HEADER
Jefferson Reynolds Leason
JEFFERSON REYNOLDS LEASON (deceased) was one of the younger members of the
Armstrong county bar and a progressive citizen of Kittanning, in which borough
he was born Aug. 11, 1883, son of Mirven F. and Hannah (Reynolds) Leason.Robert Leason, his great-grandfather, was born in Westmoreland county, Pa.,
of Scotch-Irish ancestry.Rev. Thomas Leason, his son, grandfather of Jefferson R. Leason, was a
Presbyterian minister, for many years stationed at Armstrong county. At one
time he was in charge of the Presbyterian Church at Leechburg, Pa. His death
occurred in 1891, and his remains are interred at Brookville, Pa.; his wife
passed away in 1889. They had the following children: Mirven F., Elisha,
Eliza, and several who died in infancy.Mirven F. Leason, son of Rev. Thomas, and father of Jefferson R., was born
in Jefferson county, Pa., and educated at Princeton College, New Jersey. He
was admitted to the bar of Armstrong county in 1879, having been admitted
previously to that of Jefferson county. Until his death, which occurred May
29, 1909, he continued in active practice. During 1881 and 1882 he was
district attorney of Armstrong county, and was placed on the Republican ticket
for judge. A man of unswerving principles, he fearlessly did what he believed
to be his duty, and being unusually intelligent and well read was a power in
his community. Five children were born to himself and wife: Mary L., wife of
H. W. Bovard; Jefferson R.; Helen R.; Judith D.; and Myrvinne. Mrs. Leason
died May 2, 1901, firm in the faith of the Presbyterian church, to which she
and her husband belonged. Mr. Leason was a Knight Templar Mason, and a member
of the order of Elks. The father of Mrs. Leason, Jefferson Reynolds, was a
member of an old and prominent family of Armstrong county, where he was born
an reared, later becoming a lawyer of distinction, so that Jefferson R. Leason,
his namesake, came very naturally by his legal ability, inheriting it from
both sides of the house.Jefferson R. Leason attended the public schools of Kittanning, and the
Andover Preparatory School (Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass.), and entered
Pennsylvania State College for a two-year course. Following this he read law
with his father, and was admitted to the Armstrong county bar in 1907. In 1909
Mr. Leason was elected district attorney for his county on the Republican
ticket, and followed his father’s footsteps in proving himself a fearless
official. This office has also been filled by Mr. Reynolds, his maternal
grandfather and Mr. Mirven F. Leason, his father. He was a member of the Order
of Elks, belonging to Kittanning lodge. Mr. Leason died suddenly in
Pittsburgh, Pa., of heart failure, April 13, 1913, and was buried at
Kittanning.In November, 1909, Mr. Leason married Margaret Buffington, daughter of Orr
Buffington, an attorney of Kittanning, and one of the city’s eminent men. She
survives him with one son, born July 8, 1911, who bears his father’s name,
Jefferson Reynolds.Source: Pages 581-582, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed January 1999 by Connie Mateer for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
These electronic pages cannot be reproduced in any format, for any presentation, without prior written permission.Return to the Beers Project
Â
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy ProjectÂ
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
Return to the
Armstrong County Genealogy Project
(c) Armstrong County
Genealogy Project
About Author
