Person:Robert Leach (1)

Estate of Robert Leach of Manchester

"This writing is to inform the Court, that although Robert Leach late of Manchester died without perfecting his will, yet sometime before he died he declared in the presence of some neighbors as witness that his mind was 'that after som legacies as follows were paid to his daughters, that is to say to his maried daughters: Sara & Elizabeth, fiue pounds apeece, to his daughter mary ten pounds & to his two youngest daughters: Bethia & Abigaile eight pounds apeece, that then his whole remaining estate should be left with his beloved wife, Alce Leach, & his two sons Samuell & Robert Leach to be equally proportioned amongst them.

'This is farther to certifie, that although this was the last will and testament of the aforesaid Robert Leach, yett upon farther consideration, Alce Leach the widdow & her two sones Samuell & Robert Leach, have agreed within ourselves freely & Joyntly together, to make an adition to these legacies out of our owne estates, as to the two eldest daughters, Sara & Elizabeth what they received from theire father, as theire portions, with the legacies given them by theire father, in his last will & testam^t : as aboue written, & the adition made there vnto by their moth^r Alce Leach the widdow, & theire brothers Samuell & Rob^t Leach is to amount to fifteene pounds appeece, to each of them they being married haveing received som portion alreddy with that then receiued & the legacies due by theire fathers last will & testament, with the adition made by theire mother, & brethren doth make up fifteene pounds apiece to Sara & Elizabeth, for the rest of the daughters, Mary, Bethiah & Abigaile what theire father left them as legacies in his last will & testament & the adition made by the widow Alce Leach there mother, & Samuell & Rob^t : there brothers, comes to fifteene pounds apeece, to each of them: Mary, Bethiah, & Abigaile

'This farther to inform the Hon^rd Court w^t is agreed upon within o^rselues, alce Leach the widdow & her two sons, Sam^ll & Rob^t Leach, that Samuell & Robert Leach taking into consideration theire mothers condition, shee being left a widdow, wee haue consulted together for her comfortable subsisting, for som way to continue her maintenance in this her condition, And that y^e widdow Alce Leach with her free consent haueing resigned up her interest in that estat as left by her husbant Rob^t : Leach, in his last will & testament, the which her Interest shee hath, resigned up to her sons Samuell & Robert Leach, upon condition as followeth, That Samu^ll : & Rob^t : Leach haue taken that whole estate, as left by our father Rob^t. Leach late deceased in manchester, upon the resignemcnt of the widdow alce Leach our mother, haueing resigned up her interest in that estate soe left by our father into our hands in consideration wheareof wee the aforesd Samuell & Robert Leach, haue ingaged to paye to our mother, the widdow Alce Leach, ten pounds by the yeare in such pay as may be for her use & as shee stands in need of, & the house left by our father where shee now liues with the stuff now belonging thereto is to remaine to her out of this estat : soe that the yearly pay ingaged by her sons to be pd her with the house & household stuff, is to remaine to her if shee continue in a widdowes condition but if shee marry then all the whole estate fals into the hands of her sons: Samuell & Robert Leach they to continue or remaine ingaged to paye, but fiue pound by the yeare to there mother Alce Leach duering her life time

'It is further to certifie that Samuell & Robert Leach doe freely consent that theire mother Alce leach the widdow shall reserve to herself out of the estate afore mentioned, shee to reserve to herselfe twenty pounds, without any exception made of conditions, only that when she dyes, shee to bequeath it to her children according as she please, vnto whome to bestow it vpon as legacies from herselfe.

'To what is heare agreed upon as afore mentioned wee the pties aforesaid doe sett our hands.'

Alce (her U mark) Leach, Sam^ll : (his S mark) Leach. Robt. Leach.

Witness: Sam: Freind, John Elathorpe, this 29 June, 1674.

Allowed by the court 1 : 5m : 1674 [July 1, 1674] and the said Alce, widow and the two sons Samuell and Robert Leach appointed administrators. Essex County Probate Records, vol. 301, pp. 51-53.

Inventory of the estate of Robert Leach, late of Manchester, deceased, appraised by John West and Paul Thorndike: One dwelling house and barne, orchard and 4 score and five akers of upland, 230li.; eight akers of Meadow. 50li.; six oxen, 30li.; eleven Cowse and other young Cattell, 43li.; for three Jades and Swine, 14li.; for Cartwheeles, plowtackling axes and a part in a sawmill, 10li.; a part in a boat, 15li.; debts in John Leaches and farmer Wests hands, 35li.; for canooes, guns, sword and other small things, 4li.; wearing Cloaths and beding and corn, 28li.; for peuter, brass and Iron and other houshold stuff, 5li.; total, 464li.

Attested in Salem court 1: 5m: 1674 [July 1, 1674] by the widow of the deceased and John West.

Essex County Quarterly Court Files, vol. 22, leaf 8.

Agreement made between Samuell Leach and Robert Leach, sons of Robert Leach of Manchester to divide the estate which their father left in their possession as their own inheritance: the houseing, Barns and other small houseing which the said Samuel Leach now possesses with the land they stand upon, that is to say all the land from the Cross Fence standing at the northeast end of ye sd Samuell's orchard and so southward to the Cross Fence that now stands on the northeast side of sd. Robert Leach's barn, it being about an acre and a quarter with the house lot and orchard that was our Uncle Foots, as also two acres of salt marsh adjoyning to the marsh of Jno. Sibblee, and land which we bought of Henry Ley, these all to Samuell Leach.

To Robert Leach, the dwelling, outhouseing and barn which the sd. Robert Leach now possesses with the land from the Cross Fence now standing on the northeast side of sd. Robert's barn to the River downward and so between the lot of Jno. Norman and the marsh of Nicholas Vinson. A division of all moveable goods was formerly made to the satisfaction of both parties.

Also there is a considerable part of land and meadow they were both concerned in that is yet undivided and the said Samuell not being capable of making any further division appoints his trusty friends John Sibblee and Thomas West his trustees to attend to the division.

Signed and sealed Oct. 7, 1691.

Samuel (his 8 mark) Leach, Robert (his R. mark) Leach. (SEAL)

Witness: Thomas West, Sarah (her nn mark) Smith. Essex County Probate Records, vol. 309, page 216.^[3]

1. ↑ Lawrence Leach, in Anderson, Robert Charles. The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England, 1620-1633. (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995)
   2:1162, Apr 2008.

   "Robert (Leach), b. about 1615 (deposed aged about 58 years, 1 September 1673 [EQC 5:215]); one of the two sons of Lawrence Leach granted land in 1639; evidently he who died Manchester, intestate, leaving a relict [perhaps Alice] and two sons before June, 1674 [EQC 5:364-5]."

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Henderson, Robert F., and James R. Henderson. English Origins of Lawrence¹ Leach of Salem, Massachusetts. New England Historical and Genealogical Register. (New England Historic Genealogical Society, Apr 2008)
   162:99-100.

   "Robert Leach, bp. Hurst 6 March 1613/4; d. Manchester, Mass., before June 1674; … Presumably Robert Leach was one of the two sons of Lawrence Leach who were granted land in Salem in 1639."

3. ↑ Estate of Robert Leach of Manchester, in Massachusetts, Probate Court (Essex County). The Probate Records of Essex County, Massachusetts. (Salem, Massachusetts: The Essex Institute, 1916, 1917, 1920)
   399-401.