Thomas
Leonard
Born about in England
Son of Henry Leonard
[uncertain]
and [mother unknown]
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of
Elizabeth (White) Leonard
— married
about 1617 [location unknown]
Descendants 
Father of
Henry Leonard, James Leonard Sr., Margery Leonard, Mary Leonard, William Leonard, John Leonard, Philip Leonard, Joan Leonard, Sarah (Leonard) Thompson and Thomas Leonard
Died
at about age 45
[location unknown]
Profile managers:
Puritan Great Migration Project WikiTree 
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[send private message], Sheri Havens [send private message], John Putnam [send private message], and Mary Jo Freeman [send private message]Profile last modified
| Created 1 Aug 2012
This page has been accessed 5,010 times.
| Thomas Leonard is currently protected by the Puritan Great Migration Project for reasons described in the narrative. Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: PGM |
- This profile is protected and co managed by the Puritan Great Migration project because of significant controversy about this man's origins, whether or not he migrated before 1640 if at all. He is known father of at least two Leonard immigrants.
Contents |
Disputed Origins and Emigration
There are dozens of publications and online genealogical sites that show the Leonard brothers of the iron industry as descended from Thomas, son of Sampson Lennard and his wife Margaret Fiennes, Baroness Dacre or other armigerous Lennards. The claim has been debunked many times. Even in 1933, Donald Jacobus was highly skeptical,[1] and according to researcher Alice Allen Everett, "Elisha Clark Leonard 'never accepted it, 'a published book on the Dacre family confirms the falsity of the claim.'"[2] "... in spite of all the research that has been done on the family, the origin and birthplace [of the Leonard emigrants]… is still uncertain.[2]
There is also no evidence that Thomas Leonard, ironworker ever left England.
Biography
Origin
Thomas Leonard's birth date and location are unknown, as are many details about his life and family. It's probable that his father's name was Henry and that his extended family worked in the iron ore refining industry.
Fortunately, Thomas Leonard's granddaughter Hannah (by his son James) left what genealogist Donald Jacobus called "the dream of every family historian...an account of the English origin...by one of his children."[3] On “February 2, 1732-3, Hannah Deane... gave to the subscriber the following account of her relations..." [4] Her contributions are reported here in bold print.
- Thomas' father's name is Henry Leonard:[4]
- While no direct evidence has been found, it's certainly plausible given that Thomas and Elizabeth's first born son was named Henry.
Places of Residence
Based upon what's known about his children, Thomas seems to have moved throughout England and possibly into Wales while practicing his trade as an ironworker.
The earliest record found of Thomas is 13 Mar 1624/5 when he and wife Elizabeth were listed as the parents of Margery in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire. Three of his children's birth records were recorded there and confirm that he was a forgeman/fyner.[5] From 1633 through 1636 (and possibly longer,) he was living in Publow Parish, Somersetshire where additional childrens' births are recorded.[2]
It's unknown whether Thomas and Elizabeth also spent time in Pontypool, Monmouthshire (now Gwent, Wales) where there were Leonards. An article by W. D. John and Anne Simox reported that Thomas' eldest sons James and Henry left the Hanbury ironworks at Pontypool about 1646 and migrated to the English colonies. "About the year 1646, two very capable forgemen left the Hanbury ironworks at Pontypool, and migrated to the New England colonies; these were James and Henry Leonard, descendants of John Leonard (Lyonarde), a Frenchman who arrived in England in 1514 and had constructed some of the early water-driven blast furnaces in the Wealden District of south-east England…" [6]
There were Leonard ironworkers also in the Bilston area of Staffordshire (near Birmingham, Warwickshire) about the time of the emigration of Thomas' sons Henry, James, Philip, and Thomas. Thomas' grandson (by James) Thomas, was born August 8, 1641,[7] at Kinver,[8] on the River Stour, near Bilston. Bilston was the center of the "Black Country" iron industry. Apparently, the early Leonards left a claim to the ownership of some heavily mortgaged ironworks there.[9] Early in the 19th Century, an ironworker in Bilston by the name of James Leonard sent a letter to James Leonard, ironworker in or near Taunton, stating that the extensive iron works there in Bilston belonged to the Leonards. The Leonards in Taunton decided not to undertake the expense of an extended suit to regain the works.[9]
Wife and Children
