John and William Leach

[jonwarrn]

It's a William Leach in the Morning Herald again!
Which one? I am getting confused now. 
This is from the edition of 21 December 1820
Foreman to a saddle and harness maker in Bishopsgate Street

[jonwarrn]

This could be the marriage of George, the witness in 1839
21 February 1842, at St. Pancras, some difficult writing here
George Leach, Bachelor, Harness Maker, father Will Leach, Harness Maker
+
Matilda Collings, Spinster, father J Collings, Builder (I think!)
Both of full age, residence Platt St (?)
Witnessed by Wm (probably!) Leach, Sophia Collings

Birth of a son George in 1849
LEACH, GEORGE       
Mother's Maiden Surname: COLLINGS 
GRO Reference: 1849  S Quarter in SAINT PANCRAS  Volume 01  Page 289

Baptism of George, 14 October 1849, St Pancras
He was born 2 September.
Parents George & Matilda Leach
Abode Judd St
Father a Harness Maker

They are in Judd Street in 1851, over two pages.
George Leach is 34, born Middlesex Bloomsbury. Occupation Army accoutrement maker
For some reason transcribed as Leash in places
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGTN-QWV

George and Matilda are easy to find in the following census years, i.e. 1861 when George is 44, born St. Pancras
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2M2-YXYY

[jonwarrn]

Does this lead to a double baptism, 9 March 1817, in St. Pancras?
The writing is very faint
George
+
John Bishop
Sons of William + Elizabeth Leach
Abode Somers Town
Father a Sadler

[jonwarrn]

Also a baptism of Mary Ann, 24 January 1819
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:8G9H-1BT2

Parents William + Elizabeth Ann Leach
Abode Chapel Path
Father a Harness Maker
Born 4 January 1819

[jonwarrn]

Going back a bit

LEACH, ELIZA       
Mother's Maiden Surname: KAY 
GRO Reference: 1840  S Quarter in SAINT PANCRAS  Volume 01  Page 245

Possible marriage?
19 May 1861, St Pancras
Thomas Randall, full (age), Bachelor, Carman, residence Cromer Street
+
Eliza Leach, full, Spinster, Brighton Street, father William Leach, Dead
One of the witnesses was a John Leach.

Birth of daughter
RANDALL, EMMA  SARAH     
Mother's Maiden Surname: LEACH 
GRO Reference: 1867  S Quarter in SHOREDITCH  Volume 01C  Page 70

Baptism for her 21 July 1867
Parents Thomas + Eliza Randle
22 Old Nichol St
Father a Green Grocer

Sadly Emma Sarah seems to have died the following year, age 1

In 1871, Thomas and Eliza Randell at 536 Mile End Road
Thomas is 35, Greengrocer, born Chelsea
Eliza is 30, born Grays Inn Road

Is this her? Where was she in 1851 and 1861?

[Neale1961]

Unfortunately, permanently missing from the 1841 census are the areas of St Luke and West Finsbury.
I suspect this is why we cannot find either William Leach junior or senior in that census.

I think we have identified the 2 different Leach families involved in saddlery, and so the Soho family can be eliminated.

We have 4 children born to William Leach and Elizabeth:- William abt 1811, John Bishop abt 1814, George 1817 and Mary Ann 1819. Mary Ann's baptism was in Islington, while John and George were in St Pancras.
I couldn’t find a baptism for William junior, but this may indicate he was not born in the London area, and that the family might have arrived in the metropolis when he was a small child.

I think would be inclined to get death certificates for William junior to see the address and informant.

[jonwarrn]

Hi Neale
The Prospectus of the Somersetshire Society was published in 1840 (is on google books)
It lists those currently apprenticed by the society. James Henry was apprenticed in 1833 (not 1834!), and the different wording on James' entry compared to John's makes me wonder if was written in 1833, not 1840. Perhaps there were earlier editions.
If so, father William was dead by 1833, possibly even by 1831.

Perhaps then the William Henwood Leach death in 1838 in Bishopsgate that you found could be a possibility for the other family?

Then again, George Leach's marriage in 1842 was witnesssd by a William (I think!), which would mean that the William Leach death in Pancras in 1841 age 29 was not his brother? But I can't find the Elizas

[peakoverload]

WOW! I've been away for a couple of days and have just read all of these amazing replies and finds. I cannot thank you all enough!

It's going to take a while to go through everything you've found to see if and where it fits but I definitely think the Charles street address isn't a coincidence. I already had the baptism of Louisa Ann in 1840 as well as baptisms of other children of John and Louisa and this fits in with their movements. They did seem to move every few years but sometimes only moving a few streets away. I have found other Leach's in and around the same areas and some of the other names mentioned here ones I've found and previously added to my tree but then removed because I then found I had them linked to the wrong person. It's looking more and more like they should be in the tree but connected to a different William or John. There is also definitely more than one William Leach working as harness maker in the St. Pancras (ish) area and I suspect that neither person has a complete set of records which is why its so easy to get them mixed up and might also explain why they seem to move around so much.

Phew, gonna need to go through this with a fine tooth comb! Thanks again everyone.

[Neale1961]

I agree that William Henwood Leech has nothing to do with the Soho Leach family, but I also think he probably is not part of the St Pancras family we are looking for. He possibly is just a distraction, but I posted it when I came across the information, in case it was useful at a later date.