Humphrey H. Leavitt
Encyclopedia
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
attorney and politician who served as a U.S. Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from Ohio and as a United States District Court
United States district court
The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. Both civil and criminal cases are filed in the district court, which is a court of law, equity, and admiralty. There is a United States bankruptcy court associated with each United States...
judge.
History
Born in Suffield, ConnecticutSuffield, Connecticut
Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It had once been within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; and in 1910, 3,841. As of the...
to an old New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
family involved in the purchase of the Western Reserve
Connecticut Western Reserve
The Connecticut Western Reserve was land claimed by Connecticut from 1662 to 1800 in the Northwest Territory in what is now northeastern Ohio.-History:...
from the state of Connecticut, Leavitt moved to the Northwest Territory in 1800 with his parents, Capt. John Wheeler Leavitt
John Leavitt (Ohio settler)
Capt. John Wheeler Leavitt , born in Suffield, Connecticut, was an early settler of Ohio's Western Reserve lands, where members of his family had bought large tracts from the state of Connecticut, and where Capt. Leavitt became an early innkeeper, politician and landowner in Warren, Trumbull...
and Silence (Fitch)
Leavitt, who settled in what became Trumbull County, Ohio. (The town of Leavittsburg
Leavittsburg, Ohio
Leavittsburg is a census-designated place in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,200 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Trumbull County was named for the family.) While still an adolescent, Leavitt served in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
.
Career
After beginning his career as a schoolteacher, Leavitt moved into the law. In 1816 he read law and was admitted to the barAdmission to the bar in the United States
In the United States, admission to the bar is the granting of permission by a particular court system to a lawyer to practice law in that system. Each U.S. state and similar jurisdiction has its own court system and sets its own rules for bar admission , which can lead to different admission...
, beginning his practice in Cadiz, Ohio
Cadiz, Ohio
Cadiz is a village in Harrison County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,308 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Harrison County.-Geography:Cadiz is located at ....
. He was a justice of the peace for Harrison County, Ohio from 1818 to 1820. He moved to Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, in 1819, and he began his service as prosecuting attorney of Jefferson County in 1823.
Legislative service
In 1825, Leavitt was elected a member of the Ohio House of RepresentativesOhio House of Representatives
The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate....
, and in 1827 he was elected to the Ohio State Senate, serving until 1828. Following this term of service, he worked as a clerk of the common pleas and supreme court of Jefferson County from 1828 to 1832.
Leavitt was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-first
21st United States Congress
-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President: John C. Calhoun * President pro tempore: Samuel Smith - House of Representatives :* Speaker: Andrew Stevenson -Members:This list is arranged by chamber, then by state...
Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of John M. Goodenow
John M. Goodenow
John Milton Goodenow was a U.S. Representative from Ohio.Born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire, Goodenow attended the public schools.He engaged in mercantile pursuits.He studied law....
. He was reelected to the Twenty-second
22nd United States Congress
-House of Representatives:-Leadership:- Senate :* President:** John C. Calhoun , resigned December 28, 1832, thereafter vacant.* President pro tempore:** Samuel Smith , first elected December 5, 1831** Littleton W...
and Twenty-third
23rd United States Congress
-House of Representatives:For the beginning of this congress, the size of the House was increased from 213 seats to 240 seats, following the 1830 United States Census .- Leadership :- Senate :* President: Martin Van Buren...
Congresses and served from December 6, 1830, until July 10, 1834, when he resigned to accept a judicial position.
Judicial service
On June 28, 1834, Leavitt was nominated by President Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend , and the British at the Battle of New Orleans...
to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Ohio vacated by Benjamin Tappan
Benjamin Tappan
Benjamin Tappan was an Ohio judge and Democratic politician who served in the Ohio State Senate and the United States Senate...
. Leavitt was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
the same day, and received his commission on June 30, 1834.
