Isaac Eugene Leonard (1822-1879), 9th Mayor of Pekin

Among the drawings illustrating Thompson’s 1864 wall plat map of Tazewell County is one that shows the mansion of a certain I. E. Leonard of Pekin. To have lived in such a house, clearly he must have been a man of some importance in town. Delving into Pekin’s history, that is exactly what we find.

Born April 8, 1822, in Hallowell, Maine, Isaac Eugene Leonard II was a son of Isaac Eugene Leonard (1790-1853) and Julia Washburn, and was a brother of Frederick Washington Leonard (1820-1879) and Julia Maria Leonard (born 1825). I.E. Leonard’s parents were born in Raynham, Mass., and they and their children came to Illinois. The elder Isaac E. Leonard is buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Tremont.

The 1840 U.S. Census shows “Isaac Leonard” living in Tazewell County – that could be either the elder or the younger Isaac E. Leonard. Ten years later, the U.S. Census shows “Eugene Leonard” living in Pekin, age 24, a merchant – that’s undoubtedly I.E. Leonard. He had four sons, Louis, Charles G. Isaac Eugene III, and Henry Baldwin.

In fact, I.E. Leonard was one of Pekin’s early merchants. The 1861 Pekin City Directory, page 38, shows “Isaac E. Leonard,” residing on the west side of Leonard (today called Summer Street), two doors south of McLean. The neighborhood where Leonard built his mansion was the Leonard Addition. Also listed in the 1861 directory was Isaac’s brother Frederick W. Leonard. Together, Isaac and Frederick operated the firm of Leonard & Co., and lumber and produce outfit located at the corner of Front and Ann Eliza on the Illinois riverfront.

The 1870 Pekin City Directory shows that Isaac was apparently still living at the same spot: on the west side of Leonard, between Winter and Pearl streets – “Pearl” is today known as Prince Street. The 1873 Atlas Map of Tazewell County shows that a significant stretch of land adjacent to Isaac’s place of residence was then the location of “Leonard Bros.” Leonard’s mansion is no longer there today.

The 1879 and 1905 Tazewell County histories of Charles C. Chapman and Ben C. Allensworth together show that “I. E. Leonard” served as mayor of Pekin in 1860 and 1861, afterwards being elected as Fourth Ward Alderman on the Pekin City Council in 1862 and again in 1870. Leonard’s leading position in town is further indicated by the fact that his wife was one of the founding members of the Ladies Library Association (ancestral to the Pekin Public Library) and served as the association’s president in 1870. She was noted for her great success at organizing fundraising events on behalf of the library.

Chapman’s history, page 347, also lists “I. E. Leonard, Pekin” as one of the 19 vice presidents who on Aug. 6, 1864, were chosen to represent the communities of Tazewell County on the committee overseeing the Tazewell County Sanitary Fair, an event held to raise money for the Soldiers Aid Society’s efforts to provide care for Civil War soldiers and returning veterans.

Allensworth’s 1905 history, pages 872-3, informs us that Leonard was the founding president of the First National Bank of Pekin when it opened in 1866. His brother F. W. Leonard was vice president. The bank only existed for nine years, however. After the bank was liquidated in 1875, Allensworth says, “the private banking firms of Leonard & Blossom and, in 1876, F.W. Leonard & Co. continued the banking business at the old stand of the First National Bank.”

Isaac was not a part of the reorganized banking firm, however. The 1876 Pekin City Directory says “Israel” (sic) Eugene Leonard, retired, then lived at the southwest corner of Delavan Ave. and Winter, four blocks east of his former residence. He died in 1879 and was buried in Section I-3 of Lakeside Cemetery, Pekin, in a grave marked by an impressive obelisk monument (indicating his wealth and status during life).