- Thomas Leonard's wife's surname is White:[4]
- No confirmation of Elizabeth's birth surname has been located, but Thomas "forgeman" and wife Elizabeth were recorded as the parents for baptisms in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire.[10]
Combining the statement given by Hannah Deane (in bold) and the discoveries of genealogical researchers, the children of Thomas and Elizabeth White Leonard are (order uncertain):
- Henry b ca 1618; "the eldest, went to New Jersey"[4]
- James b ca 1620; "he lived and died in Taunton"[4]
- Margery bap 16 Mar 1624/5 at Cleobury Mortimer;[10] "married Henry Samson of Ireland, Lt. of the City of Gallaway."[4]
- Mary bap and buried 12 Sep 1627 at Cleobury Mortimer[11]
- William bap and buried 30 Nov 1628 at Cleobury Mortimer[5]
- William "never came out of England"[4]
- John "never came out of England"[4]
- Philip "lived at Marshfield and died at Taunton"[4]
- Joan "never came out of England"[4]
- Sarah bap. 23 Feb 1633/4 at Publow, Somersetshire;[2]"died at New Salem"[4]
- Thomas bap. 20 Apr 1636 at Publow, Somersetshire;[2]"was drowned at Piscataway"[4]
The children who arrived earliest in New England must have remained in contact with family and encouraged later arrivals like Sarah.[12] Elisha Clark Leonard had a letter from James Leonard of Bristol, Somersetshire, to Samuel Leonard, Thomas' great-grandson, answering an inquiry by Samuel as to the terms by which James of Bristol would come to America as an expert ironmaster. This James Leonard of Bristol must have been the son or grandson of one of the Leonards who remained in England, William or John.[2]
Death
No evidence has been found to provide a death date or location for Thomas or Elizabeth. Despite claims to the contrary, there's no evidence Thomas was ever in New England.
Research Notes
- Brad Leonard's work is used extensively in this and other Leonard profiles; he has an excellent website with research on the various Leonard families and far more detail than could be included here. http://www.bradsport.com/LeonardGenealogy.html
- Bill Barton has an excellent presentation of the facts surrounding the establishment of an iron industry in Massachusetts in the 1640's as well as genealogical research. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~bart/LEONARD1.htm.
Sources
- ↑ Jacobus, Donald Lines. "Pre-American Ancestries VIII. The Leonard Family of Taunton, Massachusetts." The American Genealogist Volume 10. 1933, Page 165. By Subscription. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/11841/164/134844979
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Everett, Alice Allen. "Leonards of Monmouthshire and Somersetshire, England." The American Genealogist, Volume 53, 1977. Page 104. By Subscription. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/12345/104/0
- ↑ Jacobus 1933, Page 162. By Subscription. https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/11841/162/23573444
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 Deane, William Reed. Genealogical Memoir of the Leonard Family. Boston, MA: Self-Published for the New England Historic-Genealogical Register, 1851. Page 20.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Shropshire Parish Registers. Hereford Diocese. Volume IX. Shropshire, England: Shropshire Parish Register Society, 1909. Page 39.
- ↑ W. D. John & Anne Simox, "Pontypool & Usk Japanned Ware with the Early History of the Iron and Tinplate Industries at Pontypool, (1953/1966) Page 9. Cited at http://www.bradsport.com/files/Leonardoriginsweb.pdf
- ↑ Koster, Fannie Leonard. Annals of the Leonard Family. Brooklyn, NY: Self-Published, 1911. Page 62.
- ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J94T-XFC : 19 March 2020), Thomas Leonard, 1641.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Deane, 1851. Page 4.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Shropshire Parish Registers. 1909. Page 32.
- ↑ Shropshire Parish Registers, 1909. Page 36.
- ↑ Cook, Lewis D. "Origin of James and Henry Leonard." The American Genealogist, Volume 10, 1933. Page 200. By Subscription. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2009 - .) https://www.americanancestors.org/DB283/i/11841/200/0
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Categories: Puritan Great Migration Adjunct
I'll be keeping both bios. Leave clean-up for JT Strong.
I am working on Leonard's in England and colonial America. Your Thomas cannot possibly be the grandson of Henry Leonard, as Henry would have been only 8 years old when his grandson was born. The correct solution is to disconnect Thomas from his purported parents: Richard Lennard and Elizabeth Throckmorton. Although Richard was the son of Sampson and did marry Elizabeth, they were not the parents of this Thomas. I can to it and provide the cites, if you wish. Vic