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William J. Leake

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American judge
William J. Leake
12th President of the Virginia Bar Association
In office
August 3, 1899 – July 19, 1900
Preceded byJohn Goode
Succeeded byWilliam A. Anderson
Personal details
BornWilliam Josiah Leake
(1843-09-20)September 20, 1843
Goochland, Virginia, U.S.
DiedNovember 23, 1908(1908-11-23) (aged 65)
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Spouse(s)Sarah Jordan
Clara Grundy
Military service
Allegiance Confederate States
Branch/serviceConfederate States Army
Battles/warsAmerican Civil War

William Josiah Leake (September 20, 1843 - November 23, 1908) was a Virginia lawyer and judge, who served as a railroad president and president of The Virginia Bar Association.

Biography

Leake was born in Goochland County, Virginia, and was a great-grandson of William O. Callis. He served four years in the Confederate Army. After the war, he was selected for a term as judge of the Virginia chancery court at Richmond, but declined to be re-elected.

In 1891, Judge Leake decided the case of Bettie Thomas Lewis, concluding that she was entitled to her deceased father's property. The father had owned the mother of Ms. Lewis as a slave. The New York Times reported that this ruling made Ms. Lewis "the richest colored person in Virginia." In a detailed opinion, the Virginia Supreme Court affirmed Judge Leake's decision.

Leake was from 1889 general counsel and from 1905 to 1906 president of the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad Company.

Leake was a charter member of the Virginia State Bar Association, beginning in 1890, and served as president of the Association for 1899–1900.

Judge Leake died at his home in Richmond.

References

  1. Grigsby, Hugh, et al. The History of the Virginia Federal Convention of 1788. Virginia Historical Society (1891)
  2. Tyler, Lyon Gardiner, ed., Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography, v. 4, Lewis Historical Publishing (1915) (available on Google Books).
  3. "HIS NATURAL CHILD INHERITS.; BETTIE LEWIS BECOMES THE RICHEST COLORED WOMAN IN VIRGINIA" (PDF). The New York Times, January 6, 1891. January 6, 1891. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  4. Thomas Adm'r v. Lewis, 89 Va. 1, 15 S.E. 389 (1892).
  5. Seventy-Fourth Annual Report, Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad Company (1906) (available on Google Books).
  6. Charter of the Virginia State Bar Association, Acts of Assembly 1889-1890, c. 376, published in Report of the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Virginia State Bar Association (1893) (available on Google Books).
  7. "VBA History and Heritage". The Virginia Bar Association. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
  8. "Judge William Josiah Leake" (PDF). The New York Times, November 24, 1908. November 24, 1908. Retrieved April 12, 2008.
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