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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Suffolk => Topic started by: annes on Sunday 05 March 06 18:29 GMT (UK)

Title: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Sunday 05 March 06 18:29 GMT (UK)
 ???  I have come to a complete brick wall with my research for this family - I can only positively go back to 1859! - and would welcome any help or comments.

My GGF is Walter George Leech b.17.9.1867 in Grundisburgh.  I have his siblings and parents - John Leech and Mary Ann Long - and this is as far as I can confidently trace them back.

John Leech and Mary Ann Long married in 1859 and their first child was also born in 1859 in Grundisburgh.  They appear on the 1861 and 71 censuses, John stating he was born in Swilland and Mary Ann in Debenham.  I cannot find either of their births/baptisms.

I have the marriage cert for John and Mary Ann - their fathers are stated as James Leech (thatcher) and John Long (deceased).

On the 1851 census for Suffolk, the only John Leech of the right age (also born in Swilland) is living at home with his family and his father is William!  I cannot find Mary Ann at all.

There is a Leech family living in Grundisburgh in 1851 of which a James Leech (thatcher) is the head and the right age range but I cannot prove that this is John's dad.  This family had their childen baptised at the baptist chapel in Grundisburgh but John is not listed as one of their children on the baptist records.

The fact that John and Mary Ann married in a register office in 1859 and had all their children baptised in Grundisburgh church in one fell swoop, when their oldest child was 16, makes me wonder if they were baptists and then had a change of faith around 1876 when their children were baptised?

This is all I have to go on and am going round in circles  ??? .

If anyone has any thoughts on where I can look next I'd be really grateful.

Thanks for looking

Anne  :-\ :-\


 
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: Clincher on Monday 06 March 06 22:25 GMT (UK)
Hi, You say that
"There is a Leech family living in Grundisburgh in 1851 of which a James Leech (thatcher) is the head and the right age range but I cannot prove that this is John's dad....."

What were the names of the children in this family?
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Tuesday 07 March 06 15:44 GMT (UK)
Hi Clincher,

1851 census Grundisburgh:

James Leech (thatcher) 52, Mary (wife) 49

Children: Francis 22, James 17, Emma 13, Ann 9, Joseph 7,

Also living with them: Benjamin Mallet 93 father in law

Other definite children of James and Mary that I know of who did not appear on 1851 census:
Mary b ~1822, Betsy b ~1824, Lydia b ~1830, Maria b ~1836

James Leech and Mary Mallet married in 1823

Regards
Anne


Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: Clincher on Wednesday 08 March 06 11:44 GMT (UK)
I've just been speculating about the possibilities which may include a late baptism and/or out of wedlock birth. So I searched the IGI for a Walter George LONG and found such a baptism in Suffolk - Thorpe Morieux in 1876 the same year that the other children were baptised in a batch in Grundisburgh 20+ miles away. Maybe that is sheer coincidence but because Walter George may be a relatively unusual name a look-up in Thorpe Morieux may be worthwhile.
I assume you can't find him in GRO births at all
There is an entry in IGI for Walter George LEECH but there is no source given
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Wednesday 08 March 06 16:09 GMT (UK)
Hi again!

I'm not sure whether I've missed your point  ??? (more than likely!) or perhaps I wasn't very clear myself in the original post.

Walter George Leech was baptised in Grundisburgh on 16 May 1875 along with his siblings Emma, Margaret, William, Rose and John.

I have Walter's birth cert and have also found his burial in 1940 from the original register, so I feel quite confident about his parentage etc.

It's Walter's father John that I am having trouble with.  I take your point about the birth being out of wedlock and I did try and look for baptisms of a John Mallet (his "possible" mother's maiden name) but had no luck there either.

To make life more difficult - isn't it always? - John's age fluctuates on the two censuses on which I can find him and is different again from the age given on his marriage cert.

On his marriage cert in 1859 he says he is 30 (b 1829)
In 1861 he says he is 38 (b 1823)
In 1871 he says he is 46 (b 1825)

Unfortunately these are all pre-1837.

Thanks for your help and if you think of anything else, please reply  :)

Kind regards
Anne
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: PB_Bear on Wednesday 08 March 06 16:13 GMT (UK)

Not that it helps much (ultimately) but are you sure that is a '30' and not a poor '36' on the marriage cert?.

Just that it would tie the age in very nicely with both census.

PB
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: Clincher on Wednesday 08 March 06 16:35 GMT (UK)
Sorry I misunderstood you. Pretend I said nowt :-[
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: avm228 on Wednesday 08 March 06 17:07 GMT (UK)
There are Leech/Leach households in 1841 Grundisburgh as follows:

William Leach 50 Thatcher
John Leach 15
Louisa do. 12
Joseph do. 10
Unice do. 5
Lucy Ramsay 40 Ind.

