Herman Leonard (1812 - 1884)

Born 30 Apr 1812 in Parma, Monroe, New York, United States

Husband of Laura Jane (Goodrich) Leonard — married 10 Sep 1845 (to 25 Dec 1862) in St. Joseph, Berrien, Michigan, United States

Died 21 Feb 1884 at age 71 in Grand Rapids, Kent, Michigan, United States

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Biography

Heman Leonard is Notable.

He settled in Grand Rapids in 1846 and lived to see the former Indian trading post become a modern city.

"He was a manufacturer. He established the Leonard Refrigerator, later bought by Kelvinator Co.

Heman was at home one day and the maid spilled oil on the ice box. No matter how she scrubbed, she could not get the stain out of the ice box. Heman went to his workshop and made a refrigerator. He named it the Leonard Cleanable. He began to manufacture refrigerators. The name of his shop was H. Leonard and Sons, on the corner of Commerce and Fulton Streets. After some years he sold the patent to Sears for over a million dollars."

buried in Fulton Street Cemetery, Kent Co., Michigan

Sources

See Also:

• Leonard Appliances
• Leonard Genealogy
• The Orleans Republican Newspaper Wednesday, February 16, 1927
• "History of Michigan," by Charles Moore, published 1915 by The Lewis Publishing Co.
• https://www.geni.com/people/Frank-Leonard/324552433110002893
• "Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNLS-RND : 17 December 2020), Herman Leonard and Jane Goodrich, 10 Sep 1845; citing reference ID , various county clerks and libraries, Michigan; FHL microfilm 1,295,528.