Eighth Generation

1863. Henry Lee LEONARD was born on 5 June 1841 in Rutland Co., VT. He died on 10 August 1914 at the age of 73 in Walnut, Dallas Co., IA. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by:
Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com December 25, 2007, 12:43 am

Author: Lewis Publishing Co. (1896)

HENRY LEE LEONARD is one of the worthy citizens that the Green Mountain State
has furnished to Iowa, and his life illustrates what can be accomplished through
application to business, resolute purpose and a strong determination to succeed.
He was born in Rutland county, Vermont, January 5, 1841, and is a son of Oliver
and Calista (Spaulding) Leonard, both of whom were also natives of Rutland
county. His early childhood days were passed in his native State, but with a
spirit of adventure and a desire to better his financial condition he left his
New England home in September, 1860, and following the "star of empire" settled
in Illinois within twenty-five miles of Joliet, where he worked on a farm
belonging to his uncle. In January, 1861, his parents also became residents of
Illinois. In 1869 Henry L. Leonard left Will county, and came to Iowa, settling
on the farm which is now his place of residence, while his father and mother
went to Chicago and spent their last days in the home of their son in that city.
The father died at the age of seventy years. Of the three children of the
family all are yet living.

Mr. Leonard purchased forty acres of land on his arrival in Iowa, in section
31, Walnut township, Dallas county, and began the development of a farm, which
he has continued to cultivate and improve through the succeeding years until he
now has a very valuable property, comprising 275 acres. The place was in its
primitive condition at the time of his first purchase, not a furrow having been
turned or an improvement made thereon, but with characteristic energy he began
its development and to-day has one of the finest country homes to be found in
this section of the State. In addition to general farming he is extensively
engaged in stock raising, and this branch of his business has proved very
successful.

On the 5th of January, 1868, Mr. Leonard was united in marriage with Miss
Sophia M. Smith, who was born in Ireland and came to the United States at the
age of seven years with her parents, William and Helen Smith. Both are now
deceased, the father having passed away at the age of seventy years, while the
mother died at the age of sixty-five. To Mr. and Mrs. Leonard have been born
eight children, and the family circle yet remains unbroken, while with one
exception all are still under the parental roof. They are as follows: Edward
James, Norman Martin, Helen Calista, Marian Eliza, Joseph Spaulding, William,
Myron, and Emma Savina. Edward is a graduate of the Iowa Normal School, of Cedar
Falls and for several terms has successfully engaged in teaching, while other
members of the family are teachers of recognized ability. The Leonard household
is noted for its hospitality, and the parents and children have the high regard
of all with whom they have been brought in contact.

Mr. Leonard cast his first presidential vote for Abraham Lincoln, but is
independent in politics, supporting the man whom he thinks best qualified for
office, regardless of party affiliations. He has filled a number of local
positions with credit to himself and satisfaction to his constituents, but the
greater part of his time and attention is devoted to his business interests, in
which he has met with signal success. The family are active in church work, and
the accomplished daughters are very prominent in the Sunday-school. They rank
high in social circles where true worth and intelligence are received as the
passports into good society, and in the community where they live they have many
warm friends.

Walter E. Packard: After completing my irrigation census work, I returned toIowa for my marriage to Emma Leonard, a classmate at Ames. It was love at first sight with me. Emmy Lou, as she was called at college, was very active in class activities and always ready to take part in college doings. She was born on a farm near Waukee, Iowa, and had come to Ames to take a domestic science course. We hit it off as good friends from the start. Her father, Henry Lee Leonard, (known affectionately in his home town in Vermont as Hell Let Loose) was a pioneer settler who led the farmers in the area in tile draining the land, selecting seed corn, and in feeding cattle from the range country for shipment to the Chicago market. Once when he was asked to submit a paper at a farmers meeting at Ames he began by saying, "If you want good corn you don t plant popcorn, and if you want good cattle you don t use popcorn bulls." He was an early subscriber to Wallace s Farmer and the Rural New Yorker. He took the Chicago Tribune to keep abreast of the livestock market. He was a member of the Populist party, which was the radical party of his time. In order to get better credit terms for farmers he established a bank in Waukee, where he served as president until his death in 1912. Emma s mother was one of the kindliest persons I have known. She had been a student at Knox College, Illinois, and wanted all of her children to have an education. She raised eight children, all of whom followed her example by joining the local Christian church.
University of California Berkeley (1970)
University of California Bancroft Library / Berkeley
Regional Oral History Office
Walter E. Packard Interview conduced by Willa Klug Baum

Henry Lee LEONARD and Sophia Sarah Marie SMITH were married on 5 January 1868. Sophia Sarah Marie SMITH was born in May 1842 in Ireland. She died in 1947 at the age of 105.

Henry Lee LEONARD and Sophia Sarah Marie SMITH had the following children: