Sir John Leslie, 2nd Bt. (1857-1944)
Colonel Sir "Jack" Leslie, C.B.E., J.P., D.L., of Castle Leslie, Co. Monaghan
He was known as a wit and a raconteur, and a painter too, though not as good as his father. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant into the Grenadier Guards and fought with distinction under fire at the Battle of Tel el Kebir in the Egyptian Campaign, 1882. Afterwards, he resigned from the army to study Art at the famed Academie Julien in Paris. As "an idle man-about-town" he met the youngest daughter of the "King of Wall Street," Leonie Jerome and was married to her at New York in 1884, with Frank Griswold acting as best man. Neither family approved of the match, but it did not take the charming and popular Leonie long to become adored by her in-laws. In 1900, Jack took up arms again and fought in the Boer War in South Africa. He was later appointed Colonel of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. He served as both Lord Lieutenant and High Sheriff of County Monaghan. Jack and Leonie enjoyed a long, happy life together.
