The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-06-13
WEDNESDAY, JUNE Is. 1883.

neon, In order that IL may foooi'o
proper attention.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE IL. 1888.
THE DEATH OF CAPTAIN LEONARD
YESTERDAY Dallas was visited by pub
lie calamity. Death is terrible IN any
form. and whenever and wherever its pale
presence is seen, but when it steals into
the rushing throng and selects as Its victim
\ leader, one upon whom his fellows have
net the seals Of love and confidence, and to
whose generous hand and fine impulses
thew look for assistance and sympathy and
guidance in working out the problems ofour
metropolitan growth and power, the blow
Of the destroyer Is doubly conspicuous and
severe. Yesterday ]. l.. LEONARD was its
victim, and from one end to the other OF our
little city was heard the expression ola
heartfelt regret, regret that spoke more
eloquently than eulogy Of the loss that the
city had sustained. There are some lives
that are lessons, and Captain
J. l.. LEoNARD's was one OF
these. Rising from poverty and
obscurity by force of his own intellectual
and personal power, conquering adverse
fortunes, winning his way into the hearts
orlegions of imp ulsively warm friends and
indissolubly associating his name and 10
bors with multitude of public charities
and enterprises he gave all the practical
evidences that man can give OF the wor n
and excellence and force that were within.
He occupied prominent position among
that only nobility of America, the "seli-
made men," He was just reaching the
haven ofsuccess, just beginning to realize
the fruition Of his LIES labors and hopes;
lust entering upon the fullest measure OF
pleasant consciousness and sense Of success
and security that fortune and the memory
of good deeds affords man. And to be
stricken down by the unseen archer at such
an hour, when his honor was ripening and
the curtains Of the future were
Hinged with the radiant and beautiful
glow of the sun Of prosperity and the mel
low reflections of a bright. good name, is
inexpressibly sad and an inexpressibly
mysterious dispensation Of providence
But
With equal face impartial fate,
Knocks at the palace and cottage gate"
and the strong and the weak, the young
the OLD, the public benefactor in the flush
Of manhood and the crouching criminal
are alike targets for deaths arrows. and
each little life is but suspended by brittle
thread. Under this eternal impartial and
inscrutible law, Captain J. l., Leonard
was yesterday selected as Deaths victim.
A few facts concerning his life will not only
prove Of public interest but will serve to
Impress the lesson OF his shortly cut career.
II, was born in Lincoln county. Tennes'
see: but was brought by his family to Texas
when he was but three years old and set
tied on the farm three miles west of this
city where his aged mother yet
lives. His first public employment
was in the post office at this
place in 1856. Shortly after he entered the
law Office Of Col. GUESS, but never got to
the bar, owing to the commencement of the
war. In that dreadful struggle he bravely
played his part, being first lieutenant, then
captain, then adjutant OF the 10th Texas in
fantry, and later rs inspector general Ct
GRANBERRy's brigade and member OF
staff. When the confedracy..was conquered
1 IN rainrnaI hnma hank.
rupted in fortune, but as bright and hopt-
full as ever In mind, and as indomitable of
will. He was not one to grieve over the
past. He recogn,z ID the future as the field OF
promise. The past never relents, but the
future is ever generC ito the brave n true
Hard ,puccess crowned his every effort, for
the succeeding years of his life is known to
the public. Engaging, after one or two
other minor business ventures, in the
banking business with CAPTAIN S.S. ADAMS,
the firm followed the Central road until
Dallas was reached, and here they perma-
nently located their business. Since then
the history and success Of the firm and the
history, success and The life of the de-
ceased have been identified with,
commensurate with, and part of, the his.
tory, success and life of Dallas and north
Texas. But the busy life is ended he OIL
umn that bid fair to rise gracefully to such
a great heightGs broken; the hand that
was always open to enterprise is clammy
with death, and the heart that loved and
enjoyed so warmly and impulsively has
been stilled. There was never public en-
terprise that the deceased did not take an
active interest in, and 1t was the dream and
ambition Of his life that when the creeping
shadows Of old age overlook him he could
rest and review long list Of public bene.
factions and great public enterprises that
his hand and intellect had aided materially
In the success and establishment thereof.
Though fortune had smiled upon him, 1t IL
rs creditable to his memory as 1t would
have been gratifying to his heart while liv-
ing to hear those who knew him best and
most intimately exclsim, in the bold assur-
ance OF positive knowledge, that not
dollar questionably earned passed 10
his credit. CAPTAIN LEONARD was mar
ried In 1869 TO Miss MIrrlE HEARNE, cou.
sin Of MRS. 8. ]. ADAMS aud MRS. JUICE
ALpREDoe, and during welded life of
some thirteen years, his wife having died
some eighteen months ago, his domestic re-
lations were exceptionally pleasant and
only such as could be expected when noble
impulses presided at the hearthstone. Dial.
las will miss ]. l.. LEONARD, and his place II
will be difficult ever again to fiji, for public
spirit and generosity are not sentiments
as they were with him but with few men,
and stu more keenly will his friends miss
him, those to whom his hand was openly
extended and who were wont to bask in the
jovial sunshine Of his presence and his con.
Adence. Bpt those upon whom the heaviest
blow will fall, the relatives and inmates