Mary E. Leonard Papers
Preliminary Inventory (9-20-2008)

The Mary E. Leonard Collection consists of the accumulated genealogical research conducted by Mary over a period of some 40 years. While the primary focus of her research was on her Leonard line, her research was not limited to that surname, it includes correspondence, family group sheets, obituaries, photographs and copies of death certificates, marriage licenses and research notes, which blanket the surname Leonard and its collateral lines in the United States.

Mary was very thorough in her work. She corresponded with dozens of unrelated and related Leonard family members, accumulating thousands of family group sheets from the correspondence with people around the country. Mary published her first volume of Leonard research in Our Leonard Family History, 1775 –1995 Volume 1: Constant Leonard and His Descendants, 1995, The Anundsen Publishing Company, Decorah Iowa.

After Mary’s death in December 2006, Mary’s family donated her records to the Minnesota Genealogical Society of which Mary had been a member. Below is a link to the preliminary inventory of the collection.

While the focus of Mary’s research was on the Leonard family, she corresponded with many Leonard descendants (and their in-laws). The main surnames are noted in the preliminary inventory.

About Mary E. Leonard

Mary Elizabeth Barnes Leonard was born February 11, 1930 in Pierre, South Dakota. She passed away at her home on December 20, 2006. Her obituary described her as “an avid genealogist”.

In her own words, “Wayne R. Leonard married . . .Mary Elizabeth Barnes on 10 July 1952 at the Congregational Church in Pierre, Hughes County, South Dakota. She was born on 11 February 1930, at the old St. Mary’s Hospital, in Pierre, South Dakota, daughter of Guy Francis Barnes and his wife, Hazel Agusta Davis. Mary received all of her education from the Pierre school system and graduated from Pierre High School in 1948. She enrolled in home economics at Iowa State College in the fall of 1950. We lived in the trailer court section of Pammell Court, the married student housing village at Iowa State College, both attending college for a while until Mary dropped out to give birth to our oldest daughter. . . Wayne, Mary and their daughter Janet moved to Dallas, Texas where Wayne worked for Chance Vought Aircraft Corporation. We lived in a trailer court at Grand Prairie, Texas. From Texas, we moved to Pierre, South Dakota, where Wayne worked in the bridge department of the South Dakota State Highway Department under Ken Scurr. From there the family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota in June of 1957, where Wayne went to work as a bridge designer for Minnesota Engineering Company, an engineering consulting firm. He designed many of the bridges which became part of the I-35 Interstate Highway system. Wayne and Mary Leonard were divorced on 8 March 1968 in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minnesota.”

Mary and Wayne had two daughters: Janet Louise and Karen Elaine.” ¹

Accessing the Collection

The collection is available for research at the Minnesota Genealogical Society, by appointment. Email inquiries are welcome, to LeonardCollection@mngs.org . Please include “Mary E. Leonard” in the subject line of your message.

For efficient searching for a surname in this document, use your browser’s Find feature. Please visit our research page (http://www.mngs.org/library.shtml ) for information on research and copy fees.