Fonds AFC64 - Elijah Leonard Family fonds

Elijah Leonard, Jr. was born September 10, 1814 near Syracuse, New York, second child of Elijah Leonard, Sr. and Mary (Polly) Leonard (née Stone). In 1830, he moved with his family to Normandale, Upper Canada and was employed at the ironworks and foundry of Joseph Van Norman. Although not formally educated, Elijah started his own foundry in St. Thomas, Ontario, partnering with his father and Philip Cady Van Brocklin in 1834. By September of that year, Elijah, Jr. was sole owner of the company he named E. Leonard, Jr. & Co. 1840 saw him move to London, ON and establish another machine shop and foundry at Fullarton and Ridout Streets. E. Leonard, Jr. & Co. produced, primarily, steam engines and agricultural machinery; in 1850, a second foundry was built at York and Waterloo Streets in London to handle the product demands.
In 1847, Elijah married Emeline Woodman (b. 1819), daughter of Elijah Woodman, a London pionéer who was arrested and transported to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) for his role in the 1837-1838 Upper Canada rebellion. Elijah and Emeline had six children:
Frank Elton (1848-1923)
Edwin E (1851-1873)
Charles Weston (1852-1912)
Alice Emma (1855-1861)
Ella Adelia (b. 1858)
Mary Adhia (b. 1860)

He served in the local militia as an ensign in 1851 and was promoted to Captain in 1856. In 1841, Leonard was named the first president of the Mechanic's Institute, and he helped to organize London's volunteer fire brigade in the early 1850s. He was a founding member of the Horticultural and Mechanics Association and was elected to the first committee for the county agricultural society, the precursor of the Western Fair Association. In 1854, Leonard built an imposing Regency style home, “Locust Mount,” at what is now 661 Talbot Street; the home was damaged by fire and demolished in early 2008.
Leonard's interest in local infrastructural improvement, particularly transportation and finance, is well documented. He became a shareholder in the London and Port Stanley Railway Company and, in 1857, was an incorporator of the London and Lake Huron Railway Company. In 1864, he helped to organize the London Savings Bank and was one of the original promoters of the Huron and Erie Savings and Loan Society (which was, until recently, Canada Trust). He remained director of Huron and Erie until the year before his death.

In the early 1870s, Elijah invited his two surviving sons, Frank and Charles, into partnership in the foundry; the company was renamed E. Leonard & Sons and focused on boilers as a specialty. With his sons now more engaged in the family business, Leonard devoted his later years to politics. He served as London's third mayor in 1857 and was elected to the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada for the Malahide division in 1862. He was appointed a senator in 1867, and he would hold this position until his death in 1891. Elijah Leonard, Jr. is buried in the family plot in section C at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in London, Ontario.