William James Leonard (1816-1901)
MSA SC 3520-1564

Biography:

Born in Worcester (now Wicomico) County, 1816.  Son of Joseph Leonard and Mary Dashiell Leonard.  Educated by private tutors; attended Salisbury Academy, Salisbury, Maryland; Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut, 1833-35; studied law under Brice Goldsborough, Cambridge, Maryland.  Married (1) Elizabeth S. Leonard in 1838 (d. 1872) (2) Isabella Staples White in 1874; two children.  Died in Salisbury, Wicomico County, October 14, 1901.

Elected to the House of Delegates from Worcester County (Whig) in 1849 and 1853.  Merchant in grain and lumber, Salisbury, Maryland, 1855-.  Served as colonel in the "Purnell Legion," a Unionist legion formed on Maryland's Eastern Shore and active in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, 1862; captured and held as a prisoner of war in Libby Prison, Richmond until October, 1862.  Appointed provost-marshall of the first district of Maryland, January, 1864.   Presidential elector, 1864.  Elected comptroller of the treasury (Democrat) and served from 1867 until 1870.

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