Individual Details
Walter Leake
(May 20, 1762 - November 17, 1825)
"Walter Leake - the man for whom Leake County, Mississippi was named - Walter Leake was born in Albermarle County, Virginia, May 20, 1762. He was the son of Captain Mask Leake, an officer of the Army of the Revolution, and Patience (Morris) Leake, of Hanover County, Virginia. He was named for Walter Leake of Goochland, his paternal grandfather, who was the son of William Leake and Mary (Bostick) Leake, the first of the family in Virginia. Walter Leake was a soldier of the Revolution and represented Albermarle County in the Virginia Legislature. His wife was Elizabeth Wingfield. He was defeated for Congress by Thomas Mann Randolph, the son-in-law of Thomas Jefferson, by only two votes, and at once announced his candidacy for the same office at the next election, on March 2, 1807. President Jefferson shrewdly appointed him Judge for Mississippi Territory, to succeed George Matthews. He arrived in Washington, the Territorial capital, in May and immediately assumed the duties of his office. Judge Leake made his residence in Claiborne County. He served with ability as a member of the Territorial Court until October 9, 1817, when he was elected one of the first United States Senators from the new State of Mississippi. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1817, and with George Poindexter and Josiah Simpson, his colleagues on the bench, gave important service in forming the organic laws of the State. His term in the Senate extended from October 9, 1817, to 1820, when he resigned to become a candidate for Governor. He was elected over Charles B. Green by a vote of 4,730 to 1,269, On June 17, 1821, before the election, Governor Poindexter appointed judge Leake to the Supreme bench to succeed John Taylor, deceased, and he served as a member of the court until his inauguration as Governor at Columbia, where the Legislature met January 7, 1822.
"During the administration of Governor Leake the permanent seat of the State government was located at Jackson, and a small, two-story State house was built on the northeast corner of what is now Capital and President Streets, in which building the Legislature met December 23, 1822. In his message the Governor said: "Permit me to congratulate you on your first meeting at the place determined on as the permanent seat of our government, where, for the first time, your deliberations may be conducted in a house that is the property of the State and intended exclusively for the purpose of legislation, and where so little could have been reasonably expected." In his farewell address Governor Poindexter says of Governor Leake: "If integrity, the most pure and unsullied, combined with sound intelligence and great experience in public life, are qualifications for the highest trust in the gift of people, they are identified in the individual selected as your Chief Magistrate." He was selected for a second term in 1823 and over David Dickson and William Lattimore. In 1823 Governor Leake purchased land in Hinds County, completed his home in l825 and called it Mount Salus. A town grew up about him and took its name from his home, but the name was changed in a few years, the place receiving the name of Clinton.
"The Executive Journal of Governor Leake is on file in the Department of Archives and History. His last letter is dated "Mount Salus, August 10, 1825." One of his last official acts was the appointment of Powhatan Ellis to the United States Senate to succeed David Holmes, who had resigned to become a candidate for Governor. He died November 17, 1825, before the expiration of his second term, and is buried at his home near Clinton. "As a patriot and statesman' said David Holmes, "he was distinguished from early life for the ardor, ability and fidelity with which he discharged the various and important trusts committed to him by his country." ("Leake County, Mississippi History - Its People and Places," an article entitled "Walter Leake," by Malcolm Bonner.)
"During the administration of Governor Leake the permanent seat of the State government was located at Jackson, and a small, two-story State house was built on the northeast corner of what is now Capital and President Streets, in which building the Legislature met December 23, 1822. In his message the Governor said: "Permit me to congratulate you on your first meeting at the place determined on as the permanent seat of our government, where, for the first time, your deliberations may be conducted in a house that is the property of the State and intended exclusively for the purpose of legislation, and where so little could have been reasonably expected." In his farewell address Governor Poindexter says of Governor Leake: "If integrity, the most pure and unsullied, combined with sound intelligence and great experience in public life, are qualifications for the highest trust in the gift of people, they are identified in the individual selected as your Chief Magistrate." He was selected for a second term in 1823 and over David Dickson and William Lattimore. In 1823 Governor Leake purchased land in Hinds County, completed his home in l825 and called it Mount Salus. A town grew up about him and took its name from his home, but the name was changed in a few years, the place receiving the name of Clinton.
"The Executive Journal of Governor Leake is on file in the Department of Archives and History. His last letter is dated "Mount Salus, August 10, 1825." One of his last official acts was the appointment of Powhatan Ellis to the United States Senate to succeed David Holmes, who had resigned to become a candidate for Governor. He died November 17, 1825, before the expiration of his second term, and is buried at his home near Clinton. "As a patriot and statesman' said David Holmes, "he was distinguished from early life for the ardor, ability and fidelity with which he discharged the various and important trusts committed to him by his country." ("Leake County, Mississippi History - Its People and Places," an article entitled "Walter Leake," by Malcolm Bonner.)
Events
| Birth | May 20, 1762 | Albemarle County, Virginia | |||
| Death | November 17, 1825 | ||||
| Burial | Mount Salus, near Clinton, Hinda County, Mississippi |
Families
| Father | Capt. Mask Leake (1735 - 1813) |
| Mother | Patience Morris ( - ) |
| Sibling | William Leake (1760 - 1833) |
| Sibling | Leake ( - ) |
| Sibling | Austin Leake ( - ) |
| Sibling | Leake ( - ) |
| Sibling | Josiah Leake ( - ) |
| Sibling | Samuel Leake ( - ) |