Born: 1826

Died: 1870

From the Biographical Directory of the U. S. Congress:

John William Leftwich a Representative from Tennessee; born in Liberty (now Bedford), Bedford County, Va., September 7, 1826; attended the public schools; studied medicine and was graduated from the Philadelphia Medical College in 1850; moved to Memphis, Tenn., and engaged in mercantile pursuits; upon the readmission of the State of Tennessee to representation was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-ninth Congress and served from July 24, 1866, to March 3, 1867; unsuccessful candidate for reelection; delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1868; mayor of Memphis in 1869 and 1870; contested the election of William J. Smith to the Forty-first Congress, but, while on his way to Washington to prosecute the contest, died in Lynchburg, Va., March 6, 1870; interment in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tenn.

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