Hon. Charles A. Leach. - As judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Franklin County, Judge Leach is a representative citizen of Ohio. He was born on a farm in Porter Township, Delaware County, Ohio, April 9, 1881, the son of Watson and Kate (Kenney) Leach.

Watson Leach was born and reared in Delaware County where his father established the home in pioneer days, upon coming to Ohio from Westchester County, New York. The Leach family was founded in America in the Colonial period of our national history, and the Kenney family has been established here for generations.

Judge Leach has never regretted the early discipline that was his in connection with the activities of the home farm and the intervals of his attendance at the district schools, and as a youth he taught in the rural schools at a salary of $25 a month in order to provide means for advancing his own education. After his graduation from high school at Marengo, he entered Ohio State University, where he pursued a course leading to the degree of Bachelor of Arts, and also completed the curriculum of the law department, from which he received the degree of Bachelor of Laws in 1906. During the following year he was first assistant editor of the Ohio Cyclopedic Digest, at Norwalk. In 1907 he established himself in the practice of law at Columbus, and in 1910 was appointed third assistant city solicitor, under Edgar L. Wyman, and he retained this position two years. In 1912 he was the Republican candidate for the office of state senator from Franklin County, but an attack of typhoid fever prevented him from making a campaign and he was defeated by his Democratic opponent. In January, in the capacity of special council, he resumed his connection with the office of city solicitor, and after thus serving effectively for two years he was appointed first assistant city solicitor. In this position he continued his characteristically loyal and efficient service until January 1, 1921, when he was elected by the city council to fill out the unexpired term of Henry L. Scarlett as city attorney, an office to which he was returned by popular vote in the election of 1921 for a term of four years. He was a candidate on the Republican ticket but was elected without opposition from the Democratic party or others. He was again reelected to this office in 1925 and again in 1929. Judge Leach served the city in many matters of litigation, including the telephone case and the gas case. Among some of his achievements may be mentioned the acquisition of land for the new municipal airport, acquisition of land on which the new city hall is located, and also land for the location of the new police and fire headquarters. He successfully concluded negotiations for the acquisition of the land north of Columbus which is located in the O'Shaughnessy dam project.

Other litigation in which he was involved, as a representative of the city, was that of obtaining land for the city's chain of playgrounds and widening of streets. Both the subject and the city of Columbus that he so faithfully served are to be congratulated on the fact that he was always elected to the office of city attorney without opposition. A less conspicuous side of the work of Judge Leach while in that office was the direction of the work of the police court, in which a prosecutor of his selection had charge of the enforcement of regulations for the protection of person and property. The work was done carefully and well. It is a matter of which the people of Columbus may be proud that the administration of a public office efficiently and honestly is so unanimously approved. On November 16, 1929, Judge Leach was elected judge of the Court of Common Pleas.

Judge Leach married Miss Hazel Thatcher of Circleville, Ohio. They have four children: Dorothy, Robert, Jane, and Russell.

Judge Leach is an active member of the Buckeye Republican Club, is affiliated with the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and the Knights of Pythias, and is a member of various representative social organizations in Columbus.