John Graves Leeper (May 23, 1854 – March 2, 1931) was an American politician and businessman who served as the elected Oklahoma Secretary of State between 1927 and 1931.

Biography

John Graves Leeper was born to James and Elizabeth (Graves) Leeper in Chillicothe, Missouri.John Graves Leeper, 1931 in Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 FamilySearch url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7D6-Y3Z He attended Central Methodist University in

Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. Th ...

. In the late 1800s he moved to Texas with his brother J.D. Leeper. The brothers opened

lumber mills A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

in Denison, Gainesville, and Bowie as well as in

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

and in Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. They eventually expanded into Anadarko near the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. One of his brothers, Cyrus S. Leeper, served as a member of the

Oklahoma Constitutional Convention The Constitution of the State of Oklahoma is the governing document of the U.S. State of Oklahoma. Adopted in 1907, Oklahoma ratified the United States Constitution on November 16, 1907, as the 46th U.S. state. At its ratification, the Oklaho ...

. Eventually, John and J.D. sold their other lumber mills to open a new mill in Oklahoma City. John Leeper was elected in 1926 and served as the Oklahoma Secretary of State between 1927 and 1931. He died shortly after leaving office in 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leeper, John Graves 1931 deaths Businesspeople from Missouri Businesspeople from Oklahoma Businesspeople from Texas Central Methodist University alumni People from Chillicothe, Missouri Secretaries of state of Oklahoma 1854 births