William Leedom and Lydia Pritchard

Scott and Kathryn (Leedom) Ives Genealogy from Kathryn's files...

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Descendants of William Leedom
~
seventh child of John Leedom and Susannah Lancaster

 

First Generation

 

1. William Leedom, son of John Leedom and Susanna Lancaster, was born on 1 Apr 1746 in Southampton, Bucks PA ¹ and died in 19 Sep 1803.¹

General Notes: A William Ledom is listed in 1790 Cheltenham Head of Household census. There are 2 men over 16, 3 males under 16 and 4 women. I currently know only of four children, 3 sons and a daughter, listed in the Southeastern Pennsylvania Birth Index.

Listed immediately beneath William is Joseph Pritchard with 3 men over 16, 3 under 16 and 2 women. Perhaps Joseph is a brother to William's wife Lydia.

This may also be the William Leedom in the 1800 Abington, Montgomery Co census, aged 45 or older and alone in the household though why he is alone is unknown as Lydia outlived him by many years.

 

• Census: PA, 1790, Cheltenham, Montgomery PA. William Ledom - 2 males over 16, 2 males under 16, 4 females.

Immediate next listing is Joseph Pritchard: 3-3-2 (poss. brother to William's wife Lydia?)

 

Morning Chronicle 24 Sep 1803
Died, On Monday, the 19th inst., after an illness of four days, William Leedom, Sen. for many years a respectable inhabitant of Abington, Montgomery county, and lately of Pennsylvania.

Poulson's Daily Advertiser 20 Sep 1803
Yesterday evening, after an illness of four days, William Leedom, Senr., for many years a respectable inhabitant of Abington, Montgomery county, and lately of this city. In him his family have lost an upright and steady friend and society a useful citizen.

 

William married Lydia Pritchard,² daughter of Thomas Pritchard and Mary (Pritchard), on 13 Apr 1768 in Abington MM, Philadelphia PA. Lydia was born about 1740 and died 8 Jan 1840.¹

 

She is named as Lydia Pritchard in The Leedom Family, no parents given. Marriages and Deaths in Montgomery County names her as Lydia Richard and gives her parents as Thomas and Mary. There are errors in both sources and I have not yet found a third source of documentation for any of the three of them. I am entering her parent's given names here but keeping the surname as Pritchard and will keep searching for any additional records.

 

Death notice in The North American and Daily Advertiser on 10 Jan 1840
On the morning of the 8th inst. Lydia Leedon (sic), in the 99th year of her age.

Children:

   2 M    i. Isaac Leedom was born on 10 Jan 1769 in Abington, Philadelphia PA.³

 

This Isaac Leedom seems to completely disappear by the 1850 census. The following records are the only ones I have found.

 

There is one Isaac Leedom (with that exact spelling anyway) indexed at Ancestry in the 1800 census of Radnor, Delaware Co:
1m 26-45, 1m 16-26, 1m 10-16, 2m <10, 1f 26-45, 2f 16-26, 1f 10-16, 1f<10

The only other Isaac Leedom that I've identified in Delaware county at this time was Isaac son of John Leedom and Ruth Strickland. This Isaac though was married first in 1798 and by 1800 had only one young son.

There are no Isaac's indexed under Soundex with a last name that looks as though it could be transcribed incorrectly from the surname Leedom in Delaware, Montgomery or Philadelphia counties in 1800. If the Delaware county census record does refer to Isaac, the son of William Leedom and Lydia Pritchard, there are eight children at that time and a wife about whom I know nothing.

The same person (probably) appears again in 1810, indexed as Isac Ludom, still in Radnor, Delaware Co:
1m >45, 1m 26-45, 2m 16-26, 2m 10-16, 3m<10, 1f 26-45, 2f 16-26, 1f 10-16, 1f<10

In 1820 he is indexed as Isaac Leadham in Radnor, Delaware Co:
1m>45, 1m 26-45, 1m 16-26, 3m 10-16, 3m<10, 1f 26-45, 2f 10-16, 3f<10

In 1830 he is again indexed as Isaac Leadham in Radnor, Delaware Co:
1m 50-60, 1m 20-30, 1m 15-20, 1m 10-15, 2m 5-10, 1m<5, 1f 40-50, 2f 15-20, 1f 10-15, 1f 5-10

In 1840 the index lists him as Isaac Leedom in Radnor, Delaware Co:
1m 60-70, 1m 20-30, 1m 15-20, 3m 10-15, 2f 20-30, 1f 15-20, 1f 10-15
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There is a document put before the 1st Session of the 23rd U.S Congress dated 7 Apr 1834 in which citizens of Delaware County, Pennsylvania "petition the Government for a redress of their grievances", asking for a "restoration of the public deposites, and a renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States". The petition is undersigned by nineteen pages of the printed names of the citizens. On page thirteen is listed Isaac Leedom and Isaac Leedom Jr. (Page sixteen also has the name of James Lancaster Jr - unknown if this might be a relation of Susannah Lancaster, wife of John Leedom.)

