LEEPER, DAVID ROHRER: 1832-1900.
David Rohrer Leeper , son of Samuel and Elizabeth Rohrer Leeper, was born Jan. 12, 1832, in a log cabin near South Bend, Ind. His boyhood was spent on the family farm on Sumption Prairie near South Bend .
When the California gold rush began, young Leeper, who was seventeen years old, was attending the Seminary in South Bend . He persuaded his father to fit him out for a pilgrimage west. With several young friends and two ox teams he started for the West and arrived in the coveted gold fields after seven months and sixteen days of hardship and adventure.
In 1854, at the age of twenty-two, Mr. Leeper returned to South Bend and again attended school. He took an active interest in politics and served as state page: 190[View Page 190] senator for several terms. In 1892 he was elected mayor of South Bend .
Mr. Leeper was a public-spirited man and possessed considerable literary ability. He wrote valuable articles on local history for the local papers. His brother, Samuel Leeper, kept the manuscript of The American Idea for many years, finally consenting to its publication in 1917.
David Leeper died on Nov. 27, 1900.
Information from the South Bend Public Library.
- The Argonauts of '49. South
Bend, 1894.
- The American Idea, Being a Short Study of the Tendency of
Political History, with Special Reference to the Origin, Development, and
Destiny of the Federal-Republican Polity of the United States.
South Bend, 1917
- Early Inns and Taverns of South Bend, Ind.
South Bend, Ind., n.d.
