From the Probate Files: Isaac Leonard - Jefferson County, New York - 1862

For a long time our family tree listed an Isaac Leonard as Hannah Worden's father but we weren't certain that it was true. The following notice in the Albany Evening Journal (found via GenealogyBank.com several years ago) provided the proof needed.

[Advertisement. Date: Friday, December 26, 1862   Paper: Albany Evening Journal (Albany, New York)   Page: 3  

This entire product and/or portions thereof are copyrighted by NewsBank and/or the American Antiquarian Society. 2004

Source: GenealogyBank.com]

Isaac Leonard died in 1862, sometime between March 3rd when he signed his will and December 22nd when that will was presented in court in Jefferson County, New York.

["New York Probate Records, 1629-1971," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GYMB-JD1?cc=1920234&wc=9V9R-RMQ%3A213304001%2C221610801 : 28 May 2014), Jefferson > image 86 of 328; county courthouses, New York.]

Isaac Leonard's Estate

Be it remembered, that heretofore to wit: on the 22nd day of December AD, 1862, Jacob G. Hooper of Brownville, Jefferson County, New York, the executor name in the last Will and Testament of Isaac Leonard, late of Brownville aforesaid, deceased, appeared in Court before the Surrogate of the County of Jefferson, and made application to have said Last Will and Testament which relates to both real and personal estate, proved; and on such application the said Surrogate did ascertain by satisfactory evidence who were the widow, heirs at law and next of kin of the said testator and their respective residences, and that they are as follows, to wit: Mary Leonard of Brownville aforesaid, the widow of said deceased; Cynthia Belcher wife of Justus Belcher, of Lyme, Jeff. Co. N.Y.; Jemima Worden wife of Po  Worden of Beech-Wood, Sheboygan County, Wisconsin; Hannah Worden, wife of Porter Worden, of Cedarville, Iowa; Sarah Ann Jackson, wife of John Jackson, of Brownville, aforesaid; George W. Leonard of Pitcairn, St. Lawrence Co., N.Y.; Anna Carpenter, wife of Joseph Carpenter, of Brownville, aforesaid; Rosetta Belcher wife of Andrew Belcher, of Danby, Ionia County, Michigan: | of full age | and Emily Jane Leonard and James F. Leonard of Brownville aforesaid, minors, having no general guardians; all children of said Isaac Leonard, deceased; and Albert H. Leonard, Anna A. Leonard, George Byron Leonard and Jane Leonard, children of Isaac N. Leonard, deceased, son of said Isaac Leonard, deceased, minors having no general guardian. Said Surrogate did therefore appoint Samuel D. Barr of Watertown, Jeff. Co. N.Y. the Special Guardian for all minors to appear for them and take care of their interests in the matter of proving said will, he having previously filed with said Surrogate in writing to be thus appointed and to serve, the said Surrogate did theretofore issue a citation in due form of law directed to the widow, heirs at law and next of kin of said Isaac Leonard, deceased, by their respective names, stating their respective places of residences requiring them to appear before said Surrogate at his office in the said village of Watertown in said County of Jefferson, on the 9th day of February A.D. 1863. to attend the probate of said Will: And afterward, to wit: on the 9th day of February A.D. 1863, satisfactory evidence by affidavit was produced and presented to said Surrogate of the d???vice of said citation in the mode prescribed by law, and on that day, no one appearing to oppose such Will, such proceedings were therefore had said court afterward, that the said Surrogate took the proofs of said Will hereinafter set forth on this 9th day of February A.D. 1863, and therefore adjudge the said Will to be a valid Will of real and personal estate, and that the proofs thereto be sufficient, said Last Will and Testament, and proofs are hereinafter recorded in this Book.
                                                          Witness             M. H. Merwin   Surrogate
Will