On February 10, 1855, the state was divided into two Federal districts, and Leavitt was reassigned by operation of law
Operation of law
The phrase "by operation of law" is a legal term that indicates that a right or liability has been created for a party, irrespective of the intent of that party, because it is dictated by existing legal principles. For example, if a person dies without a will, his heirs are determined by operation...
to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio
The United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio is one of two United States district courts in Ohio and includes forty-eight of the state's eighty-eight counties. Appeals from the court are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit at Cincinnati The...
. Leavitt then removed to Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
, but he subsequently returned to Springfield in 1871. He served until APril 1, 1871 – a term of 37 years on the federal bench – when he resigned.
Among the major cases in which Judge Leavitt was involved was that of Ohio politician Clement Vallandingham, in which Leavitt wrote an opinion on Valandingham's well-known habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
case, which Leavitt decided.
Other activities
Later, he began writing of his experiences. Leavitt was a member of the World's Convention on Prison Reform in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1872. He died in Springfield, Ohio
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
, March 15, 1873, and was interred in Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum is a nonprofit garden cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the second largest cemetery in the United States and is recognized as a U.S. National Historic Landmark....
, Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
.
In a short memoir Leavitt wrote for his children, he described his feelings about a Congressman's job, which he described as "positively irksome and repulsive." Leavitt added: "In times of party division, it is impossible for anyone in Congress to preserve a conscience void of offense toward God and at the same time to bear true allegiance to the party by which he has been elected. The member must vote with his party irrespective of the public good or expect to be visited with the fiercest denunciation."
Leavitt was married to Marie Antoinette (McDowell) Leavitt, daughter of Dr. John McDowell, a physician, Provost of the University of Pennsylvania and Governor of Pennsylvania. Humphey Howe and Marie Leavitt had three sons: John McDowell Leavitt
John McDowell Leavitt
Rev. Dr. John McDowell Leavitt, D.D., LL.D. was an early Ohio lawyer, Episcopal clergyman, poet, novelist, editor and professor. Leavitt served as the second President of Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and as President of St...
; Edward Howe Leavitt; and Francis Johnston Leavitt. All were born at Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville, Ohio
Steubenville is a city located along the Ohio River in Jefferson County, Ohio on the Ohio-West Virginia border in the United States. It is the political county seat of Jefferson County. It is also a principal city of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area...
.
External links
- History of the Sixth Circuit, U.S. District Court, Humphrey Howe Leavitt, ca6.uscourts.gov
- Portrait of Humphrey Howe Leavitt, Potter Stewart United States Courthouse, Cincinnati, Ohio
- Autobiography of the Hon. Humprhey Howe Leavitt: Written for his family Humphrey Howe Leavitt, New York, 1893
Further reading
The Ohio officer and justices' guide : embracing the duties of justices of the peace, constables, and other township officers : including officers acting under the school law, with appropriate forms : also, directions and forms for executors, administrators & guardians, with treatises on the law of partnership and bailment, and the duties and liabilities of common carriers, carriers of passengers, and innkeepers : with a collection of forms of deeds, articles of agreement, bonds, powers of attorney, wills, &c. &c., Humphrey H. Leavitt, Printed by J. Turnbull, Steubenville, Ohio, 1843See also
- John Leavitt (Ohio settler)John Leavitt (Ohio settler)Capt. John Wheeler Leavitt , born in Suffield, Connecticut, was an early settler of Ohio's Western Reserve lands, where members of his family had bought large tracts from the state of Connecticut, and where Capt. Leavitt became an early innkeeper, politician and landowner in Warren, Trumbull...
- John McDowell LeavittJohn McDowell LeavittRev. Dr. John McDowell Leavitt, D.D., LL.D. was an early Ohio lawyer, Episcopal clergyman, poet, novelist, editor and professor. Leavitt served as the second President of Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and as President of St...
- John Brooks LeavittJohn Brooks LeavittJohn Brooks Leavitt was a New York City attorney, author and reformer. As member of the "Good Government" movement, Leavitt crusaded against Tammany Hall municipal corruption, demanding in 1897 the indictment of United States Senator Thomas C. Platt on charges of extorting bribes from the New York...