Leonard Family Legends and Legacies arose out of my life-long interest in my great-great-grandfather, Daniel “Uncle Dan” Leonard (1830-1913). He was both a literal and figurative legend in our family, a larger-than-life character right out of the wild, wild west. Or, at least as close to that as five generations of Iowa farmers would allow.

I set out, several years ago, to find out how much of old Uncle Dan’s story was fact and how much was fiction. To separate, if you will, the legends from the legacies. Was a covered wagon really the most likely mode of transportation from Pennsylvania? Was there really one of the worst blizzards on record a few months after he arrived? Was it even possible that Frank and Jesse James could’ve have slept in his barn, as he claimed?

I was not disappointed.

The more I learned about ol’ Uncle Dan, the more I wanted to know. What about his family, mother, father, brothers and sisters? Did he ever see them again? What about his friends, neighbors, aunts and uncles, grandparents on either side?