Douglas Leffingwell was born May 17, 1826, in Ellsworth, Ohio. At the age of 20 he went to New York where he soon became interested in the Mercantile Library association. In 1852 he left New York for Cleveland, Ohio, where he entered the study of law and in 1858 he was admitted to the bar and settled in McGregor, Iowa. In 1861 he assisted in organizing the first company sent into the field from Clayton County. A severe wound received at the battle of Shiloh caused him to retire from the service. He married Sara Josephine Vanderwerker in McGregor in 1865. He was mayor of McGregor and judge of the municipal court and represented Clayton County in the legislature in the Eleventh General Assembly. In 1882 he was forced to retire on account of physical ailments and in 1885 made his home in New Haven, Connecticut. He was one of the last members of one of the oldest and first families in Connecticut. The family have always been closely allied with and interested in the growth of Yale University.