I, Isaac Leonard, of Brownville, Jefferson County and State of New York, of the age of Eighty-two years and upward, being mindful of the uncertainty of this life, I do h ereby make, publish and declare this my last will and testament:  First, I will, order and direct that my executor hereinafter nominated and appointed to execute this will, pay all my just and lawful debts and funeral expenses -- Second, After the payment of my debts, funeral expenses and expenses of administration I give, bequeath and devise unto my wife Mary Isabel Leonard the use occupation and control of all my property both real  and personal during her natural life, provided she remains my widow and unremarried until her decease, and, on her decease, I give & bequeath all my real and personal property then remaining as follows, to wit: One third thereof to my daughter Emily Jane Leonard and the other two-thirds thereof to my son James Foster Leonard & heirs -- But in case my said wife shall marry after my decease, then, in that case, she shall not hold my estate or the use thereof under the above bequest, but from such marriage, she shall have the use of one-third of my real estate during her natural life, in lieu of dower, and she shall also have, and I hereby give, bequeath and devise unto my said wife one-third of my personal property remaining after the payment of my debts, funeral expenses and expenses of administration, to be hers absolutely, and all the rest, residue and remainder of my estate, both real and personal remaining at the marriage of my sid wife after my decease, and after the legacies to her made in case of her marriage, I give, bequeath and devise as follows to wit: One-third to my said daughter Emily Jane and the other two-thirds to my said son James Foster Leonard.

Lastly, I hereby nominate and appoint my friend Jacob Hooper of Brownville aforesaid, to be the executor of this my last Will and testament thereby revoking all former wills by me made & in case my said wife shall marry after my decease, then, I hereby appoint the said Jacob Hooper the guardian of my said daughter Emily Jane and my said son James Foster, to be such guardian and act as such from the time of such marriage.

In witness thereof I hereunto set my hand and seal and published and declared this to be my last Will and Testament in the presence of the witnesses who have signed below, this third day of March A.D. 1862.

                                                                      Isaac Leonard {L.S.}

The foregoing instrument was at the date thereof Signed by Isaac Leonard, the testator therein named, in our presence, and he at the same time declared the said instrument so subscribed, to us, to be his last will and testament; and we at the same time, at his request and in his presence, and in the presence of each other, have subscribed our names thereto as attesting witnesses ----
W.H. Beach, Watertown, Jeff. Co. N.Y.
F. Milton,  Watertown, Jeff. Co. N.Y.






© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Working on Wednesday: Isaac Leonard (About 1790 - 1862), Farmer

A life-long resident of New York State, Isaac Leonard and his first wife Jemima White had probably been married only a couple of years when he enlisted as a private during the War of 1812.*

[War of 1812 Service Record Index, Fold3.com]

We know that the Leonards were living in Hounsfield in Jefferson County, New York, by 1816 when Isaac entered into an agreement to buy 25 acres of Great Lot Thirty-Nine for $100 and was described as being "of Hounsfield."

[Jefferson County, New York : from actual surveys, 1855. Source: Library of Congress Geography and Map Division Washington, D.C.]

[Detail from above showing Hounsfield and Brownville Townships in 1855]

["New York Land Records, 1630-1975," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9W5-XDQQ?cc=2078654&wc=M7C7-GPD%3A358135401%2C359509801 : 22 May 2014), Jefferson > image 421 of 568;

county courthouses, New York.]

However, as shown on the following page, this indenture wasn't recorded until 1822 so I don't know when (or if) the Leonard family might have resided there.

[Source: FamilySearch]

Isaac and Jemima with their young family as shown as residents of Hounsfield in the 1820 U.S. Census.**

[1820 U S Census; Census Place: Hounsfield, Jefferson, New York; Page: 405; NARA Roll: M33_72; Image: 222. Ancestry.com. 1820 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

Original data: Fourth Census of the United States, 1820. (NARA microfilm publication M33, 142 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com]

By New York State's 1825 enumeration, the Leonard family had reached its final size: Isaac, Jemima, two sons and seven daughters.*** (Their second child, my great great great grandmother Hannah Leonard was 12.)

From the 1830 U.S. Census we can deduce that one of the Leonard daughters has died. This is the last census to include Jemima.

[1830; Census Place: Hounsfield, Jefferson, New York; Series: M19; Roll: 92; Page: 194; Family History Library Film: 0017152. Ancestry.com. 1830 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.Original data: Fifth Census of the United States, 1830. (NARA microfilm publication M19, 201 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com]

Ten years later the Leonard household had moved to neighboring Brownville and shrunk to four people as the older children married and started their own families.****

[Year: 1840; Census Place: Brownville, Jefferson, New York; Roll: 292; Page: 414; Image: 956; Family History Library Film: 0017190. Ancestry.com. 1840 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Sixth Census of the United States, 1840. (NARA microfilm publication M704, 580 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

[Ancestry.com]

That same year Isaac paid $600 for land in Brownville.

