Robert Nelson "Bob" Leatherwood (June 1, 1844 – April 3, 1920) was an American businessman and politician who served three terms in the Arizona Territorial Legislature and two years as Mayor of Tucson, Arizona Territory.

Biography

Leatherwood was born to William and Elizabeth (Nelson) Leatherwood near Haysville, North Carolina in June 1844. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, he served as a member of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

. Leatherwood saved his uniform and cap following the war and often wore them on special occasions. While he was small of stature, standing and weighing , he was considered an individual full of "valor and grit". Leatherwood married and the union produced one son. In 1869, Leatherwood moved to Tucson, Arizona Territory and lived there for the rest of his life. He operated a

livery stable A livery yard, livery stable or boarding stable, is a stable where horse owners pay a weekly or monthly fee to keep their horses. A livery or boarding yard is not usually a riding school and the horses are not normally for hire (unless on wor ...

and had mining operations in the Santa Catalina Mountains. In addition to his mining interests, Leatherwood built a ranch in the Santa Catalinas. Politically, Leatherwood was a member of the Tucson

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

from 1874 through 1879. He also served as a school trustee and was elected Mayor of Tucson for 1880. During his term of office, the

Southern Pacific Railroad The Southern Pacific (or Espee from the railroad initials) was an American Railroad classes#Class I, Class I Rail transport, railroad network that existed from 1865 to 1996 and operated largely in the Western United States. The system was oper ...

reached Tucson. To celebrate the March 20, 1880 arrival, Leatherwood appointed eight committees to help organize the festivities and served as chairman of both the Committee on Toasts and Speeches and the Committee of Reception. In 1885, Leatherwood represented

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

in the Council (

upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

) during the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature. He was returned to the territorial legislature two years later, serving in the lower house during the 14th Arizona Territorial Legislature. Leatherwood's final term in the legislature was during the 1893 session. By the late 1880s, Leatherwood was a

deputy sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

serving under Charles A. Shibell. He was elected Pima County Sheriff on November 6, 1894 and served in the office from 1895 through 1898. After leaving office he retired to private life. Leatherwood died from a heart attack on April 3, 1920. He was buried in Moss Memorial Graveyard, Cherokee County, North Carolina. Despite rumors to the contrary, Leatherwood was not buried in his Civil War uniform.

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Leatherwood, Robert Nelson 1844 births 1920 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in Arizona Members of the Arizona Territorial Legislature Mayors of Tucson, Arizona People from Clay County, North Carolina Arizona pioneers Arizona city council members People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Arizona Democrats Confederate States Army personnel Arizona sheriffs