Leard, John Hitchcock

J.H. Leard was a Methodist clergyman who served in the Union Army as chaplain of the the First Arkansas Infantry. After the end of hostilities, he remained in the state as agent for the American Union Commission. His hard working attempts to relieve the extreme difficulties the war had brought to the people, especially the families of loyal Arkansans helped many but at the cost of his physical and mental health. He recovered to renew his preaching career in the West, moving to California for his health and them to Spokane in Washington Territory. He was active in religious and civic affairs in Spokane but his health broke down again and he died of lung congestion. He was fifty-four years old and left a wife and two children. (By John Osborne)