Patrick Henry Leahy, who is clerk of and counsel for the board of supervisors of Ontario county, New York, in addition to attending to his large legal practice, is a fine example of what may be achieved by earnest and unremitting striving, when heavily handicapped by adverse circumstances. He owes his present high standing in his profession and in the community entirely to his own unaided efforts, and his inflexible and unfaltering courage in every relation of life have won for him the respect and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact. Judging from the success which has attended his labors in the past, a most brilliant future apparently lies before him.
John Leahy, his father, was born in Castle Island, Ireland, in 1833, and died in this country in April, 1873. He had labored diligently as a workman all his life, deeming no work too humble, as long as it was honorable. During the civil war he enlisted in 1862, served as a private in Company E, One Hundred and Sixtieth New York Volunteer Infantry, and was mustered out with honor at the close of the war. His untimely death left his little family unprovided for.
Patrick Henry Leahy was born in a log cabin in Canadice, Ontario county, New York, June 21, 1873. He was educated in the public schools of this county, and in the Geneseo State Normal School, from the classical department of which he was graduated in 1895 with honor. Studious and ambitious as he had always been, it is small marvel that he made an excellent use of his time while he was at this institution, and upon leaving it that he found no difficulty in obtaining an appointment as a teacher. For the six years following his graduation he was engaged in teaching during the winter months, thus enabling him to earn a sufficient sum to. pursue the study of law, a desire he had always entertained. During the summer months of these six years, he studied law in Rochester, under the preceptorship of George Raines and was admitted to the bar in 1902. He established himself in the practice of his profession in Honeoye, Ontario county, New York, in which he met with an encouraging amount of success. The death of his mother in 1903 caused him to make a change in his place of residence, and in the spring of 1905 he removed to Geneva, Ontario county, New York, where he has now (1910) a well-established and lucrative practice, which is constantly increasing. As an earnest and thoughtful member of the Republican party, he has taken an active interest in public affairs since his earliest voting years, and before making his home in Geneva, he served as a member of the county committee for the town of Richmond for a term of two years. In 1907 he was appointed clerk of the board of supervisors, and in 1908, was appointed county attorney. He is also a member of the Republican committee of the second ward of Geneva City and the chairman of that body. He and his wife are members and attendants at the services of the Catholic church, and his affiliations with fraternal organizations are as follows: The Delphic Fraternity of the State Normal schools; Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; Knights of Columbus, and Sons of Veterans.
Mr. Leahy married, January 14, 1903, Dora Ann, born in Canadice, New York, June 19, 1883, daughter of Thaddeus A. and Lydia M. Skilton. Children: Harold William, born June 28, 1904, and Marjorie Ellen, born September 17, 1905.