John William Leftwich (September 7, 1826 – March 6, 1870) was an American politician. An Unconditional Unionist, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee.
Biography Leftwich was born on September 7, 1826, in Liberty, Virginia, the son of Joel Leftwich and Mary L. (née Thorpe) Leftwich. Though, The Tennessean states be was instead born in "Brookbridge, Virginia". Of English descent, he was a distant member of the Breckinridge family. Educated at public schools, he graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1850. He later moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked as a cotton merchant.
Leftwich was a member of the Unconditional Union Party. After Tennessee rejoined the Union, he was elected to the House of Representatives. He served from July 24, 1866, to March 3, 1867, representing Tennessee's 8th district. He lost the following election. He was a delegate to the 1868 Democratic National Convention. Ideologically, he was liberal, though spoke at conservative conventions.
Leftwich was Mayor of Memphis from 1868 to 1869, and again from 1869 to 1870. He won the 1870 House election in Tennessee, but was refused a certificate of election by Governor Parson Brownlow. He began travelling to Washington, D.C. to circumvent Brownlow's refusal, but died before reaching the city.
On December 17, 1854, Leftwich married Gertrude Aurelia Wendle. He died on March 6, 1870, aged 43, in Lynchburg, Virginia, from illness, and was buried at Elmwood Cemetery, in Memphis.
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