James Russell Leech (November 19, 1888 – February 5, 1952) was a

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 ...

member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Biography

J. Russell Leech was born in

Ebensburg, Pennsylvania Ebensburg is a borough and the county seat of Cambria County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Altoona and surrounded by Cambria Township. It is situated in the Allegheny Mountains at about above sea level. Ebensburg is ...

. He attended the

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximat ...

, in

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percentage ...

. He graduated from

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County established by three Presbyterian missionaries t ...

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

, in 1911, and from the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

department of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in 1915. He was admitted to the bar in 1915 and commenced practice in Ebensburg. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he was appointed as a second lieutenant and served with the Seventh Ammunition Train. Leech was elected as a Republican to the Seventieth, Seventy-first, and Seventy-second Congresses and served until his resignation on January 29, 1932, having been appointed a member of the United States Board of Tax Appeals (now the

United States Tax Court The United States Tax Court (in case citations, T.C.) is a federal trial court of record established by Congress under Article I of the U.S. Constitution, section 8 of which provides (in part) that the Congress has the power to "constitute Tr ...

) to fill a vacancy. He was reappointed in 1934 and again in 1946, and served on this court until his death in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Interment in Lloyd Cemetery in Ebensburg.

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-10
The Political Graveyard
1888 births 1952 deaths People from Ebensburg, Pennsylvania United States Army officers Washington & Jefferson College alumni Pennsylvania lawyers American military personnel of World War I Judges of the United States Tax Court University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni United States Article I federal judges appointed by Herbert Hoover 20th-century American judges Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Members of the United States Board of Tax Appeals {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub