Walter Daniel Leake (May 20, 1762November 17, 1825) was a judge, U.S. senator, and governor of Mississippi. He served as a

United States Senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

from

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

(1817–1820), as a justice in 1821, and as third Governor of Mississippi (1822–1825). He was the first Governor of Mississippi to die in office.

Biography

Early life

Walter Leake was born on May 20, 1762, in Albemarle County in the

Colony of Virginia The Colony of Virginia was a British Empire, British colonial settlement in North America from 1606 to 1776. The first effort to create an English settlement in the area was chartered in 1584 and established in 1585; the resulting Roanoke Colo ...

.Thomas H. Somerville, "A Sketch of the Supreme Court of Mississippi", in Horace W. Fuller, ed., '' The Green Bag'', Vol. XI (1899), p. 505. He was the son of Captain Mask Leake and nephew of Rev. Samuel Leake (

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

graduate and a member of the first Board of Trustees of

Hampden–Sydney College Hampden–Sydney College (H-SC) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Men's colleges in the United States, college for men in Hampden Sydney, Virginia. Founded in 1775, it is the oldest privatel ...

), an ancestor of Senator

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

of Arizona. Walter Leake was descended from John Leake. Leake served in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

, serving in the Battle of Yorktown according to

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, and later served in Virginia's General Assembly.

Career

Leake was appointed a judge in the Territory of Mississippi in 1807, and he settled in Claiborne County, and he would serve as a delegate to Mississippi's Constitutional Convention of 1817 for this county. Leake served as a

for the State of Mississippi from 1817 to 1820. While in the Senate, Leake served as Chairman of the

Committee on Indian Affairs The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1 ...

. In 1820, Leake was appointed United States Marshall for the District of Mississippi, and then was appointed to fill a vacancy on the

Mississippi Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Mississippi is the highest court in the state of Mississippi. It was established in 1818 per the terms of the first constitution of the state and was known as the High Court of Errors and Appeals from 1832 to 1869. The court ...

in 1821, and went on to serve as the governor of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825.

Governor of Mississippi

On August 6, 1821, Walter Leake was elected the 3rd Governor of Mississippi. He faced attorney and state legislator Charles B Green in the general election. During his first administration, Leake signed a law to eliminate debtor's prisons in Mississippi and attempted to promote a law to abolish

dueling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...

. Leake oversaw the expansion of Mississippi's road system, extending roads from the state's new capitol,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson South, Queensland, a locality in the Maranoa Region * Jackson oil field in Durham, ...

, to other settlements in Mississippi. In the 1823 gubernatorial election, Leake was reelected, defeating former Congressional Delegate William Lattimore and

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

David Dickson. Leake died in Mount Salus, Mississippi (now named Clinton) on November 17, 1825, while serving as Governor of Mississippi.

Personal life

Leake married. His daughter, Susan Wingfield Leake, married Henry Goodloe Johnston of

Spotsylvania County, Virginia Spotsylvania County is a county (United States), county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a suburb approximately 60 miles (90km) south of D.C. It is a part of the Northern Virginia region and the D.C. area. As of 2024, Spotsylvania County ...

, in 1807 and was an ancestor of

Haley Barbour Haley Reeves Barbour (born October 22, 1947) is an American attorney, politician, and lobbyist who served as the 63rd governor of Mississippi from 2004 to 2012. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he previously ser ...

Legacy

Leake County, Mississippi Leake County is a county in the center of the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,275. Its county seat is Carthage. The county is named for Walter Leake, the Governor of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825. In 2 ...

, as well as Leakesville, Mississippi, are named for him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leake, Walter 1762 births 1825 deaths Politicians from Albemarle County, Virginia Mississippi Democratic-Republicans Governors of Mississippi United States senators from Mississippi Democratic-Republican Party United States senators Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Justices of the Supreme Court of Mississippi 19th-century United States senators