James Leach 40 Thatcher
Mary do. 40
Mary do. 19
Francis do. 14
Lydia do. 11
James do. 7
Miria do. 5
Emma do. 2
Benjamin Mallett 75 ag lab

In Swilland there is the following family:

William Leach 45 Thatcher
Bathsheba do. 45
John do. 20 ag lab
James do. 15 ag lab
Henry do. 14
Alfred do. 12
Mary do. 11

There are various other John Leech/Leech entries for other villages in Suffolk but they're all aged under 10 or over 20. No other obvious James either. Could John (15, in Grundisburgh) be a son of James but apprenticed to William? And they've all moved from Swilland to Grundisburgh?

The only Mary Ann Long who's over 10 and under 30 in Suffolk in 1841 is a 25 yr old in Wrentham, but she's with a 30 yr old Joshua Long and is probably his wife.

Sorry not to be of more help!

Anna
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Wednesday 08 March 06 18:21 GMT (UK)
Hi Clincher, PB and Anna, thanks for all your input.

PB - the copy of the marriage certificate I have is handwritten but definitely says 30, however the orignal entry it was copied from might have said 36 - I never thought of that!

Anna - thanks for the census info, I have seen this previously and at first I did think that the John of Swilland was "the one".  However on the 1851 census which shows more detail he is 26 (exactly the right age) of Swilland (where my John was born) but he is living at home as a son of William and therein lies the problem.  On John's marriage certificate he says his father is James  >:(

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and if you get any more inspiration - please get back to me !

Kind regards

Anne  :D

Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bpking on Saturday 01 April 06 22:11 BST (UK)
???  I have come to a complete brick wall with my research for this family - I can only positively go back to 1859! - and would welcome any help or comments.

My GGF is Walter George Leech b.17.9.1867 in Grundisburgh.  I have his siblings and parents - John Leech and Mary Ann Long - and this is as far as I can confidently trace them back.

John Leech and Mary Ann Long married in 1859 and their first child was also born in 1859 in Grundisburgh.  They appear on the 1861 and 71 censuses, John stating he was born in Swilland and Mary Ann in Debenham.  I cannot find either of their births/baptisms.

I have the marriage cert for John and Mary Ann - their fathers are stated as James Leech (thatcher) and John Long (deceased).

On the 1851 census for Suffolk, the only John Leech of the right age (also born in Swilland) is living at home with his family and his father is William!  I cannot find Mary Ann at all.

There is a Leech family living in Grundisburgh in 1851 of which a James Leech (thatcher) is the head and the right age range but I cannot prove that this is John's dad.  This family had their childen baptised at the baptist chapel in Grundisburgh but John is not listed as one of their children on the baptist records.

The fact that John and Mary Ann married in a register office in 1859 and had all their children baptised in Grundisburgh church in one fell swoop, when their oldest child was 16, makes me wonder if they were baptists and then had a change of faith around 1876 when their children were baptised?

This is all I have to go on and am going round in circles  ??? .

If anyone has any thoughts on where I can look next I'd be really grateful.

Thanks for looking

Anne  :-\ :-\


 

Hello Anne

Walter George LEECH married into my WRIGHT family through his wife Ada Croxson BURROWS, daughter of Sarah Ann Burrows nee WRIGHT.

Brenda King
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bille on Thursday 09 April 09 00:40 BST (UK)
Hi   :)
My Leach family come from Swilland,
William 1856 Henry 1827

This William below is  my 3 G Grandfather
William Leach 45 Thatcher
Bathsheba do. 45
John do. 20 ag lab
James do. 15 ag lab
Henry do. 14
Alfred do. 12
Mary do. 11
 Would love to find his parets or siblings if you, or any one out there can help

Thanks and living in hope

Billie
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Thursday 09 April 09 10:41 BST (UK)
hi Billie

At one time I thought this was my family too - the John b.~1823 matched my (elusive) John.  However once I'd obtained my John's marriage certificate, he names his father as James, so this ruled out this line of thought.

At the time though I did do some research into William and Bathsheba so maybe the following might be of some use to you (sadly no longer any use to me).

