John Braden Leonard    

John Braden Leonard, burgess of the borough of Deemston and house agent for the Vesta Coal Company at Vestaburg, and one of the best known men in the southern part of Washington county, is a native son of Washington county and a member of one of the old families here. He was born at Zollarsville on March 4, 1887, a son of A. Jackson and Effie Lenora (Crumrine) Leonard, both of whom were also born in this county. The latter is still living, now a resident of Fredericktown. She is a daughter of Demas and Mary Crumrine, the latter of whom spent her last days at Beallsville. Demas Crumrine, a member of the pioneer Crumrine family in this county, long survived his wife and his last days were spent in the neighboring county of Greene. Until his retirement he had for years been engaged in business as a blacksmith at Beallsville, having his shop on the old national road, and was widely known throughout this region. He was a deacon in the Methodist Episcopal church and in politics was a republican.

The late A. Jackson Leonard, who died at Deemston on March 18, 1918, was born in this county in 1852, and was a son of Isaac and Amanda (Cox) Leonard, members of pioneer families here and whose last days were here spent. Isaac Leonard was a blacksmith, doing business in the Zollarsville neighborhood. Politically he was a democrat, and he and his wife were members of the Lutheran church. A. Jackson Leonard was for some years after his marriage engaged in farming and then became connected with the operations of the Monongahela Gas Company and was long employed by that concern, for some time as head timekeeper and later as a field manager. He was a democrat and had rendered public service as a school director and in other local capacities.

John B. Leonard acquired the better part of his local schooling in the Sandy Plains school and supplemented this by special school work at Homestead. for three years attending night school there. He then was employed by the Pennsylvania Railroad Company and was presently placed in charge of that company’s freight and transfer station at Homestead. For eleven years Mr. Leonard remained in their employ and then, in May. 1918, he became enraged in his present capacity as house agent for the Vesta Coal Company of Vestaburg, making his home at Deemston, Rural Mail Route No. 2 out of Clarksville, where he and his family are very comfortably situated. Mr. Leonard is a republican and is now (1925) rendering public service as burgess of his local borough. He is a charter member of the Deemston grange of the Patrons of Husbandry, is a member of Triad Lodge No. 1064, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, at Clarksville, and he and his wife are members of the East Bethlehem Baptist church, of the congregation of which he is the clerk.

On June 7, 1911, at Homestead, John B. Leonard was united in marriage to Miss Queen Sharp and they have three children: John Braden (Jr.), born on March 14. 1912; Flora Belle and James Richard, born on August 30, 1918. Mrs. Leonard is a graduate nurse, having had her training in one of the leading hospitals in Philadelphia. and prior to her marriage had been for some time engaged as a professional nurse in Washington county. She was born in this county and is a daughter of J. R. and Flora Belle (Braden) Sharp, both of whom were born at Amity and who are now living at Sandy Plains. They are republicans and are members of the East Bethlehem Baptist church, of the congregation of which J. R. Sharp is a deacon. He was formerly engaged in the mercantile business in Washington, a dealer in music, and also had a branch store at Waynesburg. He is a son of Dr. Sharp, in his day a well known physician at Amity, who rendered service as an army surgeon during the time of the Civil war.

History of Washington County, Pennsylvania, 1926; Forrest, Earle Robert, Chicago: S.J. Clarke Pub. Co., pages 239-241.  Search Hundreds of 1880s-1890s Pennsylvania County History Books for biographies and historical information on your ancestors.  View the book page images on line and print them out for your genealogy file!  Free Access to the old history books - plus birth & death records, census images and ALL other records at ancestry.com.