John Graves Leeper

John Graves Leeper
Leeper in 1928
Oklahoma Secretary of State
In office
1927–1931
Preceded byRichard A. Sneed
Succeeded byRichard A. Sneed
Personal details
Born1854
Chillicothe, Missouri
Died1931
Political partyDemocratic Party

John Graves Leeper (May 23, 1854 – March 2, 1931) was an American politician and businessman who served as the elected Oklahoma Secretary of State between 1927 and 1931.

Biography

John Graves Leeper was born to James and Elizabeth (Graves) Leeper in Chillicothe, Missouri.[1][2][3] He attended Central Methodist University in Fayette, Missouri.[2] In the late 1800s he moved to Texas with his brother J.D. Leeper. The brothers opened lumber mills in Denison, Gainesville, and Bowie as well as in Oklahoma Territory and in Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. They eventually expanded into Anadarko near the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad.[4] One of his brothers, Cyrus S. Leeper, served as a member of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention.[2] Eventually, John and J.D. sold their other lumber mills to open a new mill in Oklahoma City.[4] John Leeper was elected in 1926 and served as the Oklahoma Secretary of State between 1927 and 1931.[2][4] He died shortly after leaving office in 1931.[4]

References

  1. ^ Chronicles of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Historical Society. 1945–1946. p. 321. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d The Missouri Historical Review (PDF). State Historical Society of Missouri. July 1939. p. 530. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  3. ^ John Graves Leeper, 1931 in Texas Deaths, 1890-1976 FamilySearch url=https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7D6-Y3Z
  4. ^ a b c d "John Graves Leeper, Class of 1930". oklahomahof.com. Oklahoma Hall of Fame. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Oklahoma Secretary of State
1926 		Succeeded by
Richard A. Sneed