped into the furnace by barrows and the iron when melted ran down into a hearth about 2 feet wide and five feet long. Into this receptacle we dipped our ladles and carried off the product directly to the flasks. When in full blast we took off two heats in 24 hours consisting of plows, stoves, kettles, sleigh shoes, and all kinds of castings. At this time Normandale was a thriving place and the furnace employed about 400 men directly or indirectly, getting out and teaming the ore, burning the charcoal, working about the furnace, and attending the mercantile part of the business. The ore used was bog ore. The supply lasted a good while but finally played out and the furnace was abandoned in 1853.

My brother, Lyman, and myself learned the trade of moulding at Normandale, and Lewis was clerk. I looked about to start a furnace or business of my own and finally settled at St. Thomas. I formed a partnership with my father and Phil Van Norman. Our capital was $150. I removed to London, Ontario, in 1838 and started the Elijah Leonard and Sons Iron Company."

Elijah Leonard, Jr., became a prominent man in Canada. He learned the trade of iron moulder at Normandale, Canada, and moved to London, Canada, in 1838 and established the Leonard Foundry. He was a director of the London and Port Stanley Railway. He was town councilman, London, 1854-56, mayor in 1857, and was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada in 1862 until Confederation, then called to the Senate. He was a member of the Liberal Party. He married Emeline Woodman, daughter of Elijah Crocker and Alphiah Woodman of Buxton, ME.

According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, "the financial crisis of 1837 proved to be a strain on the business. That year, Elijah, who as an American would be accused of spying during the rebellion, went to Monroe and Ann Arbor, MI, to explore relocation but was no more satisfied with their potential than that of St. Thomas. London, however, though no larger than St. Thomas, had the attraction of being a garrison town, with its attendant business. Consequently, in 1840 Elijah set up a machine shop and foundry in London at Fullarton and Ridout streets. He did not totally abandon his St Thomas base, however, and the foundry there was run by two of his brothers, Lyman and Delos, until 1842. Elijah then operated it in partnership with John Sells, who pruchased his share of the business in April 1851. About 1842 Elijah had assembled his first steam engine from parts purchased in Cleveland.

In London Elijah developed a large market for agricultural machinery, producing his first threshing machine about 1845. In 1848 he manufactured his first boiler. But it was the railway boom of the early 1850's that seemed to offer his first opportunity for prosperity. The foundy constructed dump cars, road scrapers, and track material for the Great Western Railway. Then, in 1853, through his father's contacts, Elijah acquired a contract to build 200 boxcars for the company. This undertaking exceeded the capacity of his plant and consequently a second foundry was erected, at York and Waterloo streets. Since the casting of railway wheels proved too difficult, however, Elijah supplied the cars without axles and wheels, delivering them between February 1855 and September 1856. Early that year Elijah had acquired the contract to supply all cars and a turntable for the London and Port Stanley Railway. His firm's increasing technical skill enabled it to supply these cars with wheels.

The railway contracts proved so time-consuming that regular local business was lost. The Great Western was slow to pay, causing Elijah some commercial embarrassment. He suffered further personal loss when he was held responsible for his portion of the bond of his brother-in-law, Henry Black, who had absconded as Elgin County treasurer. When railway construction ceased during the crisis of 1857, Leonard had little to fall back on. It took several years to re-establish his agricultural business. Even then there were setbacks; his design for a reaper did not work and he abandoned the project. Prosperity did not return until the American Civil War. Over the next few years the business was consolidated in the York Street foundry.

Leonard's operation underwent fundamental changes in business strategy during the 1870's. By 1875, expansion of trade allowed him to admit his two surviving sons, Frank Elton and Charles Weston, into the partnership, forming E. Leonard & Sons. That same year he secured his first major contract, with the Sarnia waterworks, in the line of boilers and engines. In 1879 he produced his first steam farm-tractor, but stationary boilers and engines became the mainstay of the foundry. With this specialization the company's market expanded out of southwestern Ontario. In 1882 an agency was established in Montreal, followed five years later by one in Saint John. The success of the firm in that region is reflected in the claim of the Saint John Sun in 1909 that "there are few names better known than E. Leonard & Sons in the Maritimes today."

Following his death, his firm was continued by his two sons and its presidency remained in the family until 1945."

A volume of Elijah Leonard's reminiscences was edited by his son Frank Elton Leonard and published as "The honorable Elijah Leonard, a memoir (London, Ont., 1894). Leonard family papers are at the London Public Library and Art Museum, London Room.

Elijah LEONARD Jr. and Emeline WOODMAN were married on 15 June 1847 in Buxton, ME.³¹⁶⁴ Emeline WOODMAN was born on 29 August 1819 in Buxton, ME.³¹⁶⁴

Elijah LEONARD Jr. and Emeline WOODMAN had the following children: