George Jabez Leftwich

Source: Rowland, Dunbar, ed. Mississippi, Comprising Sketches of Counties, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, in three volumes. Vol. 3. [Contemporary Biography] Atlanta: Southern Historical Publishing Association, 1907. pages 477-478

Leftwich, George Jabez, is one of the representative members of the bar of Monroe county and is engaged in the practice of his profession at Aberdeen, as senior member of the firm of Leftwich & Tubb. He is a native of Montgomery county, Va., and is a son of Jabez and Mary (Switzer) Leftwich, both of whom were likewise native of the Old Dominion State, the former having been born in Bedford county and the latter in Botetourt county. Col. Jabez Leftwich was a soldier and officer in the War of 1812, having served under his brother, Gen. Joel Leftwich, in the command of General Jackson. He was the great-grandfather of the subject of this sketch. Another brother, Col. Thomas Leftwich, was commander of the rear guard at Camden, N. J., in the War of the Revolution, and the eledest brother, Col. William Leftwich, was a member of the revolutionary committee of Bedford county, Va., in 1775. Lieut. John Leftwich was a soldier in the Revolution, and another of the family, Capt. Jabez Leftwich, the grandfather of our subject, served in the War of 1812. The paternal grandmother of the subject of this review, Martha Jones Early, was a daughter of Bishop John Early and a cousin of Gen. Jubal A. Early. The original American progenitors of the Leftwich family came to the new world from England. Ralph Leftwich arrived in America about 1658, being the first of the family to come to this country and having had a land grant from the British government. In Cheshire, England, stands Leftwich Hall, erected 600 years ago by the Leftwich family, numbered among the English gentry. The family coat of arms bears the motto, "Vernon Semper Floret," Vernon being a family name and the other two words signifying "always blooming." The father of Mr. Leftwich died in 1861, when the son was an infant and the mother is still living in the Old Dominion. Two of the former's brother were Confederate soldiers, and of the latter's brothers who were in the Confederate service, several lost their lives, among them being George Switzer for whom his nephew, the subject of this sketch was named. George J. Leftwich completed a course in the high school at Fincastle, Va., and thereafter entered the National normal university, Lebanon, Ohio, in which institution he was graduated as a member of the class of 1882, with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. After his graduation he became principal of the high school at Carthage, Miss., for five years. In the meanwhile he had taken up the study of law and had been admitted to the bar, in 1886. In fortifying himself further for the work of his profession he completed partial courses in the law departments of the University of Virginia and of Cornell university, New York. In 1888 Mr. Leftwich located in Aberdeen, where he has since been established in the general practice of his profession, in which he has met with unequivocal success and gained distinctive prestige. He was associated with H. S. Gilleylen until 1904, when he formed a partnership with C. L. Tubb, under the firm name of Leftwich & Tubb, which still obtains. Though a stanch adherent of the Democratic party, he has never sought or held public office. He is a zealous member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, which he has represented as a lay delegate to two general conferences. His wife is a member of the Baptist church. He is affiliated with the Knights of Pythias and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, having been exalted ruler of the Aberdeen lodge the first two years of its existence. In December, 1887, Mr. Leftwich was united in marriage to Miss Elgenia Groom, daughter of William G. Groom of Caldwell county, a well known Kentucky family transplanted there from Virginia, and they have six children, namely: Mary Marguerite, Katie Elgenia, George Jabez, jr., Bessie Louise, William Groom and Frank Switzer. The eldest, Mary Marguerite, is at this writing (1906) a student in Randolph-Macon woman's college at Lynchburg, Va. As a diversion from his professional labors Mr. Leftwich occasionally finds time to contribute to the magazines and periodicals of the day. He is fond of historical and biographical research and is a member of the Mississippi historical society to whose publications he is a frequent contributor.