William Leech m. Bathsheba Day
2nd December 1816 at Otley Suffolk

Children of William and Bathsheba:
William - bap 12 Oct 1817 Otley
Samuel bap 21 May 1820 Otley
John bap 22 Sept 1822 Swilland
james bap 15 June 1823 Swilland
Henry bap15 Oct 1826 Swilland
Alfred bap 24 Aug 1828 Swilland
Mary Ann bap 6 June 1830 Swilland


Regards
Anne
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Thursday 09 April 09 10:46 BST (UK)
Also some notes on William:

William Leech s/o Samuel and Jemima Leech (Late Goodroom)
Baptised 5th October 1794 Clopton Suffolk

Samuel Leech m. Jemima Goodroom
5th November 1793 Clopton Suffolk
Banns: 20, 27 Oct & 3rd Nov 1793

Jemima Goodroom d/o William and Sarah Goodroom (late Goddard)
Baptised 12th February 1775 Redlingfield Suffolk

And Bathsheba:

Bathsheba Day d/o William and Mary Day (late Goldsmith)
Born 16 Oct 1789, bap 19 October 1789 Saxtead Suffolk

William Day m. Mary Goldsmith
29th August 1774 at Saxtead Suffolk


Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bille on Thursday 09 April 09 18:02 BST (UK)
Hi

Thanks for the info, Ann
only like you I'm now not to sure if they are my family I have a Sam/Percy Leach b1888/1893
got a birth cert it says Warwick father William mother Elizabeth Blake, so I assumed this was my Grandfather as on his marr cert it says father John Leach Miller the only miller I found was William & Elizabeth which ties in with birth

On  Census , some say William  some John found a Elizabeth Studd marr John Leach but not a Blake Leach marr just Studd John Leach, so now I'm lost!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can any one HELP PLEASE
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bille on Friday 17 April 09 09:09 BST (UK)
Hi again
Yes I'm still stuck with my Leach family and even more confused  :(
 
Can you please tell me where you got the information from for the data below, as I have Bathsheba's mother as Susannah/Susan Mendlesham from FamilySearch.org,  :-\

William Leech s/o Samuel and Jemima Leech (nee; Goodroom)
Baptised; 5th October 1794 Clopton Suffolk

Samuel Leech m. Jemima Goodroom
5th November 1793 Clopton Suffolk
Banns: 20, 27 Oct & 3rd Nov 1793

Jemima Goodroom d/o William and Sarah Goodroom (late Goddard)
Baptised 12th February 1775 Redlingfield Suffolk


Wife of William: Bathsheba Day :

Bathsheba Day d/o William and Mary Day (late Goldsmith)
Born 16 Oct 1789, bap 19 October 1789 Saxtead Suffolk

William Day m. Mary Goldsmith
29th August 1774 at Saxtead Suffolk


The person I am looking for is John/William Leach marr Elizabeth Blake
 father might now be Samuel son of William & Bathsheba

Can anyone help before I go complety mad  :'(


Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Friday 17 April 09 16:40 BST (UK)
Dear Billie

1.
All my information I have taken from original parish registers at the Suffolk Records Office.

2.
I looked for Bathsheba's baptism in the Saxtead records because on the 1851 census she states her birthplace as Saxtead.

3.
The entry on familysearch.org that you refer to (d/o Susan Day) has Bathsheba as being baptised on 8.5.1779 - this would make her 72 on the 1851 census when in fact she was 57.  However, I do accept that the 1789 baptism in Saxtead is not exact either, but it is closer 1794. 

4.
As I said higher up in this thread, I have discovered that William and Bathsheba are not actually my family, so I am not using this information in my tree now, so therefore I am not actively pursuing nor constantly checking these facts.

5.
Like all family history research, you do have to check out all information for yourself, and at the end of the day, go with what you think is right.

Best regards
Anne


Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bille on Saturday 18 April 09 06:54 BST (UK)
Thanks Ann  :)
I wasn't being unfriendly,  I thought I'd made a huge mistake and that there were two Bathsheba's

Sorry if I offended you in asking how you found  BDM, but I always include  the source for reference, and I will verify for myself.
 
Hope you find your family links soon
Best of luck with your research  & thanks for your help

Billie
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bille on Saturday 18 April 09 07:01 BST (UK)
Ann
Sorry to bother you again  :-[

I don't suppose you could let me have copies of the entries if I paid for them and for posting or maybe  if you could email them please

Regards
Billie
Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: annes on Saturday 18 April 09 14:38 BST (UK)
Dear Billie

Unfortunately I don't have copies of the register entries for this information.  I did start to copy one or two entries from the fiche reader when i started researching, but soon found it to be too expensive.  The prices charged by the records office per copy are OK when it's just a one off, but when you start copying every baptism, marriage etc, the cost is shocking  :o  :o.

One time I asked for coroner's inquest papers (and other relevant court papers) to be copied and was charged over £10! From then on I copied out inquests word for word and then typed them up when I got home, long winded but far cheaper.  At least I know I've seen and held the original documents which is quite something.

Sorry I'm not able to help this time.

Best wishes
Anne




Title: Re: LEECH Family - my brick wall - any help welcomed !
Post by: bille on Sunday 19 April 09 05:07 BST (UK)
Thank you anyway Ann   :)