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Jonathan Leavitt (1764–1830) was a prominent 
Judge Leavitt was also known for his legal writings, especially in probate law, as well as his "Summary of the Laws of Massachusetts, Relative to the Settlement, Support, Employment and Removal of Paupers", published in Greenfield in 1810. He also published two small volumes on religion.
Judge Leavitt married Emelia Stiles, daughter of President A Dictionary of Books Relating to America, from Its Discovery to the Present, Joseph Sabin, Wilberforce Eames, Bibliographical Society of America, Robert William Glenroie Vail, Joseph Sabin (publisher), New York, 1878
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Quincy, Wendell, Holmes, and Upham Family Papers, 1633–1910 (see Leavitt family correspondence), Massachusetts Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Jonathan 1764 births 1830 deaths American Congregationalists Leavitt family Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state court judges Massachusetts state senators Yale College alumni People from Greenfield, Massachusetts 19th-century American lawyers
Jonathan Leavitt (1764–1830) was a prominent Greenfield, Massachusetts
Greenfield is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Community College, the Pioneer Val ...
attorney, judge, state senator and businessman for whom the architect Asher Benjamin
Asher Benjamin (June 15, 1773July 26, 1845) was an American architect and author whose work transitioned between Federal architecture and the later Greek Revival architecture. His seven handbooks on design deeply influenced the look of cities an ...
designed the Leavitt House, now the Leavitt-Hovey House on Main Street, in 1797.
Judge Leavitt was born in Walpole, N.H., but was raised in Greenfield, where his father Rev. Jonathan Leavitt
Jonathan Leavitt (1764–1830) was a prominent Greenfield, Massachusetts attorney, judge, state senator and businessman for whom the architect Asher Benjamin designed the Leavitt House, now the Leavitt-Hovey House on Main Street, in 1797.
...
served as a Congregational
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
minister. Leavitt attended 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, ...
, taught school in New Haven, and then achieved early prominence as a lawyer in Greenfield. He subsequently served as chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas in 1812, and Judge of Probate from 1814 to 1821. Judge Leavitt used the west wing of the Leavitt-Hovey house for his business activities. He was a founder and first president of The Franklin Bank of Greenfield in 1822.
Judge Leavitt was also known for his legal writings, especially in probate law, as well as his "Summary of the Laws of Massachusetts, Relative to the Settlement, Support, Employment and Removal of Paupers", published in Greenfield in 1810. He also published two small volumes on religion.
Judge Leavitt married Emelia Stiles, daughter of President Ezra Stiles
Ezra Stiles ( – May 12, 1795) was an American educator, academic, Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He is noted as the seventh president of Yale College (1778–1795) and one of the founders of Brown University. According ...
of 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, ...
, for whom today's Ezra Stiles College
Ezra Stiles College is one of the fourteen residential colleges at Yale University, built in 1961 and designed by Eero Saarinen. It is often simply called "Stiles," despite an early-1990s crusade by then-master Traugott Lawler to preserve the us ...
at Yale is named. Rev. Jonathan Leavitt, Judge Leavitt's father, was also a graduate of Yale and a native of Suffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It was once within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. As of the 2020 census, ...
. Rev. Leavitt's wife was Sarah Hooker, great-great-granddaughter of the Rev. Thomas Hooker
Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent English colonial leader and Congregational minister, who founded the Connecticut Colony after dissenting with Puritan leaders in Massachusetts. He was known as an outstanding spea ...
, New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
divine and chief founder of the Colony of Connecticut
The ''Connecticut Colony'' or ''Colony of Connecticut'', originally known as the Connecticut River Colony or simply the River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636 as a settl ...
.
Members of the Leavitt family became prominent in nearby Charlemont and Heath, and were noted for their abolitionist activities. (Rev. Joshua Leavitt
Rev. Joshua Leavitt (September 8, 1794, Heath, Massachusetts – January 16, 1873, Brooklyn, New York) was an American Congregationalist minister and former lawyer who became a prominent writer, editor and publisher of abolitionist literature. ...
, born in nearby Heath, Massachusetts
Heath is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 723 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Heath was first settled in 1765 as a part of C ...
, was a member of this family.) Judge Leavitt's household had three African-American servants, and on the death of her father Ezra Stiles
Ezra Stiles ( – May 12, 1795) was an American educator, academic, Congregationalist minister, theologian, and author. He is noted as the seventh president of Yale College (1778–1795) and one of the founders of Brown University. According ...
Mrs. Leavitt inherited her father's two elderly slaves Newport and his wife Nabby.
Judge Leavitt died in Greenfield in 1830. He and the former Emelia Stiles had four daughters, including Sarah Hooker Leavitt, Mary Hooker Leavitt, Emilia Stiles Leavitt (later Mrs. E. T. Foote), and a son Jonathan, who died in 1821 while attending 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, ...
, an event that threw his father into profound depression. In 1822 his sister compiled a memoir devoted to her brother entitled "Memoir of Jonathan Leavitt, a Member of the Junior Class in Yale College, who Died at New-Haven the 10th of May, 1821, Aged 18 Years." The book, whose author was described as "a sister", was published by S. Converse in New Haven in 1822./ref>
See also
* Jonathan Leavitt (minister) * Leavitt-Hovey HouseReferences
External links
Quincy, Wendell, Holmes, and Upham Family Papers, 1633–1910 (see Leavitt family correspondence), Massachusetts Historical Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leavitt, Jonathan 1764 births 1830 deaths American Congregationalists Leavitt family Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state court judges Massachusetts state senators Yale College alumni People from Greenfield, Massachusetts 19th-century American lawyers