The Isaac Leedom above may be the son of John Leedom and Ruth Strickland. This Isaac did have a son Isaac who would have been about 27 years old in 1832.
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The Wheeling Daily Register dated 27 Aug 1875 included a paragraph from the The Ritchie Gazette listing twenty-five citizens of that county who were over the age of 80 years. Named among those citizens in Isaac Leedom, age 80. (Also listed is a Peter Pritchard, age 80.)
 

   3 F    ii. Mary Leedom was born on 12 Apr 1771 in Abington, Philadelphia PA.³

Birth Notes: Abington MM

 

Died between 1846-1849, the date range given by Historical Society of Pennsylvania to a box of correspondence and estate papers belonging to Mary Leedom Jones. --Collection 2037, Jones and Taylor Family Papers, Series II

 

Mary married William Jones,⁴ son of Benjamin Jones and Hannah Walter.  Hannah was born 28 Jan 1742/1743 and died 25 Apr 1791, daughter of William Walter and Rachel Newlin.

 

+ 4 M    iii. William Leedom was born on 4 Sep 1773 in Abington, Philadelphia PA ³ and died in 1819.¹

+ 5 M    iv. Jonathan Leedom was born on 27 Dec 1775 in Abington, Philadelphia PA ³ and died on 17 Dec 1848.

 

Second Generation

 

4. William Leedom (William¹) was born on 4 Sep 1773 in Abington, Philadelphia PA ³ and died in 14 Jul 1819.¹

 

Death notice in Franklin Gazette 15 Jul 1819
Yesterday, the 14th instant, William Leedom, Merchant. His friends and family are particularly requested to attend his funeral, from his late dwelling, No.198 Spruce street, this afternoon, at 5 o'clock.

 

William married Mary Van Leer, daughter of Samuel Van Leer and Hannah Wayne. Mary was born on 3 Aug 1780,¹ died on 9 Sep 1820 in Delaware Co PA,¹ and was buried on 12 Sep 1820 in St. David's Episcopal Church Cemetery, Delaware PA.¹

 

September 27, 1820, Village Record Death Notice
In Delaware county on Saturday the 9th inst., of a pulmonary affection, Mary Leedom, relict of Wm. Leedom, late a very respectable merchant of the city of Philadelphia. On the succeeding Monday her remains were interred in the cemetery of St. David Church, the solemnity of which was closed by a very impressive address from the Rev. Samuel C. Brinckle.

Death notice in Franklin Gazette on 18 Sep 1820
On the 9th instant, at the dwelling of Mr. Samuel Levis, in Upper Darby, Delaware county, of a lingering illness, in the 39th year of her age, Mrs. Mary Leedom, widow of the late William Leedom, Merchant, of this city.

Child:

+ 6 M    i. Samuel Van Leer Leedom was born on 1 Oct 1802 and died before 1860 in prob Hardin Co KY.

5. Jonathan Leedom (William¹) was born on 27 Dec 1775 in Abington, Philadelphia PA ³ and died on 17 Dec 1848.

General Notes: Leedom - Jonathan, iron merchant 210 ? Water, 211 S Front, d. h. 29 Pine -- The Philadelphia Directory & Stranger’s Guide for 1825, page 83; Philadelphia, PA
 

• Occupation: Shipping merchant.

 

Death notice in the North American and United States Gazette on 20 Dec 1848
On First Day evening the 17th inst., Jonathan Leedom, in the 73d year of his age. His friends and those of the family are particularly invited to attend his funeral from his late residence, No. 29 Pine street, on Fourth day afternoon, at 2 o'clock.

 

Philadelphia and Her Merchants by Abraham Ritter, pub. 1860, page 210:

Amongst the missing in the body of the work, Jonathan Leedom was not the least of the mercantile spirits of his day, 1805 and onward.

He was located at No. 182, on the east side of Front street, above Pine street--store through to Water street.

