George Leeman (August 1809 – 25 February 1882) was a lawyer, railwayman and a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament (MP) for the

City of York The City of York is a unitary authority area with city status in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire, England. The district's main settlement is York, and it extends to the surrounding area including the town of Haxby and the villages of ...

in the nineteenth century.

Work

Legal practice

Leeman was

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to Robert Henry Anderson's legal practice, and established a legal practice in York in 1835 when he qualified as a solicitor. He became a senior partner in Leeman & Wilkinson of York and Beverley. He was

Clerk of the Peace A clerk of the peace held an office in England and Wales whose responsibility was the records of the quarter sessions and the framing of presentments and indictments. They had legal training, so that they could advise justices of the peace. Histo ...

for the East Riding of Yorkshire from 1845 (and a member of the Society of Clerks of the Peace from November 1849) and a Deputy Lieutenant for the North Riding.

Railwayman

In 1849 he became chairman of the

York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business interest ...

, succeeding his rival the 'Railway King'

George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King"—a title conferr ...

after Leeman's investigations helped uncover Hudson's illegal share dealing. Leeman was deputy chairman of the successor company, the North Eastern Railway, from 1855 to 1874 and chairman from 1874 to 1880, having encouraged its formation through mergers in 1854, and he was a chairman of the Railway Association of Great Britain. Leeman resigned as chairman of the NER in 1880 after the failure of his mining company reduced his wealth and harmed his health. He remained a member of the board until his death two years later.

Other business

He was involved the 1860s in developing iron ore mining at Rosedale for Teesside steel works, co-owning the Rosedale and Ferryhill Iron Company from 1860 to 1877. He was a director of the ''

York Herald York Herald of Arms in Ordinary is an officer of arms at the College of Arms. The first York Herald is believed to have been an officer to Edmund of Langley, Duke of York around the year 1385, but the first completely reliable reference to such a ...

'' and chairman of the Yorkshire Banking Company from 1867 to 1880.

Political career

He became a Liberal councillor for Castlegate Ward in 1836 and for Guildhall Ward in 1839, and was an Alderman for 28 years from 1850. He was elected Lord Mayor of York three times in 1853, 1860, 1870, and was the Member of Parliament for York 1865–8 and 1871–80, having first stood for Parliament in 1852. When Anthony Trollope campaigned in Beverley as a Liberal candidate, Leeman warned him against it; Trollope came last due to corruption and vote-buying.

Personal life

Leeman was born in York, the son of George Leeman, a greengrocer. He lived at The Mount, York, and married twice, first to Jane Johnson in 1835, and second to Eliza, the widow of Rev. Charles Payton, in 1863. One son, William Luther Leeman, attended St. Edmund Hall, Cambridge, and University College, Durham, and was Rector of Middleton St. George, 1874–6, Vicar of Rosedale, Yorkshire, 1877–9, and of Seaforth, Lancashire, 1879–82. His second son, Joseph Johnson Leeman (1842 – 2 November 1883), became a partner in Leeman and Wilkinson and succeeded George as MP for York. Another son, Francis Lawley Leeman (born 19 July 1854, died 1883), attended Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge. George also had at least three daughters, including Priscilla. He was a member of the

Reform Club The Reform Club is a private members' club on the south side of Pall Mall in central London, England. As with all of London's original gentlemen's clubs, it comprised an all-male membership for decades, but it was one of the first all-male cl ...

and the Yorkshire Philosophical Society from 1844. He died in Scarborough in 1882. A statue of Leeman by local sculptor George Walker Milburn, paid for by public subscription, was unveiled in 1885 and stands outside York railway station; Station Road was renamed Leeman Road at the same time.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leeman, George 1809 births 1882 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politicians from York UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Councillors in North Yorkshire Lord Mayors of York North Eastern Railway (UK) people British railway entrepreneurs English solicitors Deputy Lieutenants of the North Riding of Yorkshire 19th-century British businesspeople