Leggroan, Edward

Biography

photo of  Edward Leggroan

Edward Leggroan, born 20 May 1903, carried the name of his paternal grandfather, Edward (Ned) Leggroan, who relocated from Mississippi to Utah after the end of the Civil War.[1] The younger Edward’s father, Henry Alexander Leggroan, most likely joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1873 when his parents were baptized.[2] Henry and his wife, Esther Jane James Leggroan, settled in Mill Creek where they farmed for five decades.[3] They were lifelong members of the LDS church and baptized their children as each reached the age of eight, the church’s age of accountability. Edward’s mother was the granddaughter of devout Mormon, Jane Manning James, and therefore young Edward grew up in an extended family of committed Latter-day Saints.

On 5 July 1903, Henry and Esther Jane Leggroan took their infant son, Edward, to the Wilford Ward to be blessed.[4] Very shortly before Edward’s ninth birthday, on 4 May 1912, Miles S. Winder, a church elder, baptized him. The next day, John W. White confirmed Edward and he became an official member the Wilford Ward, a Mill Creek area congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[5] The Leggroan family is listed in the LDS censuses taken during the years in which Edward grew up in Mill Creek and participated in worship services in the Wilford Ward.[6]

Edward attended Granite High School where he followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Hyrum, playing football on the varsity squad. He received his high school diploma in May 1922. In 1928, he married Eleanor Gray.[7] Eleanor’s family also had deep roots in Utah. Her mother was Mary Ann Bankhead, the granddaughter of Nathan Bankhead. Nathan was brought, enslaved, into Utah Territory in the 1850s and farmed in Wellsville, Cache County for many years before and after emancipation.[8] Many of the members of Eleanor’s family became Seventh-day Adventists, but Eleanor did not attend any church regularly.

After their marriage, Edward and Eleanor Leggroan lived in central Salt Lake City.[9] Eleanor gave birth to twins on 26 July 1928, a boy and a girl, but sadly the baby boy was stillborn.[10] Over the next eleven years, the Leggroans had eight more children, including another pair of twins, Larue and Leroy. Larue lived just sixteen days, dying three days before Christmas in 1934.[11] Her twin brother, LeRoy, died of pneumonia before his first birthday.[12] He was the second Leggroan baby to succumb to the disease. In 1932, Nine-month-old Lloyd contracted pneumonia and died.[13] Despite the tragic losses of four babies, the couple raised six children to adulthood; Gloria Mae, Dean Edward, Keith LaVar, Gerald Deloy, Phyllis Joyce, and Wallace Earnest.[14]

Edward Leggroan worked at GMC Truck and Coach Company for thirty years. He shared his expertise in diesel mechanics in the classes he taught at a Salt Lake County technical school. By 1940, Ed and Eleanor, together with their children, had moved back to Mill Creek where many family members continued to reside. To supplement his income, Edward also worked at a popular restaurant called “El Gaucho.” It was near his home and it employed black men who dressed in Argentinian gaucho clothes. Edward waited tables there and greeted customers. In the 1950’s, he built a home on Evergreen Avenue and lived there with Eleanor for the rest of his life. In 2020, his daughter lives in that home and maintains a colorful garden full of her mother’s favorite flowers, zinnias.[15]

When Edward Leggroan died in 1966, his obituary listed his membership in the LDS church. His family thought his affiliation with the church was important to note even though he had not been a practicing Mormon during his adult life.[16] He had, however, remained a member of record until his death. He was buried in Memorial Redwood Cemetery in West Jordan, Utah.[17]

By Tonya S. Reiter

Primary Sources

Bridgewaters, Joyce Leggroan. Oral interview by Tonya S. Reiter. 16 July 2019. Millcreek, Utah.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Record of Members Collection. Wilford Ward, Part 1, 1907-1941. CR 375 8, box 7640, folder 1, image 78. Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Record of Members Collection. Wilford Ward, Part 1, 1907-1941. CR 375 8, box 7640, folder 1, item 241. Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Coorespondence.” The Elevator (San Francisco, California). 14 June 1873.

“Edward Leggroan.” Salt Lake Tribune (Salt Lake City, Utah). 3 June 1966, 60.

“Leggroan.” Presiding Bishopric stake and mission census, 1914-1935. CR 4 311. Church History Library. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Salt Lake City, Utah.

“Leggroan.” Salt Lake Tribune. 4 June 1966, 34.

Utah. County Marriage Records, 1887-1937. Edward Leggroan and Eleanor Gray. 27 June 1928. Microfilm 429,130. Family History Library. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

United States. 1880 Census. Utah, Cache County, Wellsville.

United States. 1910 Census. Utah, Salt Lake County, Wilford (Mill Creek).

United States. 1920 Census. Utah, Salt Lake County, Precinct 3.

United States. 1930 Census. Utah, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City.

United States. 1940 Census. Utah, Salt Lake County, Precinct 3.

United States. Registration Card. Serial Number 11425. Edward Leggroan. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

Utah State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death. Leggroan, Infant. File Number 1233. Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death. Leggroan, Larue. File Number 2040. Utah State Archives. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death. Leggroan, LeRoy. File Number 1809. Utah State Archives. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Utah State Board of Health. Bureau of Vital Statistics. Certificate of Death. Leggroan, Lloyd. File Number 440. Utah State Archives. Salt Lake City, Utah.

Secondary Sources

Hartley, William G. "Samuel Chambers." New Era. June 1974, 47-50.

Leggroan, Edward. FindAGrave.com.


[1] William G. Hartley, “Samuel D. Chambers,” The New Era, June 1974, 47-50.

[2] “Correspondence,” The Elevator (San Francisco, California), 14 June 1873.

[3] United States, 1910 Census, Utah, Salt Lake County, Wilford.

[4]Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Record of Members Collection, Wilford Ward, Part 1, 1907-1941, CR 375 8, box 7640, folder 1, image 78, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[5] Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Record of Members Collection, Wilford Ward, Part 1, 1907-1941, CR 375 8, box 7640, folder 1, image 241, Church History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[6] “Leggroan,” Presiding Bishopric stake and mission census, 1914-1935, CR 4 311, Church History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[7] Utah, County Marriage Records, 1887-1937, Edward Leggroan and Eleanor Gray, 27 June 1928, Microfilm 429,130, Family History Library, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[8] United States, 1880 Census, Utah, Cache County, Wellsville.

[9] United States, 1930 Census, Utah, Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City.

[10] Utah State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Infant Leggroan, file no. 1233, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[11] Utah State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Larue Leggroan, file no. 2040, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[12] Utah State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, LeRoy Leggroan, file no. 1809, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[13] Utah State Board of Health, Bureau of Vital Statistics, Certificate of Death, Lloyd Leggroan, file no. 440, Utah State Archives, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[14] “Edward Leggroan,” The Salt Lake Tribune, (Salt Lake City, Utah), 3 June 1966, 60.

[15] Joyce Leggroan Bridgewaters, oral interview by Tonya S. Reiter, 16 July 2019, Millcreek, Utah.

[16] Bridgewaters, oral interview.

[17] Edward Leggroan, FindAGrave.com

Documents

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