David Augustus Leonard (1771 - 1819)

Born 25 Sep 1771 in Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Mary (Peirce) Leonard — married 9 Feb 1797 in Middleboro, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States

Descendants

Died 22 Jul 1819 at age 47 in Laconia, Harrison County, Indiana, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Leonard Name Study.

From a sketch of his life by his grandson. Col. John Hay, we take the following:—'He was a boy of refined and studious disposition, much given to books from his earliest days. He was prepared for college by famous instructor, Abner Alden, and was graduated from Brown University in 1792; he delivered the class poem, a function which was repeated by one of his grandsons sixty-six years later. He had embraced the Baptist faith while a student, and had been baptized, according to the rigorous fashion of those days, by immersion in the Seekonk River, a hole having been cut in the ice for that purpose. After leaving college he taught school for a while, at the same time pursuing his theological studies, and was ordained as a minister on the 17th of December, 1794. At Bridgewater, Massachusetts: the sermon on the occasion was preached by the Reverend Dr. Thomas Baldwin. In 1796-7 he preached on the Island of Nantucket.

"On the 9th of February, 1797, he was married to Miss Mary Peirce, fifth daughter, and ninth child of Captain Job Peirce and Elizabeth Rounseville. Mary, or, as she was commonly called, Polly Peirce, was a woman of remarkable attractiveness and extraordinary strength of character. She was thoroughly and carefully educated and formed a most congenial and helpful consort to a man so refined and scholarly as Mr. Leonard. He went soon after his marriage to New York and there filled the pulpit of the principal Baptist Church of that city, which was then established in Gold Street—the same society which now worships in Park Avenue.

His brother Bernard Leonard was at that time a prosperous merchant in New York; Leonard Street takes its name from him. David A. Leonard had a distinguished position among the cultivated men of his day; he was often called upon to speak on occasions of public interest. Among the addresses which were printed and have been preserved are ' A sermon delivered at Holmes Harbor, Martha's Vineyard on the death of Mr. John Holmes Nov 1st. 1795;" 'An Oration at Nantucket at a celebration of a Festival of St. John by the Union Lodge in 1796:" 'A funeral sermon in Gold Street Church Feb. 16, 1800:" An Oration on the death of Gen. George Washington delivered in the First Baptist Meeting House in New York Feb. 22, 1800;' ' Oration at Raynham, Mass. July 5th, 1802; ‘Oration at Dighton, July 4, 1803.’ An Oration on the Acquisition of Louisiana, delivered at Raynham May 11 1804." He removed to Bristol, Rhode Island, in June, 1805.

"On account of a change of religious views in the direction of Unitarianism he relinquished his place in the Baptist Church and entered upon commercial life in which he was reasonably successful. In 1806 he was appointed by President Jefferson Postmaster of Bristol, a position which he held for eleven years. He resigned it in 1817 as he had at that time resolved to go to the West. His life in Bristol was one of intense activity. In addition to his duties as postmaster and the cares of his commercial house, he was secretary and principal manager of the Bristol Insurance Company and editor and proprietor of the Bristol Republican. He gave a great deal of time to the education of his family, and he found leisure amid these multifarious occupations to make a translation of the New Testament. This last Work was never published, the manuscript having been destroyed in the terrible storm of September 23, 1815, still remembered by the old people of Bristol, which wrecked his wharves and his storehouses that stood by the water-side.

“His intention in going West was to establish his family at Vincennes which was at that time the most flourishing town in Indiana. He never reached that place. His health, already gravely impaired, failed on the journey. Arriving in December at the little town of Laconia, near the Ohio River, in Harrison County, he concluded to go no further. He bought a considerable estate in Land, but was unable to continue the active habit of life to which he was accustomed. He died on the 22d of July, 1819. After his death his widow had occasion to display her remarkable powers of intelligence and character. She was forty-two years of age, with eleven children; separated from home and friends by a distance hardly conceivable in these days of railroads and telegraph, with a property consisting almost entirely of unproductive land. It was not only without dismay or repining, but probably with no idea that her conduct was especially meritorious, that she betook herself to the care of her large family and the management of her affairs. She had the success which was due to her merit. The matron of the Proverbs was not better spoken of at the city gates than was this notable widow, on both sides of the Ohio River. She lived to see her family well established in life, and died on the 2d of October, 1836."' from Manning Leonard's book site below.

Sources

• Memorial: Genealogical, Historical, and Biographical, of Solomon Leonard, 1637, Duxbury and Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and some of His Descendants. By Manning Leonard, Southbridge, Mass. Press of Knapp, Peck & Thomson, Auburn N.Y. 1896, p220-2.

• "Massachusetts, Marriages, 1695-1910," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FHB1-296 : accessed 5 June 2015), Rev. David Leonard and Polly Peirce, 09 Feb 1797; citing reference Roll4 P57 R8; FHL microfilm 945,014.

• Find A Grave: Burial: Old Goshen Cemetery, Laconia, Harrison County, Indiana, USA, Created by: acousintoo, Record added: Jun 06, 2014, Find A Grave Memorial# 130961