Reuben Towle Leavitt jr. of pittsfield, new hampshire

Taken 3 May 2009, Floral Park Cemetery in Pittsfield, NH - S. Dow

REUBEN TOWLE LEAVITT Jr, the son of Reuben T and Nancy M (Brown) Leavitt, was born in Pittsfield, NH on 11 Nov 1839 [NH vr]. He died on 30 Aug 1919 and was buried in Floral Park Cemetery, Pittsfield, NH [NH Death Rec].

He was married, on 4 Sept 1871 in South Berwick, Maine [ME Marr Rec], to EMMA A WATSON, the daughter of John and Betsey (Kenniston) Watson. She was born 26 Aug 1845 in Pittsfield, NH, and died there on 13 June 1932 [NH Death Rec].

During the Civil War, he enlisted on 16 Aug 1862 and was mustered in on 5 Sept, serving in Co. F of the 12th NH Infantry. He was wounded in the Battle of Chancellorsville on 3 May 1863, being shot through the left knee, and was taken prisoner. He was released 12 days later, having had no care given his wounds and, as a result, would be disabled for life. Sent to an army hospital, he would not consent to his leg being amputated, and was discharged on 21 Nov 1863. See the "History of Pittsfield, N.H. in the Great Rebellion" [pg 104-105, on archive.org]

He and his family removed to Concord, NH prior to the 1850 census, and had lived in Kittery for seven years (while father Reuben Sr was a lighthouse keeper), but was soon back in Pittsfield. 

​The 1870 and 1880 Pittsfield, NH censuses show that Reuben was employed as a worker in a shoe factory. In 1900, he was a farmer and, in 1910, a gardener for a private estate.  ​

He served in the NH Legislature, 1883-1884, a democrat. He was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, and had served as a commander of the Willard K. Cobb Post, No. 29 of Pittsfield. He was also Commander of the NH Department for 1916 [see: 50th Encampment Journal on Google Books].

Reuben T. in 1916, GAR Commander

​Reuben and Emma had three children:
i. Lila Maude Leavitt b. 26 Sept 1872, d. 2 July 1882
ii. Harry Edgar Leavitt b. 5 Apr 1879; d. 12 Oct 1969
iii. Inez Maude Leavitt b. 22 July 1883; d. 13 May 1902

According to the book LEAVITT Descendants of Thomas Leavitt, the Immigrant 1616-1696, and Isabella Bland (pg 143), his ancestry was: Reuben T Jr (Reuben T, Reuben T, Benjamin, Thomas, Aretas, Thomas)