LEONARD, George, jurist, born in Massachusetts in 1698; died there in 1778. He was descended from Henry Leonard, who, with his brother James, came from England and settled at Raynham, Massachusetts, in 1652. He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and became a judge of the court of common pleas and probate. He was a member of the council in 1741, and chief justice in 1746.--His son, George, jurist, born in Norton, Massachusetts, 4 July, 1729; died in Raynham, Massachusetts, 26 July, 1819, was graduated at Harvard in 1748, and the same year was appointed register of probate, he then studied law, was admitted to the bar, began practice in his native town, and became a member of the provincial house of representatives, a provincial councillor, and a judge of probate. He was elected from Massachusetts to the 1st congress, and served from 4 March, 1789, till 3 March, 1791, and was again elected, serving from 7 December, 1795, till 3 March, 1797. He was afterward a judge of the court of common pleas, again a member of the state house of representatives, and was also a state senator.--The second George's cousin, Daniel, jurist, born in Norton, Massachusetts, 29 May, 1740; died in London, England, 27 June, 1829, was the son of Colonel Ephraim Leonard, a zealous Whig. Daniel was graduated at Harvard in 1760, became a member of the assembly, and at first supported the Whig cause with great eloquence and energy. But in 1774 he was one of the barristers and attorneys that, in an address to Governor Thomas Hutchinson, approved the latter's course, and in the same year was appointed a "mandamus" councillor, but was not sworn into office. A mob having fired into his house, he took refuge in Boston, but left that city with his family in 1776, and accompanied the British army to Halifax. He was included in the banishment act of 1778 and in the conspiracy act of 1779. From Halifax he went to England, was afterward for many years chief justice of Bermuda, and finally resided in London. He had a passion for cards, was fond of dress, and was the original of "Beau Trumps" in Mrs. Mercy Warren's political satire "The Group." He was the author of a series of papers signed "Massachusettensis," which present the best defence of the measures of the British government that appeared in this country. They were replied to by John Adams under the signature of "Novanglus." Both were reprinted, with a preface by Mr. Adams (Boston, 1819).