He was a shipping merchant in good standing, engaged in the Liverpool trade, and at the same time and in the same place kept a wholesale iron store for many years after he ceased to be a shipowner, even until the time of his death: to wit, December 17, 1848, being then in his seventy-fourth year. He was born in Cheltenham, Bucks County. Mr. Leedom was a member of the Society of Friends, and was highly esteemed for his correct deportment.

Jonathan married Sarah Jones, daughter of Benjamin Jones, on 13 Dec 1800 in Pine Street Friends MH.⁵ Sarah was born on 27 Dec 1772 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA and died on 25 Jun 1867. Listed as a witness on the marriage certificate of Joseph Rhoads and Hannah Evans on Fourth day of the Eleventh month in the year 1818. Listed below Sarah is Erwin J. Leedom and Lydia Leedom. In the left-most column is listed Jonathan Leedom.

 

• Census: PA, 1850, Pine Ward, Philadelphia PA. Visit 110, family 164, all born PA:
Sarah Leedom - age 72, real estate $10,000
Lydia - age 45
Sarah J. - age 40
Ann R. - age 35
Sally J. - age 20
Mary Bosby - age 18, servant

Children:

+ 7 M    i. Erwin Jones Leedom was born on 26 Oct 1802 and died on 6 Nov 1848.

   8 F    ii. Lydia Leedom was born on 5 Apr 1804 and died on 17 Jan 1873.⁶

General Notes: Resided with her mother and sisters (Sarah, Ann and Sally) in Pine Ward, Philadelphia in 1850.

 

Death notice in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 20 Jan 1873
Leedom-On the 17th inst., Lydia Leedom, daughter of the late Jonathan Leedom, in the 69th year of her age. The relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend her funeral, from the residence of her brother-in-law, Wm. P. Sharpless, No. 1512 Arch street, this (Second day) morning at 11 o'clock.

+ 9 F    iii. Mary Jones Leedom was born on 4 Sep 1805 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA ⁷ and died on 26 Jun 1891.

+ 10 M    iv. Benjamin Jones Leedom was born on 13 Aug 1807 and died in 1883.

   11 F    v. Sarah Jones Leedom ¹ was born on 7 May 1809, died on 25 Jun 1867 in West Chester, Chester PA, and was buried in Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia PA.

General Notes: Resided with her mother and sisters (Lydia, Ann and Sally) in Pine Ward, Philadelphia in 1850.

 

Sarah married William P. Sharpless ⁸ on 7 Nov 1850 in Spruce Street Meeting, Philadelphia PA. William was born on 9 Feb 1808 in West Chester, Chester PA and died on 21 May 1879 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA.

   12 F    vi. Ann R. Leedom ⁹ was born on 21 May 1811 and died on 24 Dec 1886.

General Notes: Just prior to her marriage, Ann resided with her mother and sisters (Sarah, Lydia and Sally) in Pine Ward, Philadelphia in 1850.

 

Ann married William Cresson, son of John Head Cresson and Rachel Walter, on 11 May 1853. William was born on 12 Nov 1810 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA and died on 24 Feb 1874 in Conshohocken, Montgomery PA.

   13 F    vii. Susannah H. Leedom ¹ was born on 16 Jul 1813 and died in 1867.

+ 14 M    viii. Jonathan Leedom ¹ was born on 1 Jun 1816 and died after 1870.

   15 F    ix. Alice Leedom ¹ was born on 27 Jun 1818 and died on 12 Jun 1820.

   16 F    x. Alice Jones Leedom ⁹ was born on 21 Jun 1820 and died on 17 Sep 1902.

 

Alice married John Cresson, son of John Head Cresson and Rachel Walter, on 7 Jun 1843. John was born on 15 Apr 1821 and died on 7 Jun 1901.

 

Third Generation

 

6. Samuel Van Leer Leedom (William², William¹) was born on 1 Oct 1802 and died before 1860 in prob Hardin Co KY.

General Notes: Samuel left Philadelphia and settled in Hart Co KY, where he started an iron business with Simon Bolivar Buckner. Not listed in 1860 census where Jane is in Hardin Co with her two youngest children. ¹

 

• Census: KY, 1850, Northern District 2, Hardin KY. Visit 18, family 18:
Samuel V. Leedom - age 47, Iron manufacturer, b. PA
Jane A. - age 38, b. KY
Sydney - age 15, b. KY
Jane N. - age 6, b. KY
Sam'l - age 1, b. KY

 

Samuel married Jane Ayette Wood on 8 May 1832. Jane was born on 18 Oct 1811 ¹ and died on 21 Apr 1896.¹

 

Death notice in The Morning Herald (KY) on 23 Apr 1896

Russellville. April 22-Mrs. Jane A. Leedom died this morning at 3 o'clock at the residence of her son-in-law, James M. McCutchen, President of the Bank of Russellville. She was 85 years old, and her death has been expected for several days. Mrs. Leedom was an estimable old lady, and a devout Christian member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Two sons and one daughter survive her, S. V. Leedom, Sid Leedom and Mrs. J. M. McCutchen. The funeral arrangements have not yet been made.

