Lawrence Leach

  Events

• He immigrated to New England 1628 on the "Abigail "

Lawrence married Elizabeth Mileham on 2 Feb 1605 in Hurst, Berkshire, England. (Elizabeth Mileham was born about 1585 and died in 1674 in Beverly, Essex, Massachusetts.)

Lawrence and Elizabeth were the parents of ten children: Robert 1605-1676, Clement, John, Margaret 1613-?, Ambrose 1616-?, Richard 1618-?, Edmund, Rachel, James, and Giles 1632-?. Name: "When Lawrence came to New England he brought with him his wife Elizabeth and at least three sons, Richard, John and Robert. A son, Clement, was married and remained in England. Richard died in 1647 and left a son, John, who inherited his grandfather's farm at Rial-side, known for a long time as the 'Leach Farm'.

Lawrence was among the first settlers at Salem. He owned a mill and an interest in the colony's first iron foundry. "On Apr. 17, 1629, Gov. Craddock, the English governor of the new Massachusetts Bay Colony, wrote a long letter from Gravesend, England, concerning the affairs of the colony to John Endicott, who later became governor. In this letter was the following paragraph: 'We desire you to take notice of one Lawrence Leach, whom we have found to be a careful and painful (painstaking) man, and we doubt not he will continue his diligence. Let him have deserving respect.' Since Mr. Endicott came on the same ship with Lawrence he must have been aware of his potentialities and made good use of them. His life in America seems to have fully justified the confidence reposed in him by Gov. Craddock as he was chosen on Dec. 31, 1638, one of seven men to manage the public affairs of Salem, an office which he held for years."