Bio-Leonard, ReubenH

Reuben H. Leonard
(1841-1922)

Reuben H. Leonard was born on Sept. 2, 1841 in Stewart Twp., Fayette County, PA, the son of Benjamin and Sarah (Harbaugh) Leonard. He was a veteran of the Civil War, and other than his military service, spent his entire life in Stewart.

Reuben stood five feet, six inches tall, with a dark complexion, blue eyes and dark hair. His friend Evans Rush once said that he was "strictly a temperate man in every particular." Another friend, John W. Williams, called him a "good citizen...."

He married Martha A. Cunningham (1850-1912), who was one of 17 children of Robert and Sarah (Pinkerton) Cunningham of Preston County, WV. Through this marriage, Reuben became kin to his wife's cousins, Rev. David Ewing and Sarah Catherine (Williams) Minerd.

The Leonards went on to have five children: Alvah R. Leonard, Clara May Holt, Harry D. Leonard, Hazel Dell Leonard and Bruce H. Leonard.

Sadly, son Alvah died as he neared his fifth birthday, on Aug. 6, 1876. His remains were interred in the Thorpe Cemetery, with a small, upright stone marking his place of rest. The marker is seen here and was still very legible when photographed in the summer of 2001.

Reuben is said to have "served with distinction" as a member of Company E of the 168th Pennsylvania Drafted Militia during the war. He suffered from malaria and heart disease ("catarrh") while on duty. He later testified that when his regiment arrived in Newberne, NC, he "had to lie on ground that night, suffered very much with cold which resulted in Dumb Ague and weak Back." His company's captain, J.C. Stacy of New Salem, PA, later testified that:

... while on a forced march from Suffolk, Virginia to New Berne, North Carolina, [Reuben] contracted intermittent or malarial fever, caused by wading streams, sleeping in wet clothes, and bivouacking in the cold night air in the snow; that many of the most able-bodied men in [the] company broke down and never again recovered their health; that [Reuben's] health was broken down, and that he has never recovered from the effects....

Fierce battle action at New Bern, North Carolina

After the war, Reuben and Martha resided on a farm at Meadow Run, about two miles south of Ohiopyle. He was a member of the Will F. Stewart Post of a veterans organization called the Grand Army of the Republic in Uniontown, PA. He was "widely known throughout the county."

Reuben's father and brother in law George Perry Potter were "the first to manufacture splint chairs on Meadow Run," says the 2000 book, The Explorer's Guide to the Youghiogheny River Gorge, Ohiopyle, & S.W. Pennsylvania's Villages, by Marci McGuinness and Bill Sohonage. Later, Reuben and his brother Chris "kept his business going long after [the father's] death." Seen at left are the picturesque Meadow Run Falls near Ohiopyle, from a rare old postcard dated 1913.

When the federal census of 1870 was taken, Reuben and Martha were living in Stewart Township, Fayette County, with young son Bruce. They were next-door neighbors to his brother Christmas Leonard and also to Isaiah Collins, all three of whom were listed as chair makers.

In the summer of 1891, Reuben broke his left foot when it became caught and was crushed by the wheel of his wagon when he was drawing the brake. This left him "not able to perform hard work or stand on my feet more than six hours without great fatigue." In May 1894, he was severely injured when thrown from a horse.

He applied for and was awarded a soldier's pension for his wartime disabilities. In October 1911, to prove his age, he produced a family Bible which showed his birthdate. A notary public observed the Bible said the entry "has no marks of erasures or alteration and from the appearance of the writing in said record I believe the entries to have been made about the dates given."

Martha passed away on Jan. 22, 1912. She was buried in the Thorpe Cemetery (later renamed Belle Grove Cemetery, and today known as the Irwin Memorial Cemetery).

Reuben outlived his wife by more than a decade. He died on Sept. 12, 1922. The Connellsville Daily Courier reported that he "was buried with due honors as an old soldier." His obituary in the Uniontown Morning Herald said that "While his death was not unexpected, it came as a distinct shock to his many friends." The Will F. Stewart Post of the Grand Army of the Republic sent a flag to drape his casket., and many "beautiful floral offerings were sent by his many friends. the Methodist Episcopal Choir of Ohiopyle sang 'The Old Rugged Cross,' 'Safe in the Arms of Jesus' and 'Some Time We'll Understand'." He was laid to rest beside Martha.

In 1933, Martha, Reuben and the children were mentioned in a book about her family, Genealogy of Some Early Families in Grant and Pleasant Districts, Preston County, West Virginia, authored by Edward Thorp King, of Marshalltown, Iowa.

Reuben and Martha also are mentioned in a profile of his brother in law Thomas Sobieski Cunningham in The History of West Virginia, Old and New, published in 1923 by the American Historical Society, Inc. (vol. II. page 387). The profile calls Reuben "an old Federal soldier." The volume is on file in the West Virginia and Regional History Collection at West Virginia University.

In 1994, two photographs of Martha standing at the Meadow Run Methodist Episcopal Church were published in the book, Yesteryear in Ohiopyle and Surrounding Communities, Vol. II (seen at right), compiled by author Marci Lynn McGuinness. Reuben also is pictured in the book, in a photograph taken at a Civil War veterans reunion at the original Ohiopyle House, standing beside his brother in law, George Perry Potter. The same soldiers' reunion image also has been published in McGuinness's 1998 book, Stone House Legends and Lore.

Son Harry D. Leonard (1877-1951) was a lawyer and a "prominent member of the Fayette County Bar…." He attended Ohio Northern University and West Virginia University and was admitted to the Fayette County Bar in 1910. In 1922, he served as City Controller of Uniontown. Harry also was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows at Ohiopyle.

Apparently having never married, Harry died at his home near Ohiopyle at age 73 on April 3, 1951. He was buried in the family's plot at Belle Grove. Pallbearers were Earl Skinner, Opal Dean, Jack Spittal, John Bryner, Russell Groover and Harry King. Honorary pallbearers were John L. Spurgeon, J.B. Adams Jr., Chad L. John, J. Espey Sherrard, J.R. Smiley and Lee Smith.

Fayette County Courthouse and county building, circa 1927, where Harry held office as county controller

Daughter Clara Leonard ( ? - ? ) married John T. Holt ( ? -1919), a well known farmer of Farmington, Fayette County, and the son of John W. and Keziah Holt of Pittsburgh.

Clara was an early educator in the family. According to her obituary, “She received her early education in the Belle Grove school and later qualified as a teacher through honor studies at the old Ohiopyle Normal school. Following her graduation she taught several terms in Stewart and Springfield townships."

Said the Connellsville Daily Courier, John "was a farmer virtually all his life, residing on the same farm at Farmington until [1918] when with his family he moved into what is known as the old stone house on the National pike. He also owned two motor trucks, operating them for the state."

John tragically was killed in a freak accident in June 1919. Reported the Courier, "While returning home from a stone quarry about 10 o'clock last Saturday night, Mr. Holt as jolted from his motor truck, driven by his son... The wheel of the truck passed over him, causing two fractured ribs, a fracture of the right leg and injuries to the head. Erysipelas developed, causing his death."

Daughter Hazel Dell Leonard ( ? - ? ) apparently never married. She is buried with her brother Harry at Irwin Memorial Cemetery. Clara and Hazel also are pictured in the Yesteryear volume.