Elkanah Leonard

While this MP and various MyHeritage trees all give 1703-1752 as lifespan, gravestone at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=77500774 records 1703 to July 24, 1777.

• Residence: Middleborough, Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States - 1703
  • Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Dec 8 2016, 23:57:08 UTC

Inscription: Sic transit Gloria Mundi In Memory of the Hon. Elkanah Leonard Esqr. who died July Ye 24th 1777 in Ye 74th Year of his age.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Dec 9 2016, 0:00:05 UTC

===============================================

https://books.google.com/books?id=B6dbAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA125
"Ancestry of Lawrence Williams:...."

Elkanah b. 15 Dec, 1703; m. (1) 21 Oct., 1725, Elizabeth Tisdale; m. (2) .

He was a lawyer, and practiced in Middleborough being the first attorney who had an office there. He is described as "one of the most distinguished geniuses of his name and day." He possessed strong powers of investigation, a sound judgment, and an uncommon brilliancy of wit. At an early age he rose to the rank of Major in his regiment.

=========================================================================

Attorney until some sort of mental impairment in his early 40's forced his retirement:

https://archive.org/stream/historyoftownofm00wes/historyoftownofm00...

"History of the town of Middleboro, Massachusetts"
by Weston, Thomas, 1834-1920 Publication date 1906

"Elkanah Leonard was much employed in the courts until his mental condition forced his retirement. "

- - -

"Elkanah Leonard, the second practising lawyer in Middleboro, was born in 1703. The house in the "Tack Factory

Neighborhood," Lakedlle, in which he lived is still standing, and although it has seen many changes, it still retains much of its original appearance. Mr. Leonard was a man of unusual ability, and acquired a reputation as a successful lawyer in southeastern Massachusetts. The Rev. Dr. Forbes, speaking of him, says : " He possessed strong powers of investigation, a sound judgment, and an uncommon brilliancy of wit, and his inventive powers were not surpassed, if equalled, by any of his time. His assistance in the defence of criminal prosecutions was much sought for, and his abilities were never more conspicuous than in these defences."

He represented the town of Middleboro in the years 1735 to 1743, with the exception of 1738, when the office was filled by John Bennett. He held the office of his Majesty's justice of the peace from 1736 until his death, and was one of the selectmen from 1733 to 1742. He was major of the first regiment of Plymouth County militia. In 1740 he was interested in the famous land bank which proved so disastrous to all who had invested. Some thirty years before his death, his mind became so impaired that he was obliged to give up all professional labor. He died July 24, 1777, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, and was buried in the cemetery of the Taunton and Lakeville Congregational Society, a brown stone marking the place. He was a member of the First Church under the half- way covenant."

GEDCOM Source

@R-2147453843@ Ancestry Family Trees Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com. Original data: Family Tree files submitted by Ancestry members. This information comes from 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files. This source citation points you to a current version of those files. Note: The owners of these tree files may have removed or changed information since this source citation was created.

GEDCOM Source

Ancestry Family Tree http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/AMTCitationRedir.aspx?tid=7937571&pid=651