52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2017 WEEK 14:LAWRENCE LEACH OFSALEM, MA. PT 2

Usually I find the wills of ancestors over at AmericanAncestors.org, But in the case of my 9x great grandfather Lawrence Leach it was in the book The Probate Records of Essex County And it's not really a proper will, but rather a statement to witnesses about how he wanted his estate handled:,

Larance Leach Aged 85 years or thereabouts beinge parfitt in memory neer a yeare befoe his death expressed himselfe vnto vs whose names are heervnder written in the disposing of that wch hee had, we beinge vrgent with him to make his will his expressions to vs was this first he said that he did owe thirtie || pounds || for the mill & his will was that his wife should pay his debts and when his debts ware paid that shee should take all hee had. John Porter John Bacheller

Proved in Salem court 25: 4: 1662 by the witnesses and Elizabeth wife of the deceased appointed administratrix. Essex Co. Quarterly Court Files, vol. 8, leaf 33.

Inventory of the estate of Lawrence Leach of Salem, deceased, taken by John Porter and Jacob Barney: His wearing apparell, 3li.; 2 feather bolsters, 1li.; 3 feather pillows, 12s.; 1 Coverlet & 2 Ruggs,1 li. 10s.; 2 blanketts, 1li. 5s.; a Fether bed & 2 flocke beds, 3li.; 2 paire of sheetes, 1li. 10s.; 3 pillow beares, 6s.; 3 small table clothes, 10s.; 1 single sheet, 4s.; a bedsted and a Chest, 1li. 10s.; 5 Chaires, 15s.; 3 barills, a tub & 8 trays, 1li. 5s.; a table, a forme & 3 dishes, 6s.; 3 old brasse kettles & a skillet, a Chafindish & 1 Candlestick, 2 Iron pots & a skillet, 1li. 6s. M. ; 1 Iron kitle & a morter, 2li. 10s.; a spirit & a dripping pan & a frying pan, 10s.; 6 pewter dishes, 1li.5s; a Baskett with other Lumber, 5s.; 2 Cowes, a heyfer & a Calfe, 12li.; 5 small swine, 4li. ; the howse, with 2 acres of land with the orchard, being parte of the said 2 acres, 30li.; a mill, 40li.; 20 acres of land not improved on Ryall side neare John Baeheler, 10li.; 15 acres of meadow neare John Porters farme bought of Mr. Downing, 20li.; a Bible with another Booke, 5s.; total, 138li. 14s. 8d. Essex Co. Quarterly Court Files, vol. 8, leaf 34. pp288-9

The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts: 1635-1664  Essex Institute, Salem, Ma. 1916

I never saw anything like this before now.Usually when one of my ancestors died intestate there were people appointed by the probate judge to take an inventory of the estate and then determine how it would be divided up among the heirs. It seems like all that was skipped over in the case of Lawrence Leach.

52 ANCESTORS IN 52 WEEKS 2017 WEEK 14:LAWRENCE LEACH OFSALEM, MA. PT 1

My 7x great grandmother Sarah (Leach) Herrick's grandfather was Lawrence Leach. I found an
entry for him in one of William Richard Cutter's genealogy books:

The immigrant ancestor of the family in America. Lawrence Leach, came from England and was settled in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1629. He was proposed as freeman 1630, was a member of the first church in Salem before 1636, and that year received a grant of a hundred acres of land from the town. He died in Salem, June 4, 1662. \Vhen he came to this country he was accompanied by his wife Elizabeth and their sons John, Richard and Robert, leaving their eldest son Clement in England. A son Giles was born in Salem. Lawrence Leach held several important offices in Salem and appears to have been a man of influence in the town. It is said that more than ten thousand of his descendants are now living in America, although no definite genealogical effort has been made to trace them, Captain Richard Leach, son of Lawrence, died in 1647, leaving a son John, who inherited his grandfather’s farm on the Rial side.-p365

Genealogical and Personal Memoirs Relating to the Families of Boston and Eastern Massachusetts, Volume 1 Lewis historical Publishing Company, 1908

The rest of the entry covers his son Robert's descendants. He moved south to Bridgewater in Plymouth Colony, where he probably knew my Packard and Forbes ancestors who also lived there. I'm descended from Lawrence's son John Leach.

I've found a transcription of Lawrence's will and will post that next.

To be continued...