Introduction
Walter Daniel Leake (May 20, 1762 – November 6, 1825) served as a United States Senator from Mississippi (1817–1820) and as third Governor of Mississippi (1822–1825). He was the first Governor of Mississippi to die in office.
Biography
Early life
Walter Leake was born on May 20, 1762 in Albemarle County in the Colony of Virginia. He was the son of Captain Mask Leake and nephew of Rev. Samuel Leake (Princeton University graduate and a member of the first Board of Trustees of Hampden–Sydney College), an ancestor of Senator John McCain of Arizona.
Career
He served in the United States Senate from 1817 to 1820. He was appointed to the Mississippi Supreme Court in 1821, and went on to serve as the Governor of Mississippi from 1822 to 1825.
Personal life
His daughter, Susan Wingfield Leake, married in 1807 Henry Goodloe Johnston of Spotsylvania County, Virginia and was an ancestor of Haley Reeves Barbour, the former Governor of Mississippi.
Legacy
Leake County, Mississippi, as well as Leakesville, Mississippi are named for him.