Joshua Leach DNA

One of my biggest brickwalls is no X00050: trying to find the parents of Joshua Leach (1775-1862). According to his gravestone he was born 9 November 1775 in Connecticut and died 3 February 1862 in Oakville, Ontario Canada.

He came to what is now Toronto in Upper Canada around 1797. It's been difficult trying to find his parents or anything from before 1797. The leading theory is that his parents are Joshua Leach (b. 1748) and Clarissa Pierson, because according to Lawrence Leach of Salem, Massachusetts and Some of His Desendants by F. Phelps Leach, they had a son named Joshua born before 1777 in Connecticut. It certainly does fit the time and location, but I haven't been able to either prove or disprove the case.

But now, there's more to the story. I have been notified that I have a DNA connection with a descendant of a Robert Leach 1735-1786 of New London, Connecticut. This Robert Leach is also descended from the same Lawrence Leach of Salem Massachusetts, but from a different branch. It's an interesting new development, that may help break down this brick wall!

X00193 Is Thomas Leach the Son of Joshua Leach?

Thomas Leach, who died 6 August 1846, is buried in Saint Mary's Cemetery in Oakville, Ontario. According to his gravestone, he was born about November 1804.

It has been long suspected that he is the son of Joshua Leach and Mary Dexter, who were married 14 March 1803 in York, Upper Canada [D00745]. One of the biggest clues in support of that case is that Thomas Leach and Joshua Leach are buried next to each other in Saint Mary's Cemetery.

Being buried next to each other isn't proof of anything but it does suggest that there was a connection between the two.

I have tried looking for a baptism record for Thomas in the St. James Church records (where Joshua and Mary were married) but have not been able to find anything. Nor have I been able to find a burial record. The only reference to Thomas' marriage to Electra Ann Abbott in 1835 comes from William D. Reid's Marriage Notices of Ontario and does not mention parents.

Other sources are inconclusive; Thomas does not appear in Joshua Leach's will, but since Thomas died before Joshua (Joshua died in 1862) this is to be expected. The 1841 Census and 1840 assessment rolls for Oakville show Thomas Leach and Joshua Leach living separately although close to each other.

The one thing that does show some promise is in some early censuses for the Town of York. They only list the heads of household and the numbers of children of certain ages. From them I’ve been able to determine that Joshua and Mary must have had a male child born about 1803 or 1804. That would be consistent with Thomas who was born in 1804 according to his gravestone. Their next (known) child, Robert, was born several years later in 1807.

Again, it’s not definite proof that Thomas was the son of Joshua and Mary, but it is consistent with it. Another way to look at it, Joshua and Mary definitely had a male child that was born earlier than Robert in 1807. So, no smoking gun, unfortunately, but all the evidence seems to point in the direction that Thomas is the son of Joshua and Mary.

Next steps:

• Continue to look for a baptism record for Thomas Leach
• Look for other marriage records for Thomas Leach and Electra Ann Abbott
• Check newspapers for the time period (although they may be frew and far between)
• Look for DNA matches with descendants of Thomas Leach

Sources:
Reid, WIlliam D, Marriage Notices of Ontario (Hunterdon House, Lambertville, NJ, 1980 ISBN 0912606053), 25 Feb 1835, p81. Cit. Date: 4 Jun 2006.

[D00745] St James Cathedral (Toronto, Ontario, Canada), "Marriage Record - Joshua Leach & Mary Dexter". Rec. Date: 16 Sep 2017. ID: D00745. Cit. Date: 16 Sep 2017.