Elias Warner Leavenworth (December 20, 1803 – November 25, 1887) was an American lawyer and politician.

Biography

He was born in Canaan, New York, and lived there before moving to

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, ...

in 1806. He graduated from

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

in 1824. He studied law at the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Whi ...

from 1825 to 1827. He passed the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

exam in 1827 and practiced law in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...

for 20 years until 1850, when he retired from the practice because of ill health.

Personal life

Leavenworth married the daughter of Joshua Forman, who was the founder of

. His principal home, a mansion at 607 James Street in Syracuse, was a significant Greek Revival style structure where he received visitors of national and international stature.

Political life

In 1839, he was named supervisor of the old town of Salina, the first election at which the Democrats had been beaten for 15 years. He was president of Syracuse village from 1839 to 1841 and from 1846 to 1847, and was mayor of the town in 1849, 1850, 1859, and 1860. Leavenworth was a Whig member of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

(Onondaga Co., 3rd D.) in

1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a cit ...

and

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Janua ...

; and was

Secretary of State of New York The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York who leads the New York State Department of State, Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York ...

from 1854 to 1855. He was Chairman of the

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 ...

State convention of 1860. In 1861 President

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

appointed Leavenworth the United States' commissioner for the convention with

Granadine Confederation The Granadine Confederation ( es, Confederación Granadina) was a short-lived federal republic established in 1858 as a result of a constitutional change replacing the Republic of New Granada. It consisted of the present-day nations of Colombia an ...

in 1861 and 1862. Leavenworth was elected as a Republican to the

Forty-fourth United States Congress The 44th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1875, ...

, holding office from March 4, 1875 to March 3, 1877. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1876 and resumed business activities in Syracuse.

Syracuse parks

A resolution he introduced in 1888 procured Vanderbilt Square for the city of Syracuse. Additionally he persuaded the railroad to plant rows of trees on each side of the railroad from Beech Street to the heart of the city and install the first public sewer. He was considered father of the park system of the city. Fayette Park was obtained through his efforts. About 1860, Leavenworth Park was named after him.

Later life

He died on November 25, 1887 in

and was buried at the Oakwood Cemetery. Leavenworth death in 1887

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavenworth, Elias Warner 1803 births 1887 deaths Yale College alumni Litchfield Law School alumni Mayors of Syracuse, New York New York (state) lawyers Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly Secretaries of State of New York (state) Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 19th-century American politicians Burials at Oakwood Cemetery (Syracuse, New York) 19th-century American lawyers