 

• Census: KY, 1860, Elizabethtown, Hardin KY. Visit 665, family 638:
Jane Leedom - age 48
Jane W. - age 17
Samuel - age 11

 

• Census: KY, 1870, Elizabethtown, Hardin KY. Visit 280, family 295, all b. KY:
Jane A. Leadam - age 57, keeps house
A. Sydney - age 30, ret. merchant
Samuel - age 21, clerk in store
Mary Took - age 43, at home
Geo. Gallion - age 12, B, domestic servant

Children:

   17 M    i. Sydney Leedom was born about 1835 in Kentucky ¹⁰ and died after 1870.

General Notes: Resided with widowed mother in Elizabethtown in 1870.

   18 F    ii. Jane W. Leedom was born about 1844 in Kentucky ¹⁰ and died after 1880.

General Notes: Married James McCutchen and resided in Logan Co KY, near her brother Samuel and his family. Mother Jane lived with Jane and her family as well.

   19 M    iii. Samuel Leedom was born about 1849 in Kentucky ¹⁰ and died after 1880.

General Notes: Resided with widowed mother in Elizabethtown in 1870.

 

• Census: KY, 1880, Logan Co KY. District 164, visit 213, family 213:
Samuel Leedom - age 31, merchant
Jessie - age 27, wife, keeping house, b. KY, F b. MD, M b. KY
Ellen - age 1, daughter, b. KY
James A. Porter - boarder, clerk in store, b. KY, parents b. KY

 

7. Erwin Jones Leedom (Jonathan², William¹) was born on 26 Oct 1802 and died on 6 Nov 1848.

 

Erwin married Mary Ann Harley on 5 Sep 1830. Mary was born in 1808 and died on 15 Apr 1880.

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 17, 1880, Page 4, Phila. Free Library:
Leedom - On the 15th inst., Mrs. Mary H. Leedom, in the seventy-second year of her age. Funeral from the residence of her daughter, Mrs. S. L. Yerkes, No. 3206 Race street, on Monday, the 19th inst., at 11 o'clock.

Child:

   20 F    i. Sarah Jones Leedom ¹¹ was born on 14 Aug 1830 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA.

Sarah married Nathaniel Weaver Yerkes,¹¹ son of Harman Yerkes and Elizabeth Weaver. Nathaniel was born on 13 Apr 1818 in Plymouth, Montgomery PA and died on 6 Aug 1869 in Plymouth, Montgomery PA.

 

9. Mary Jones Leedom (Jonathan², William¹) was born on 4 Sep 1805 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA ⁷ and died on 26 Jun 1891.

 

Death notice in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 30 Jun 1891
Cresson-On Sixth month 26, 1891, at the residence of her son-in-law, Wm. Wright, Conshohocken, Pa., Mary J. Cresson, wife of the late James Cresson.

 

Mary married James Cresson, son of James Cresson and Hannah Humphreys, on 23 May 1832 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA.⁷ James was born on 22 Oct 1806 in Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA and died on 30 Jan 1872 in Norristown, Montgomery PA.

Children:

   21 M    i. William Leedom Cresson ¹² was born on 13 Mar 1840.

William married Tacy Foulke Corson, daughter of Hiram Corson.¹³

Four children: Carolyn, James, Nancy and Mary Corson.

   ii. Frances Cresson
Death notice in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 2 Oct 1922
Wright-At Germantown, Phila., Oct 1, Frances Cresson, widow of William Wright, of Columbia, Pa., and daughter of the late James and Mary Leedom Cresson. Int. private at Columbia Pa.

 

10. Benjamin Jones Leedom (Jonathan², William¹) was born on 13 Aug 1807 and died 13 Nov 1883.

General Notes: The Germantown Road Association refers to Benjamin's Germantown home as Sauer House, located at No. 4630, on the west side of Germantown Ave. (At least as of 1982.) His home now houses the Germantown Historical Library.

Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy: Philadelphia [p.830] Minutes and Marriage Records, page 888:
1844, 7,17. Benjamin J. & w, Priscilla B., & ch, Hannah B. & John Moore Leedom, gct New York MM, N. Y.

