First Generation

1. William LEONARD was born between 1680 and 1690. The birthdate and place of William Leonard are unknown in the recordsrelating to his marriage. Manning Leonard, who was doing the genealogyof the Solomon Leonard line, put a query in the NEHGS Register asking forinformation about William. He did not find a connection to the SolomonLeonard line. ECL/GML postulate that he was of the Solomon Leonard linebecause he lived in Bridgewater. He lived in Bridgewater after he wasmarried; it's unclear where he lived before his marriage to SarahBolton. Nahum Mitchell, p. 236, mentions "#13. Wm. Leonard m. Sarah D.of John Bolton: had Wm 1710, John 1711, Sarah, 1714, James 1716, Samuel1718, Silas, 1721, Mercy, 1723, Jonathan, 1726. James m. JemimaHeiford, perhaps 1737." There is no mention of a Seth.

Harriott Leonard Standish in the Leonard Dictionary postulates that he is"prob. son of Uriah, b. abt. 1687-90; d. Kingston, RI; m. Sarah BoltonFebruary 10, 1708-09 by J.P. Thos. Mumford. She m. 2nd Samuel Perry,Bridgewater. She was the dau. of John Bolton and b. 1690 (CheseboroughGen.) Ch.:

- William, b. 1709-10, Jan. 26. m. ? Ruth Hoar ?
- John, b. 11-28-1711
- Sarah, b. 2-23-1713-14; m. Isaac Pool (Mitchell of Bridgewater saysnot this Sarah)
- James, b. 10-8-1716; m. Jemima Herford (Heiford); he d. 1787.
- Samuel C., b. 1717-18; (January 14)
- Silas, b. 1720-21 (Mar. 14)
- Mercy, b. 1723 (Oct. 14)
- Jonathan, b. 1726 (Apr. 10)

Note: Taunton Rec. says Wm. son of Joseph, b. March 26, 1690. Anotherrecord calls Wm. son of Thomas2, Henry1.
Note: Wm. Learned of Woburn, 1646, spelled his name same as above. Theyspelled Leonard, Lennard, and Learned.
Note: The Boltons were from Stonington, Conn. (Ref. Kingston, RI Rec.;Bridgewater Vit. Rec.; Mitchell's History of Bridgewater, p. 236, FieldsGenealogy, p. 235)"

North Kingston Marriages lists "Learnard, William, and Sarah Bottom; m.by Thomas Mumford, Justince, Feb. (10)1708-9."

Hypothesis: William Leonard was related to the James Leonard line.

Supporting evidence:

- The names of William's sons generally follow the James-Thomas namingpatterns.

- All of the other William Leonards known to be in RI-MA at the timeare accounted for in other marriages.

- There were no William Leonards in the Solomon Leonard line until the4th generation (1700's). First is a son of Benjamin b. Dec. 27, 1724.

The naming conventions of the day reflected in William and Sarah'schildren could be (1) William for father, (2) John for mother's father,(3) Sarah for mother or mother's mother, (4) James for father's father?There are no James nor Williams nor Silas nor Jonathan in the earlySolomon Leonard line.

In the Bridgewater VR's, all children except Seth are listed with fullbirth dates as children of William and Sarah, with Leonard spelledLennard (for whatever significance that may be). Seth is not listed atall. Also, in Mitchell's History of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, Seth isnot listed among the children of William and Sarah, although all theother children are listed. A search finds no Seth Leonard in the book.Circumstantial evidence would lead one to believe that the Seth listedhere was the son of either William Leonard (Uriah2, James1) and or wasthe firstborn son of Seth3 (Uriah2, James1) and Deborah Hall. Joseph'sson William was born on the date set by Harriott, but married AbigailWetherell. Children overlap, so not second wife. Uriah's son Williammarried Anna Barney, and again the children overlap.

Leonard Dictionary also has William dying in Kingston, RI.

Leonard Dictionary mentions "William, son of Joseph, b. March 26, 1690.Another Record calls William son of Thomas2, Henry1." Offers asreferences Kingston, RI records, Bridgewater VR; Mitchell's History ofBridgewater, p. 236, Field Genealogy, p. 235.

There is a record in the Norwich, CT, library (Otis Library) of a ThomasMinor who performed the marriage of one of the couples in the WilliamLeonard - Sarah Bolton line, married at Minors Mill, according to WardLeonard. "Thursday the 8th day I was at the mill and maried John boltenRezident in stoneington and sarah Cheesbrough of the same Towne..."

William LEONARD and Sarah BOLTON were married on 20 Feb 1708/9 in Kingston, RI (or MA?). Sarah BOLTON (daughter of John BOLTON and Sarah CHESEBROUGH) was born on 26 Dec 1683 in Dorchester, MA.¹ There's a question as to whether there were two Sarahs, one born in 1683who died before 1690 and a second one born in 1690. The first waschristened in the First Church of Dorchester 23 June 1685. A SarahBolton d. 30 March 1694 in Newbury.

There were a John and Sarah Bolton living in Bridgewater in 1710.

Did Sarah marry (2) Samuel Perry, Bridgewater (Leonard Dictionary)? Ifso, when? William LEONARD and Sarah BOLTON had the following children:

+2	i.	William LEONARD.
+3	ii.	John LEONARD.
4	iii.	Sarah LEONARD2 was born on 23 Feb 1713/14 in Bridgewater, MA.3 Sarah has been mistaken for the Sarah Leonard, b. 15 Oct 1723, who m.Isaac Pool. This Sarah was the daughter of Joseph Leonard and MaryPackard of the Solomon Leonard line. See Manning Leonard's book on theSolomon Leonard genealogy, p. 82. All of the entries on ancestry.com forthis Sarah Leonard are wrong. A Sarah Leonard b. 1699 in Bridgewater m. William Orcutt -- also thewrong Sarah. Also a Solomon Leonard descendant.
+5	iv.	James LEONARD.
6	v.	Samuel LEONARD was born on 14 Jan 1717/18 in Bridgewater, MA.3 No further record of this Samuel can be found in Bridgewater VR's -- nobirths, no marriages, no deaths. A Samuel Leonard married a Lydia Besseeof Wareham July 7, 1748, in Wareham, but there's no evidence it's thisSamuel, although the marriage is listed in Bridgewater VR's. The Samuelwho married Lydia Bessee is the son of Josiah Leonard (abt. 1690-abt.1745), descendant of Solomon Leonard through his son John, according toManning Leonard's book on the descendants of Solomon Leonard. No matchescan be found on ancestry.com either.
7	vi.	Silas LEONARD was born on 4 Mar 1720/21 in Bridgewater, MA.4 He died on 15 May 1792 in Raynham, MA. There appears to be no further mention of Silas in Bridgewater VR's. ASilas Leonard did marry Nabby Smith December 15, 1785, in Bridgewater,but that seems to be unlikely to be this Silas. There's no descendancyor further info on ancestry.com.
8	vii.	Mercy LEONARD was born on 14 Oct 1723 in Bridgewater, MA.5 No further record of Mercy in Bridgewater VR's. No further info exceptbirth and parents on ancestry.com.
+9	viii.	Jonathan LEONARD.
+10	ix.	Seth LEONARD.