Benjamin Franklin Leiter
StateOhio
District18th
PartyRepublican
Term startMarch 4, 1855
Term endMarch 3, 1859
PrecededGeorge Bliss
SucceededSidney Edgerton
State house 2Ohio
District 2Stark County
Term start 2December 4, 1848
Term end 2December 1, 1850
Preceded 2John S. Cock
Succeeded 2Samuel Krider
Order 313th
Office 3Mayor of Canton
Term start 31852
Term end 31853
Preceded 3J.G. Lester
Succeeded 3John Lahm
Order 415th
Office 4Mayor of Canton
Term start 41854
Term end 41855
Preceded 4John Lahm
Succeeded 4Peter Chance
Birth dateOctober 13, 1813
Birth placeLeitersburg, Maryland
Death dateJune 17, 1866 (aged 52)
Death placeCanton, Ohio
Resting placeWest Lawn Cemetery
SpouseCatherine Burger

Benjamin Franklin Leiter (October 13, 1813 – June 17, 1866) was a nineteenth-century politician, lawyer, teacher and justice of the peace from Ohio. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from 1855 to 1859.

Biography

Born in Leitersburg, Maryland, Leiter received a limited schooling as a child. He taught school in Maryland from 1830 to 1834 before moving to Ohio where he continued teaching from 1834 to 1842. He studied law at the office of David A. Starkweather.[1] He was admitted to the bar in 1842, commencing practice in Canton, Ohio.[2] Leiter was a justice of the peace and mayor of Canton for ten years.[3] He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives in 1848 and 1849, serving as Speaker of the House in the latter year. Leiter was elected an Oppositionist and later Republican to the United States House of Representatives in 1854, serving from 1855 to 1859. He died in Canton, Ohio, on June 17, 1866, and was interred in Canton in West Lawn Cemetery.[2]

In 1836, Leiter married Catherine Burger of Canton. They had seven children.[1][4] He was a Lutheran.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ Old Landmarks of Canton and Stark County, Ohio. Logansport, Indiana: B F Brown. 1904. pp. 261–263. OCLC 79257924
  2. ^ "Benjamin F. Leiter". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Office of the House Historian and Office of the Senate Historian. Retrieved March 21, 2026.
  3. ^ "list of mayors, cantonohio.gov". Archived from the original on 2011-10-17. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
  4. ^ Bell, Herbert C. (1898). History of Leitersburg district, Washington County, Md: including its land tenure.... self. p. 187