John S. Leary
| John S. Leary | |
|---|---|
Leary in 1887
|
|
| Born |
August 17, 1845 Fayetteville, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | December 9, 1904 (aged 59) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Alma mater | Howard University |
| Occupation | Lawyer, politician, professor |
| Political party | Republican |
John S. Leary (August 17, 1845 – December 9, 1904) was a lawyer and politician in Fayetteville and Charlotte, North Carolina. He was one of the first black lawyers in North Carolina and was a member of the state legislature from 1868-1870. He was an alderman in Fayetteville and later held federal government appointments. He was the first dean of the law school at Shaw University in 1890.
John S. Leary was born August 17, 1845 in Fayetteville, North Carolina to Matthew Leary and Julia Memriel. Matthew's father was an Irishman named Jeremiah Leary who married Sally Revels who was mixed Croatan Indian and black. Sally's father was Aaron Revels, and both Aaron Revels and Jeremiah Leary were veterans of the American Revolutionary War. Julia's father was born in Guadaloupe. Leary had at least three siblings, Lewis Sheridan Leary, Henrietta, and Michael Leary, Jr. Lewis was killed taking part in John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859. Through Revels, Leary was a cousin to Hiram Rhodes Revels, the first African-American to serve in the United States Senate.
Matthew Leary, Sr. was one of the wealthiest mixed-race individuals both before and after the American Civil War. His business was successful enough that as early as 1848 he was credit-rated and owned property worth $6,000 in 1870. Matthew, Sr. died March 22, 1880 at the age of 82. John's brother, Matthew Leary, Jr. went into politics as well and became a federal government clerk in Washington, DC and died On January 26, 1892.
John attended school in Fayetteville for about eight years before 1861. He then learned the trade of a saddler and harness-maker in his father's shop where his father had worked for a long time.
In 1868, Leary was elected to the North Carolina State Legislature from Cumberland County. He was reelected to a second term in 1870. As legislator he voted with the minority against fraudulent bonds. In 1871 he entered the law department of Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he graduated with a LL. B. in 1873 in a class with Joseph E. Lee, Jacksonville, Florida's first black lawyer, Henry Wagner, US Consul at Lyons, France, Durham W. Stevens, who was a diplomat and was assassinated while working for Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and William E. Matthews, J. H. Smith, and John A. Moss.
...
Wikipedia