Leon Friedman

Leon Friedman (October 23, 1886 – September 1, 1948) was a Democrat who served from 1932 to 1940 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from his native Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana.[1]

Leon Friedman
Louisiana State Representative from Natchitoches Parish
In office 1932–1940
Preceded by	Two-member delegation: Cecil B. McClung Edward C. Prudhomme
Succeeded by	Two-member delegation: Arthur C. Watson John O. Williams
Personal details
Born	(1886-10-23)October 23, 1886 Natchez Natchitoches Parish Louisiana, USA
Died	September 1, 1948(1948-09-01) (aged 61)
Resting place	Jewish Cemetery in Natchitoches, Louisiana
Political party	Democratic
Relations	J. Isaac Friedman (brother) Sylvan Friedman (nephew)
Parents	Samuel and Caroline Friedman

Friedman was a member of a prominent landowning Jewish family from Natchez in southern Natchitoches Parish. His father, Samuel Friedman (1848-1888), died when Leon was barely a year old. This left his mother, Caroline S. Friedman (1847-1906), as head of the household. A brother, Harry, died in 1895 at the age of fourteen.[2] An older brother, J. Isaac Friedman, served in the state House from 1908 to 1916[1] and in the Louisiana State Senate for an abbreviated term from 1922 to 1924, following the resignation of Charles Milton Cunningham, the editor and publisher of The Natchitoches Times.[3] The Friedmans are interred at the Jewish Cemetery in Natchitoches.[2]

Leon and J. Isaac Friedman were not the first Jewish representatives from Natchitoches Parish. Earlier, Leopold Caspari, who in 1884 pushed successfully for the creation of Northwestern State University, also served in both houses of the legislature, nonconsecutively between 1884 and his death in 1915.[4]

References

1. "Membership in the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016: Natchitoches Parish" (PDF). house.Louisiana.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
2. "Jewish Cemetery". rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
3. "Membership in the Louisiana Senate, 1880-Present" (PDF). senate.la.gov. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
4. "Caspari, Leopold". Louisiana Historical Association, A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography (lahistory.org). Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2010.

Political offices
Preceded by Two-member delegation: Cecil B. McClung Edward C. Prudhomme	Louisiana State Representative from Natchitoches Parish Leon Friedman (alongside W. Peyton Cunningham) 1932 – 1940	Succeeded by Two-member delegation: Arthur C. Watson John O. Williams