Frank Seth Leffingwell (November 16, 1868 – August 6, 1945) was a businessman, stone cutter, horse trader, real estate agent, officer of the law, as well as a municipal and provincial politician who was elected to public office in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Early life

Leffingwell was born on November 16, 1868, in

Whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. He married his wife Ida May Erdman on December 24, 1890, and they moved to Benton County,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. In his early years Leffingwell traded horses and cut granite. Leffingwell joined the Benton County police force and became deputy sheriff in 1898. In 1900 he ran in a 3-way election for the position of sheriff as the Democratic candidate. He won the hotly contested race by 119 votes to become Benton County's new sheriff, defeating incumbent Democratic sheriff Andrew LaVoie. While he was sheriff Leffingwell got into the hotel business; he owned his first hotel ''The Hotel Foley'' in

Foley, Minnesota Foley is a city and the county seat of Benton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,603 at the 2010 census. Foley is part of the St. Cloud Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Foley was named for its founder, John Foley. ...

, from 1902 to 1906. In November 1906 Leffingwell and his wife moved to

Brunton Brunton may refer to: Places *Brunton, Northumberland, England (near Alnwick) *Low Brunton, Northumberland, England (near Hexham) *Brunton, Wiltshire, England *Brunton Memorial Ground, Radlett, Hertfordshire, England *Brunton, Fife, Scotland; a Lis ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, known today as

Warner, Alberta Warner is a village in Alberta, Canada. It is surrounded by the County of Warner No. 5, approximately south of Lethbridge. Warner is a farming community. Warner is situated at the intersection of Highway 4 and Highway 36, about 38 km nor ...

to take part in the great

land rush A land run or land rush was an event in which previously restricted land of the United States was opened to Homestead Act, homestead on a first-arrival basis. Lands were opened and sold first-come or by bid, or won by lottery, or by means other th ...

Alberta

Leffingwell arrived in

, to take part in the great land rush; they procured of land, selling it all to arriving settlers. Leffingwell used his fortune to found the Warner Hotel in 1906. The hotel operated from 1906 to 1927 before it was destroyed by fire. He also helped fund the construction of the first church on the town site the Evangelical church in Warner, and established the Warner Cemetery. Leffingwell continued his active role in politics serving as the town's first mayor. He moved to provincial politics in 1913.

Provincial politics

Leffingwell ran for the Alberta Legislature for the first time in the

1913 Alberta general election The 1913 Alberta general election was held in March 1913. The writ was dropped on 25 March 1913 and election day was held 17 April 1913 to elect 56 members to the 3rd Alberta Legislature. Elections in two northern districts took place on 30 July ...

. In that election Warner had become big enough to have its own seat represented in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. Leffingwell became the first member of the

Warner Warner can refer to: People * Warner (writer) * Warner (given name) * Warner (surname) Fictional characters * Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner, stars of the animated television series ''Animaniacs'' * Aaron Warner, a character in ''Shatter Me s ...

, winning a hotly contested 3-way race. Leffingwell was re-elected to his second term in office in the

1917 Alberta general election The 1917 Alberta general election was held on 7 June 1917 to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The Liberals won a fourth term in office, defeating the Conservative Party of Edward Michener. Because of World War I, eleven Mem ...

with a comfortable plurality. He would suffer electoral defeat in the

1921 Alberta general election The 1921 Alberta general election was held on July 18, 1921, to elect members to the 5th Alberta Legislative Assembly. It was one of only five times that Alberta has changed governments. The Liberal Party, which had governed the province since it ...

by Maurice Conner, a candidate from the

United Farmers of Alberta The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is an association of Alberta farmers that has served different roles in its 100-year history – as a lobby group, a successful political party, and as a farm-supply retail chain. As a political party, it forme ...

. Leffingwell would run against Conner again in the

1926 Alberta general election The 1926 Alberta general election was held on June 28, 1926, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The United Farmers of Alberta government that had first been elected in 1921 was re-elected, taking a majority of the seats in t ...

, losing half the votes he had during the previous election. After Conner retired in 1935 he attempted to run for office one more time in the

1935 Alberta general election The 1935 Alberta general election was held on August 22, 1935, to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta. The newly founded Social Credit Party of Alberta won a sweeping victory, unseating the 14-year government of the United Farmer ...

. This time he placed a distant third behind

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

candidate

Solon Earl Low Solon Earl Low (January 8, 1900 – December 22, 1962) was a Canadians, Canadian politician, farmer, teacher, and school principal in the 20th century. Early life Solon Earl Low was born in Cardston, Alberta, Cardston, District of Alberta, Nor ...

and James Walker.

References

External links

Legislative Assembly of Alberta Members Listing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leffingwell, Frank 1868 births 1945 deaths Alberta Liberal Party MLAs Minnesota sheriffs People from the County of Warner No. 5