Person:Humphrey Leavitt (1)

U.S. Congressman, Judge. A native of Connecticut, he moved with his family to the Northwest Territory settling in what would soon become Trumbull County, Ohio. He worked as a school teacher and a store clerk while studying law. He was admitted to the Ohio Bar Association upon completion of his studies and began to practice law in Harrison County. He then moved to Steubenville, Ohio, unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1822, and became the prosecuting attorney in Jefferson County. Leavitt held elected positions in the Ohio House of Representatives and later in the State Senate as well as Clerk of the Common Pleas Court. In 1829, he was elected as a Jacksonian to represent Ohio's 11th District in the United States House of Representatives, and served from 1830 to 1834. The state districts of Ohio were realigned in 1832 and Leavitt's region became the 19th District. He was appointed by President Andrew Jackson in 1834 to become a district court judge for Ohio and subsequently resigned from office to accept the position. He presided over several major trials during his long judiciary tenure including several cases involving fugitive slaves and the famous trial in 1863 when he ruled to deny a writ of habeas corpus for Clement Vallandingham, Copperhead leader of the Peace Democrats during the Civil War. The decision prompted President Lincoln to declare that the defeat of Vallandingham was equivalent to three victories in the field. In 1871, Leavitt resigned to pursue literary interests and also became a member of the World's Convention on Prison Reform that was held at London, England in 1872. He died the following year when he was 76 years old.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Birth and death dates/places solely from Find A Grave.