Bawden4 on Family Tree Circles

Joseph Bloomfield LEAKE was born in Deerfield, Cumberland, New Jersey 1 Apr 1828. My family moved to Ohio where I graduated from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1846. I became a lawyer in 1850 and moved to Iowa about 6 years later where I became a member of the Iowa Legislature.

During the Civil War, I put my political career on hold, stepped down from the legislature and enlisted in the Union Army. I was put into the 20th Iowa Infantry, becoming a lieutenant colonel when the regiment came into being in Clinton, Clinton, Iowa. The 20th Iowa saw action in Vicksburg, Mississippi, among others. In 1863 I was wounded and captured by Confederate forces in Louisiana.

I was sent to a camp in Texas where I was the highest-ranked officer. In spite of conditions, I struggled to take care of my fellow Union prisoners until I was exchanged the following year. I returned to the 20th Iowa and continued to fight with them in Alabama. In 1865, I was promoted to Brigadier General, making me one of the youngest Brig. Generals in the state. The same year, the 20th Iowa mustered out of service and I returned home to Davenport and was elected into the Iowa Senate for the 11th General Assembly.

In 1871 I moved to Chicago where I continued my law practice. Between 1879-1884, I served as the U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois which included Chicago. I was later the lawyer for the Chicago Board of Education from 1887-1891.

I never really left the Army. The Union Army and the 20th Iowa continued to be a part of my life. I was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic in Chicago and would often travel back to Iowa to attend reunions.

I continued to practice law into my 80s and earned the distinction of being the oldest member of the Chicago bar. On 1 June 1913, I passed away on Cass Street in Chicago, the city that I had served for so long. I was buried in Davenport's Oakdale Cemetery.

This was a script for Oakdale's bi-annual cemetery walk where noted people are portrayed by volunteers who create the character and dress in period clothing at the gravesites. (See Find-a-Grave - death date and marker photos).

I was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, 10 Jan 1814, and first employed as a dry goods clerk, later as chief clerk of an iron works. At about the age of 20, I married Susan BETTS (no info). We moved to Davenport, Scott, Iowa, and I again settled into the mercantile business.

In 1847, I was elected first School Fund Commissioner of Scott County and kept the office for 9 years. The following year, I was elected Recorder and Treasurer of Scott County, serving for 7 years. For most of the 1850s, I served as alderman of Davenport. At this time I was able to retire and dedicate my life to public service.

I had a mind for improvment of society and commerce, and was an extreme advocate of the temperance movement, organizing a chapter of the temperance society - The Grand Division of the Sons of Temperance for the State of Iowa. For many years, I served as a representative to the National Division of North America as well as head of the local chapter.

A firm believer in building railroads, I became one of the first people to advocate a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Atlantic Ocean. I served as Secretary for the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company, formed in Davenport, and was responsible for building the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi River in Davenport.

Starting with its second year of operation, I served as the president of the Bank of Iowa, a state-run bank. By the time it closed, all investors received every dime back.

During the Civil War, I acted as Paymaster General for the State of Iowa, responsible for paying all of Iowa's soldiers. Iowa didn't have enough money to take care of all of its soldiers so I paid for upwards of 5000 men out of my own pocket. When Camp McClellan in Davenport ran out of bread because the baker could not afford to make it, I paid for it. I saw fit to put myself in harm's way and personally took the pay owed to some of the soldiers to Missouri and made sure they received their money.

After the war, I served as Commissioner of Indian Affairs under Pres. Rutherford B. HAYES [Find-a-Grave says GARFIELD] and would eventually become a member of Congress twice.

I died 30 May 1901 [no location]. I am buried in Davenport, Scott, Iowa's Oakdale Memorial Gardens. Marker says HIRAM.

This is a script for Oakdale's semi-annual cemetery walk where notable citizens are characterized by volunteers in period clothing at each grave site. [see Oakdale website]