 

Death notice in Philadelphia Inquirer on 16 Nov 1883
Leedom-At Bluffland, Germantown, on Third-day afternoon, 11 mo. 13, 1883, Benjamin Jones Leedom. Funeral this day, at 2 o'clock, from the residence of his son, on Pulaski avenue.

 

Benjamin married Priscilla Ballenger ¹ on 23 Mar 1831 in Cherry Street MM, Philadelphia PA.⁶ Priscilla was born in 1809 and died 20 May 1887.

 

Death notice in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 25 May 1887
Leedom-At Germantown, May 20, 1887, Priscilla B., widow of Benjamin Leedom.

Children:

   22 F    i. Hannah Ballenger Leedom ^{1 6} was born on 4 Dec 1831 and died on 25 Dec 1912.

General Notes: Married 2 Feb 1857 in Philadelphia to Benjamin Sharp (d. 3 Aug 1869). Middle name from The Leedom Family.

   23 F    ii. Sarah Irwin Brookfield Leedom was born about Jan 1835, died on 26 Jun 1835, and was buried in Merion Friends Burial Ground, Montgomery PA.

Burial Notes: No. 19, Paul Jones Row, e.

General Notes: Sarah Irwin Brookfield Leedom, died June 26, 1835, aged 5 months. On sixth day morning, 26th inst, Sarah Irwin, daughter of Benjamin J. and Priscilla B. Leedom, aged 5 months. -- Inquirer, June 27, 1835.

   24 M    iii. John Moore Leedom ⁶ was born on 16 Jan 1837 ¹ and died on 8 Jan 1885.

General Notes: Married Virginia Reynolds (b. 1831, d. 30 Sep 1922).

 

• Census: PA, 1880, Philadelphia, Philadelphia PA. p. 346A:
John M. - age 42, M.D., b. PA
Virginia - wife, age 41, b. NY
B.J. Leedom - age 73, b. PA
Priscilla B. - wife, age 71, b. PA
Hannah B. - age 49, b. PA
Benjamin Sharp - age 21, M.D., b. PA
Leedom Sharp - age 20, b. PA
Mabel S. Sharp - age 14, b. PA
Sarah Scott - age 42, b. PA
Peter Burton - age 38, b. PA

 

14. Jonathan Leedom ¹ (Jonathan², William¹) was born on 1 Jun 1816 and died after 1870.

 

Jonathan married Sophie Scott.¹ Sophie died before 1870.

Children:

   25 F    i. Mariah G. Leedom ¹ was born in 1846.

   26 M    ii. Jonathan K. Leedom ¹ was born in Sep 1848.

General Notes: Married Philippia Mosonia Ward (b. Dec 1850).

   27 F    iii. Sophia S. Leedom ¹ was born in 1849 and died 7 Sep 1896.

Death notice in The Philadelphia Inquirer on 9 Sep 1896
Haines-At Yardley, Pa, September 7, 1896, suddenly, Sophia Leedom, wife of Stacy Haines and daughter of the late Jon. Leedom, in her 47th year. Relatives and friends of the family are invited to attend the funeral, Wednesday, September 9, 1896. Meet at Newtown Cemetery 11:30 A.M. Carriages will meet the 9:50 train from reading Terminal for Newtown, Pa.

   28 M    iv. Leedom ¹ was born on 27 Jun 1856 and died on 27 Jun 1856.

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Sources

1. Sara A.L. Eachus, The Leedom Family (Dorrance & Co. 1982).

2. Charlotte Meldrum, Marriages and Deaths of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania 1685-1800 (Willow Bend Books, Westminster MD).

3. John T. Humphrey, Birth Index: Southeastern PA 1680-1800 (FTM).

4. Emma Walter, Descendants of Godwin Walter (1900)).

5. Pennsylvania Vital Records.

6. William Wade Hinshaw, Hinshaw's Encyclopedia of American Quakers, vol 2.

7. LDS records: IGI.

8. The Sharples-Sharpless Family (Bart Anderson 1964).

9. Anonymous, The Genealogical Register (Philadelphia, Unknown, 1913), pp. 266-267.

10. 1850 U.S. Census, Hardin Co KY.

11. Josiah Granville Leach, Chronicle of the Yerkes Family With Notes on the Leech and Rutter Families (J.B. Lippincott Co, Philadelphia PA).

12. Anonymous, The Genealogical Register (Philadelphia, Unknown, 1913), p. 266.

13. Ibid.