[p. 875] a representative citizen of Wayne Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, and a veteran of the Civil War, has been a resident of the county since 1852, except for a brief period. He was born in Plumb Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, November 30, 1844, and is a son of Robert M. and Catherine (Armstrong) Leech.
Robert M. Leech was born near McKeesport, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and there engaged in agricultural pursuits and blacksmithing. In the fall of 1852 he moved to Wayne Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, where he purchased 150 acres of land. Of this, he later disposed of fifty acres to Robert and Daniel McMunn, and in 1865 transferred fifty acres to James B. Leech, who later sold his interest to Levi Ward. The remaining fifty acres is now owned by a daughter, Mrs. Walker. Robert M. Leech was married in Allegheny County, to Catherine Armstrong, who also was born in Plumb Township, Allegheny County, and was a daughter of William Armstrong. They became parents of the following children, the six oldest of whom were born in Allegheny County: William, who was born in 1842 and died in 1858; James B.; Margaret, who died in the spring of 1853; David Malcolm, who also died in the spring of 1853; Rebecca, deceased, who grew to maturity; Sarah Minerva, wife of David S. Walker, residing on a part of the old home farm in Wayne Township; and Mary Belle, deceased wife of James Moore, by whom she had two children.
James B. Leech was reared on the farm, and has always been engaged in agricultural pursuits. For the past twenty years, except for a part of the years 1888 and 1889, which he spent in Beaver Falls, he has resided near the old home place, where he and his wife own a tract of twenty acres. When the Civil War was in progress, Mr. Leech first enlisted under Captain Shaw, in Company A, One Hundred and Thirty-Fourth Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, and served nine months, being discharged at Harrisburg. He then re-enlisted at New Castle, as a member of Company I, Sixth Regiment, Heavy Artillery (afterward Two Hundred and Twelfth Infantry), of which William McCandless was captain. He served until the close of the war, and during his service participated in many important engagements, among them Fredericsburg and Chancellorsville. He was discharged at Pittsburg, and returned to his home in Lawrence County. Mr. Leech is a man of high principles, and a public-spirited citizen, who enjoys the esteem of his neighbors and many friends.
James B. Leech was married in October, 1865 with Miss Rosanna Glasser who was born in Wurtemburg, Wayne Township, October 2, 1844, and is a daughter of William Glasser, her parents being natives of Germany and early settlers in Wayne Township. This union was blessed with fifteen children, as follows: Ida E., who was married in 1882 to W. O. Weimer, by whom she has four children: Flora Bell (Gardner); Kate Rose, wife of John M. Houk; Ora May Weimer, Esther Louise Weimer; Carrie, who died in February, 1889, was the wife of Chauncey Houk, who died in 1888. They had two children: Omar, who married Bessie Booher, and Ira Houk; Ola, who resides in Beaver Falls, married William Sanders and they had nine children: Frank, Milo, Howard, Lawrence, Rose, William, Joseph, Irene and Merrill; Tina R., who resides in Shenango Township, married James R. Lutz, and they have nine children, as follows: Howard, Raymond, Alice, Robert, Lula, Joseph, Ralph Clyde, Myra, Daniel Arthur, deceased; Maude died in 1888; Minnie died from injuries received in the accidental discharge of a gun; James R., deceased (twin), married Elizabeth Wurtz, and has a son, George; Joseph R. (twin), unmarried, of Shenango Township, was a member of Company E, Nineteenth Regiment, United States Infantry, and served three years in the Philippine Islands. Andrew Sherman is unmarried and lives at home; Thomas Herman married Miss Delma Peterman and resides in Kansas City, Kan.; a babe that died unnamed; William Blaine, unmarried, resides in Beaver Falls; Oscar L. is at home; Amy Isabella attends schools; and Robert S., who met death in an accident while working in a stone quarry, was twenty-one years old.
Mr. Leech is a member of Wampum Post, G. A. R. In politics, he has been unswerving in support of Republican principles. In religious faith and fellowship he is a Presbyterian.
20th Century History of New Castle and Lawrence County Pennsylvania and Representative Citizens Hon. Aaron L. Hazen Richmond-Arnold Publishing Company, Chicago, Ill., 1908
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Updated: 18 Jan 2002