“HEYWARD G. LEAVITT, who may, perhaps, be called a founder of the sugar beet industry in Nebraska, and also the inspiration and financial support of the earliest irrigation projects in Scottsbluff county, is pre-eminently a man of action, and his life for two decades past has been devoted to such useful effort that it amounts to public beneficence.
Heyward C. Leavitt was born in New York City, March 22, 1861. His parents were Henry S. and Martha A. (Young) Leavitt, both of whom were born at Brooklyn, New, York. The father died in New York City in 1904, at the age of seventy-eight, while the mother still resides there. Of their seven children five are living, Heyward G. being the only one making his home in Nebraska. A sister, Emma, is the wife of William Fellows Morgan, who is in the cold storage business in New York City. For fifteen years he was president of the Y. M. C. A. there and Mrs. Morgan is president of the W. C. T. U. On both sides of the family Mr. Leavitt came from solid financial ancestry. His paternal grandfather, David Leavitt, who was a native of Goshen, Connecticut, was president of the American Express National Bank for many years in New York City, and his maternal grandfather, Henry Young, was also a banker there and the financier that lent the money to complete the dredging of the Sanitary Canal, Chicago. He was the builder of the first gas plants in New York and Chicago. Henry S. Leavitt, father of Hayward G., was a banker in New York City during the greater part of his life. He was a Democrat in his political views, and both he and wife belonged to the Episcopal Church.
Hayward G. Leavitt was fortunate in his early environment and educational advantages of an excellent character were his while growing up. He prepared for college under tutors and in private schools, then entered Harvard and was graduated in 1882. Two years later he was graduated from the Columbia Law School, and entered upon the practice of his profession in his native city, making a specialty of patent law. Some years later he turned his energies in another direction, becoming to some extent interested in his grandfather's gas plant business, and after attending to the installing of such plants, in many eastern cities, came west to Chicago, in the same business, and subesquently (sic) to Grand Island, Nebraska. Many things contributed to Mr. Leavitt's then becoming deeply interested in the beet sugar industry. He began at the bottom, distributing beet seed to farmers in Hall county, Nebraska, where he bought a farm for experiment, taught farmers how to make the tests and during the eight years he lived on this farm designed different implements for the extraction of sugar, and implement men from all over the country visited him to learn of their value.In 1900, Mr. Leavitt organized and financed the Standard Beet Sugar Company and erected a factory in the village of Leavitt, where the earlier operations of the company were carried on before the plant was moved to Scottsbluff. No less interested was Mr. Leavitt in the great subject of irrigation. In 1902, he came to this county and after a thorough inspection of the valley, assumed charge of the Farmers Irrigation project, then in the hands of a receiver. As previously indicated, Mr. Leavitt has never been an idle dreamer. He has "the vision" and with it has the sound judgment that insure his dreams coming true. His first practical move was the purchasing of thirty-six thousand acres of land. Four years later he organized the Tri-State Land Company which he financed in the construction of the canal at Scottsbluff. At that time Scottsbluff and Bridgeport had a hundred and fifty families and representatives of only eight of these are here now. Mr. Leavitt at one time owned the controlling interest in the Winters Creek Irrigation Company; was concerned in developing the plants on the Republic river and the Pathfinder Dam; and in all progressive enterprises that have done so much for this section in a substantial way, Mr. Leavitt has assisted by the expenditure of time, money and legal advice. At present he is looking mainly after his extensive agricultural interests, holding large land leases, although in earlier days he leased at one time as large a tract as thirteen thousand acres.
In 1899, Mr. Leavitt was united in marriage to Miss Alvina Welter, who was born in Saxony, Germany, a daughter of Conrad Weller, who was an early settler near Grand Island and an extensive farmer and stockman. Mr. and Mrs. Leavitt have one daughter and three sons: Martha, who has just completed a three years course at Radcliffe College, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Heyward Lathrop, who has just entered Harvard College; David Henry, who is attending school at Omaha; and George Conrad, who is in school at Scottsbluff. Mr. Leavitt still preserves his Greek letter fraternity memberships and also belongs to the Harvard A. D. club, of which he was president while in college. He and his family are members of the Episcopal Church at Omaha.” History of Western Nebraska and Its People, by Grant Shumway, Scottsbluff, Nebraska, Vol. 3, 1921
On both sides of the family Mr. Leavitt came from solid financial ancestry. His paternal grandfather, David Leavitt, who was a native of Goshen, Connecticut, was president of the American Express National Bank for many years in New York City