San Francisco County
Biographies
LEONARD S.
LEAVY
Leonard S. Leavy, purchaser of supplies for the city of San Francisco, has been active in municipal affairs for many years and belongs to that class of men whose talents find their best expression in public service. He was born in this city on the 5th of March, 1876, a son of Charles M. and Francesca (Simon) Leavy. A native of London, England, the father left that city when a lad of twelve and made the trip to America with his widowed mother, who first settled in New Jersey. Toward the close of the decade of the ‘60s she came to the Pacific coast, establishing her home in San Francisco, and here spent the remainder of her life. While residing in the east her son, Charles M. Leavy, enlisted in the Ninth Regiment of New Jersey Zouaves, becoming captain of a company of infantry, and served throughout the Civil war. He took a keen interest in the affairs of the Grand Army of the Republic and was one of the organizers of Lincoln Post. In politics he was a strong republican, active in behalf of the party, and also found time for civic affairs. For many years he was government appraiser for the port of San Francisco and also engaged successfully in the general insurance business. His demise occurred in August, 1910, when he was seventy-one years of age, and his widow, long surviving him, passed away in March, 1930, at the age of eighty-one. They were the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters.
Leonard S. Leavy, the third in order of birth, attended the grammar and high schools of San Francisco and obtained his higher education in the University of California, which awarded him the degree of Ph. C. (Pharmaceutical Chemist) in 1898. For a short time he engaged in pharmaceutical work and then took up accounting. His connection with municipal affairs dates from 1900, when he was made chief accountant of the department of public works, receiving the appointment from Mayor Phelan, and acted in that capacity for twenty-four years. He resigned to become head of the purchasing department of the bureau of supplies and purchases and has since continued in this position. He brought to it an intimate knowledge of the work of the department and is one of the most capable and experienced men who has ever occupied the office.
On the 1st of January, 1900, Mr. Leavy was married in this city to Miss Frances E. Morgan. Hazael, the only child of this marriage, is the wife of Louis C. Levy, of San Francisco, and has become the mother of a daughter, Beverly Levy.
Mr. and Mrs. Leavy reside at 2 Garcia avenue, San Francisco, and manifest a deep and helpful interest in all movements for civic advancement and betterment. Mr. Leavy is a stalwart republican, unfaltering in his allegiance to the party. During the World war he served on the draft board and was chairman of the committees in charge of all the local Liberty Loan drives. A thirty-second Mason, he has filled important offices in the order, being a past master of Revere Lodge, No. 462, F. & A. M., and for some years past has been an inspector of the Grand Lodge of California. In 1922 he represented his lodge in the Grand Lodge of Masons of California and is now wise master of Rose Croix Chapter of the Scottish Rite. He is a Shriner, a very active member of the Masonic Club of San Francisco, and also belongs to the Commonwealth Club of this city and the Alumni Association of the University of California. That Mr. Leavy has gained more than local prominence in his special field of activity is shown in the fact that he is chairman of the Governmental Group of Purchasing Agents and a past president of the California State, County and Municipal Association. Alert and vigorous, his appearance denotes his love of outdoor life, and during vacation periods he enjoys motor trips throughout the country.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 2 Pages 317-319.
© 2007 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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