["New York Land Records, 1630-1975," images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WG-MVCH?cc=2078654&wc=M7HY-4Z9%3A358135401%2C358704501 : 22 May 2014), Jefferson > image 49 of 645; county courthouses, New York.]

By 1850 Isaac was living in his younger son Isaac Newton Leonard and his family in Brownville. One of his daughters Anna, the wife of Joseph Carpenter, was living next door with her family.

[Year: 1850; Census Place: Brownville, Jefferson, New York; Roll: M432_514; Page: 189A; Image: 140. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: Seventh Census of the United States, 1850; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M432, 1009 rolls); Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29; National Archives, Washington, D.C.]

But if you're picturing old Isaac dozing by the fireside surrounded by his grandchildren...there's a surprise in store for you in 1855 New York State Census. Recall that I referred to Jemima as his first wife? Well, in 1851 he married his second, 25-year old, Canadian-born Mary. And by 1855 his new family included 6-year old Mary (also born in Canada and not his biological daughter*****), and daughter Emily - 3, and son James, just a year old.

[Ancestry.com. New York, State Census, 1855 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013. Original data: Census of the state of New York, for 1855. Microfilm. New York State Archives, Albany, New York.]

Other useful information to be gleaned from the census is that Isaac's frame house was valued at $350. In response to another census question not shown here, Isaac stated he was born in Montgomery County, New York.

In the 1860 U.S. Census, the Leonard household hasn't substantially changed, although this enumeration gives us an idea of Isaac's real and personal wealth. Also young Mary's name is recorded as Hellen this time.

[Year: 1860; Census Place: Brownville, Jefferson, New York; Roll: M653_761; Page: 791; Family History Library Film: 803761. Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. Original data: 1860 U.S. census, population schedule. NARA microfilm publication M653, 1,438 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.]

Isaac Leonard of Brownville is on a list of War of 1812 veterans who filed a claim with the State of New York. The preface to a re-printing of the list explains what it was about.

[New York, Index of Awards On Claims of the Soldiers of the War of 1812 [database on-line].]

On March 3, 1862, Isaac Leonard "at the age of eight-two years and upward" made his will which was presented for probate in February of 1863 at Watertown, New York. We don't know his exact date of death or where he was buried.

I'll be covering Isaac's will next week.



*There were two Isaac Leonards from New York  who served in the military at this time so while there are supplementary records it's not clear to me which ones refer to my ancestor. I'll address that in a future post.
**From the birth years of their known children we assume Isaac and Jemima married in about 1809-10 so I don't know who the young white male 16 - 25 could be, but he and Isaac are undoubtedly the two persons engaged in agriculture.
***This information is only available as a database record without an image.
****Hannah Leonard married Porter Worden in 1838.
*****This is made clear in his will.


© 2017 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.

Book Shelf: Historical collections of the state of New York, 1841

The subtitle to this tome explains why I'm posting about it here: containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, &c. relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state. Additionally the book has 230 engravings so there's some chance you might find one that depicts some part of the town where your New York State ancestors were in 1841.

[Historical Collections of the State of New York; John Warner Barber, 1798-1885, Henry Howe 1816-1893, joint authors,

published by S. Tuttle, New York, 1841. Source: Internet Archive]

Here's what it has to say about Brownville in Jefferson County where my maternal fourth great grandfather Isaac Leonard (c. 1780-1862) was living according to the 1840 U.S. Census.*

The authors have less to say about Mexico, located in Oswego County, the home of my paternal third great grandfather William Porter (1792-1868) and his family.**

In contrast the section for the town of Oswego (in the same county) where Lyman Worden (1791-1883), another maternal fourth great grandfather***, was a resident covers 4-1/2 pages of text and includes two engravings. That's too long to insert in this post but if you're interested, it begins here.


*Isaac Leonard

**William Porter

***Lyman Worden

© 2016 Copyright, Christine Manczuk, All Rights Reserved.