Page:One of a thousand.djvu/388

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374 LEONARD. LEWIS. LEONARD, SPENCER, son of Spencer and Mary (Wood) Leonard, a lineal de- scendant in the seventh generation from Solomon Leonard, one of the first pro- prietors of this town, was born in Bridge- water, Plymouth county, on August 18, 1814. His grandfather, Samuel Leonard, was a minute-man in the war of the revolution, and received a pension from the govern- ment. His father, Spencer Leonard, was drafted in the defense of Plymouth in the war of 18 12, for which the government gave a land warrant. He was a farmer and well known for his industrious habits and sterling, honest character. Spencer's youth and early manhood were occupied in the labor of the farm, and his educational advantages were limited to the district schools of that day. At the age of twenty he engaged in the dry-goods trade, which he followed for eighteen years, when he changed his vo- cation to that of farmer, and purchased the Zechariah Whitman farm, and has success- fully carried on the business of farming in connection with the manufacture of wood and lumber, until the present time. About eight years since he purchased an orange orchard in Florida, and has now twenty- eight acres of land and about five hundred orange trees. He married, August 12, 1840, Cementha T., daughter of Isaac and Polly (Chand- ler) Sturtevant. They had live children : Mary L. (married Marcellus G. Howard), Abbie F. (married first, James W. Lee, second, James W. Leach), Austin, Cora C, and Spencer Leonard, Jr. During his long and useful life Mr. Leonard has been elected to many offices in the gift of his fellow-citizens. He rep- resented Bridgewater in the lower branch of the Legislature in the years 1846 and '47. He was elected selectman in 1855, and has served in that capacity and as assessor, overseer of the poor, member of the board of health, etc., for thirty-two years continuously, requesting to be re- lieved in 1887. He has been one of the justices of the peace for the county of Plymouth since 1867. lie took an active interest in sustaining the government in the late war, by procur- ing enlistments, filling quotas, and caring for the soldiers and their families. He also served as United States enrolling officer during the rebellion. He has been probation officer for Bridgewater from the first creation of that office to the present time ; has been a member of the board of trustees of the Bridgewater Savings Bank from its incorporation, and its vice-presi- dent for several years. In 1883 he was elected president of that institution to fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of Hon. Lloyd Parsons, which office he now holds. He has been connected with the Plymouth County Agricultural Society since 1846, having served as trustee ami vice-president a large portion of the time. Mr. Leonard is an attendant of the New Jerusalem church ; has always been a firm supporter of the Republican party, and is one who to a marked degree enjoys the confidence and esteem of his fellow-towns- men. LEWIS, Charles Dudley, son of William Gustavus and Mary Ann (Dudley) Lewis, was born in Roxbury, Norfolk county, September 26, 1844. He was educated in the public schools of Roxbury and Framingham, and Dummer Academy, South Byfield. In i86t he entered mercantile life with the firm of A. S. & W. G. Lewis ; three years later was taken into the firm as part- ner, and held the position until 1S85, when he retired. He was elected treasurer of the Demo- cratic state committee in 1884, and still holds the position. Although a resident of Framingham, a considerable portion of his time is employed in the management of a farm of eight hundred acres which he owns in Sherborn. He was one of the organizers of the South Framingham National Bank, and a charter member ; also of the Farmers and Mechanics Savings Bank of the same town, of which he is a trustee. In 1888 he was elected a member of the national Democratic committee. Mr. Lewis has traveled quite extensively, and has spent some years in Brazil and the West Indies. Lewis Wharf, Boston, was named for his grandfather, Thomas Lewis, who was a well-known Boston merchant sixty years ago. Mr. Lewis's maternal grandfather was David Dudley, an old and highly respected resident of Roxbury, who died in 1841. Mr. Lewis was married in Framingham, on the 3d of April, 1872, to Emily Johonnot, daughter of James Wilson and Catharine Monroe (March) Clark. Of this union there were seven children : James Wilson Clark, William Gustavus 2d, Katharine Le Baron, Frances Wilson, Margaret Dudley, Charles Dudley, Jr., and Edmund Sanford Lewis.