Leavenworth Family Papers

Elias W. Leavenworth in his >A Genealogy of the Leavenworth Family in the United States with Historical Introduction (Dodd C6163) has Thomas Leavenworth arriving in New Haven, Connecticut sometime between 1664 and 1675. At time in the 17th century, however, a Thomas Leavenworth, ancestor of this branch of the Leavenworths, settled in western Connecticut and acquired and/or inherited considerable property prior to his death in 1683.

The first Leavenworth for which there is documentation in the Leavenworth Family Papers is David Leavenworth. Born in Woodbury, Connecticut, David was a Captain of the Fourth Company, 13th Regiment of the Colony of Connecticut during the American Revolution. Active in the war, documentation of his activities has been recorded in Cothren's Ancient History. Married twice and the father of eight, David died in Woodbury at the age of 82.

Morse Leavenworth, the second of David's children, was born in Roxbury, Connecticut on 1 July 1764. A farmer and soldier in the American Revolution (Cothren, p.783), Morse married Sarah Benedict, the daughter of Jonathan Benedict of New Milford, Connecticut in 1783. They had six children, born and raised in the house built by Morse in Roxbury.

Morse Leavenworth (Jr.) was born 27 July 1805, the youngest of six children. A farmer, Morse married Amarilla Beecher, the daughter of Deacon John Beecher of New Milford, Connecticut, and fathered three sons. He died in 1852 and Amarilla remarried O. B. Seward.

John Henry Leavenworth was born 13 August 1830, the eldest of the three sons of Morse and Amarilla Leavenworth. A farmer and teacher in Roxbury, he married Mary Ann Peck, the daughter of Marquis D. Peck of Morris, Connecticut. They had two children, George and Florence.

George Washington Peck Leavenworth was born 12 April 1855 in Roxbury. In the 1880 Census George listed his profession as teacher. He married Cora Turley of Vicksburg, Mississippi prior to 1888. Their only son, Dana Turley Leavenworth, was only a year old when Cora died in 1889. George then married, Nellie Ames>, the eldest daughter of James B. Ames of Bethlehem, Connecticut. Married in 1892, Nellie and George had one son, Carleton. Nellie died in 1932 and George moved off the family homestead in Roxbury to Southbury, Connecticut before finally moving to Hartford, Connecticut prior to his death in 1941.

Dana T. Leavenworth was born 25 June 1888, presumably in Roxbury. He attended Yale College and graduated in 1910. He joined the Army in 1914 and saw action along the U.S-Mexico border prior to joining the American Expeditionary Force in France in 1918. Dana returned to the States in 1919 and took up civilian life. He married Marie Christina Schmitz, daughter of Charles W. Schmitz of Waterbury in 1924. Employed as an estate councilor at Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, Dana and Marie established their household at 25 Staples Place in West Hartford, Connecticut. There they raised three sons, Robert, Donald and Alden. Marie died in 1950 and Dana married Katherine Marsh in 1954. Dana's autobiography, The Passing Scene, was published in 1973. Dana died in December 1980. Two of his children attended Yale University, recipients (like their father) of the Leavenworth Family Scholarship at that institution, and all married and settled out of state.

Carleton Ames Leavenworth was born 26 September 1893, also presumably in Roxbury. He also attended Yale College and graduated in 1919. Carleton lived in New York City for some time, before returning to Connecticut and marrying Katherine Stone, daughter of Harvey R. Stone, in 1935 and settled in Southbury, Connecticut. While it is difficult to determine precisely, it appears that Carleton owned a book shop for several years before turning to more literary pursuits. He published several collections of poetry and prose and edited a literary magazine in 1957. Carleton died in 1958.

Detailed genealogical information on the members of the Leavenworth family from their arrival in the United States in the seventeenth century through the mid nineteenth century can be found in A Genealogy of the Leavenworth Family in the United States with Historical Introduction by Elias Warner Leavenworth. Information about the Roxbury/Woodbury area can be found in several town histories, also available in Archives and Special Collections.