William S. Leonard (1794-1825), son of Jacob Leonard of South Bridgewater, Mass., came to North Carolina in 1819 with New England goods to sell, and remained for over a year in Hertford, Perquimans County, as a school teacher. The next year he and his brother, Isam, opened a store in Hertford which they operated for several years, returning to Massachusetts over the summers. In 1822 they moved their business to Windsor, Bertie County, N.C. In 1825 they both became ill, William died, and Isam moved back to Massachusetts, returning to North Carolina the next year to close the business.
The Leonards dealt in a variety of produce in North Carolina, shipping to the North wheat, corn, sweet potatoes, beeswax, tar, turpentine, staves, feathers, tallow, peas, flaxseed, and cotton. In Windor they operated a cotton gin. Among the items they sold were chairs, salt, rum, cotton gins, hardware, drygoods, and other general merchandise.
From the guide to the William S. Leonard Papers, ., 1808-1862, (bulk 1808-1829), (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)
