Benjamin Franklin Leiter (October 13, 1813 – June 17, 1866) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer, teacher and justice of the peace from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He served two terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

from 1855 to 1859.

Biography

Born in

Leitersburg, Maryland Leitersburg is a census-designated place (CDP) in Washington County, Maryland, United States. The population was 523 at the 2000 census. History Bell-Varner House, Huckleberry Hall, and Leitersburg Historic District are listed on the National R ...

, Leiter received a limited schooling as a child. He taught school in

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

from 1830 to 1834 before moving to

where he continued teaching from 1834 to 1842. He studied law at the office of David A. Starkweather. He was admitted to the bar in 1842, commencing practice in

Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in and the county seat of Stark County, Ohio. It is located approximately south of Cleveland and south of Akron in Northeast Ohio. The city lies on the edge of Ohio's extensive Amish country, particularly in Holmes and ...

. Leiter was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

and mayor of Canton for ten years. He was a member of the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

in 1848 and 1849, serving as

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...

in the latter year. Leiter was elected an Oppositionist and later

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to the

in 1854, serving from 1855 to 1859. He died in

, on June 17, 1866, and was interred in Canton in

West Lawn Cemetery West Lawn Cemetery is in Canton, Ohio, adjacent to the McKinley National Memorial. It was the original resting place of William McKinley until his memorial was built, and has graves of other notable Cantonians. History Bezaleel Wells, Canton' ...

. In 1836, Leiter married Catherine Burger of Canton. They had seven children. He was a

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

References

External links

* 1813 births 1866 deaths People from Washington County, Maryland American Lutherans Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Speakers of the Ohio House of Representatives Mayors of places in Ohio Ohio lawyers Politicians from Canton, Ohio Burials at West Lawn Cemetery 19th-century American politicians Lawyers from Canton, Ohio Republican Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century Lutherans Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio {{Ohio-mayor-stub