I have many families in my tree who migrated from east to west and sometimes times back again. Today, I am going to talk about the Leet / Leete family because they are a great example of how families “branched out” as they left their homeland to the “New World” and continued that westward movement after their arrival. There were many reasons that families chose to move. Most often it was in search of a better life for their family. The “New World “ brought new opportunities and lots of open land. Most of these settlers came from countries where land was scarce and the likelihood of them ever becoming land owners was slim to none. The westward movement continued as more and more people came to the colonies. After America won it’s independence, the trend continued as the size of the country grew wider and wider. More and more territories of land were acquired which expanded America’s boundaries. So let’s talk a bit about the earliest Leete families in England that are known.

Thomas Leete of Ockington, Cambridgeshire, England married Maria Slade of Rushton Northamptonshire, the daughter of Edward Slade. Thomas and Maria had four children, two sons and two daughters. Both of their sons were named John. That makes it confusing, I am glad they were nobleman or we would never have been able to figure it out. Each John was distinguished by their place of residence, John of Dodington was the oldest and John of Islington was younger. The daughters were named Jane and Rebecca.

John Leete (the Elder) of Dodington, as he was known, married Anna Shute. She was the daughter of Robert Shute who was one of the justices in the King’s Court. John and Anna had two sons , William and John. Our Leete family in America descends from William Leete who was born in 1612/1613 in Dodington, Huntingshire, England.

William Leete came to America with the Rev. Whitfield Company. He was one of the signers of the Plantation Covenant which was drafted and signed while still aboard the ship before it’s arrival to New Haven on July 10, 1639 . As a group, they decided on settling in the area which would later be known as Guilford, Connecticut if they could negotiate a deal to purchase the land from the native Indians. William Leete and six other men from the ship approached the native Indians to purchase the land and a deal was struck. Mr Leete was soon called upon to fill many public offices as the colonist formed their local government. He served as a Deputy to the Court until 1650. He became Deputy Governor of the colony of Connecticut in 1658 and was elected Governor of the the state of Connecticut when the state was formed. He held the office until he died in 1683.

William and his wife, Anne Payne had nine children ; John (1839), Andrew (1843), William, Abigail, Caleb (1651), Gratiana (1653), Peregrine (1658), Joshua (1659), Anna (Anna). The Leete family grew exponentially in the colonies. Many of the children of William and Anne had eight to ten children.

Our family descends thru their son Andrew and his wife, Elizabeth Jordan. They had six children; William (1671), Caleb, (1673) Samuel (1677), Dorothy (1680), Abigail (1683) and Mercy(1688). Their son, William married Hannah Stone and they had seven children; Ann (1700), Elizabeth (1702), Margery (1705), Roland (1708), William (1711), Jordan (1720), Solomon (1722).

The first three to four generations of the Leete family members remained in the Guilford Connecticut area. Roland Leete married Mercy Dudley. This couple had eleven children; Timothy (1739), Ruth(1740), Anah(1742), Sarah, (1744-1751), John (1746), Asahel (1747-1751), Hannah (1749), Sarah (1751), Abner (1753-1776), Asahel (1755), Miles (1757) and Rachel. Most of the Leete men and the husbands of the Leete daughters were active participants in the Revolutionary War.

At this fourth generation the Leete / Leet family members began to migrate to other areas in the colonies. Asahel married Polly Nott and they left Connecticut and moved to Tinmouth, Vermont.

Asahel and Polly had eight children; Jonathan (1775), Abner (1779-86), Noah (1784), Thomas (1787), Epaphras (1789), Samantha (1790), Ruth (1790), Polly (1791).

Jonathan married Deborah Hendryx in New York. They are found in the 1810 Federal Census in Caneadea, Allegany, New York near her father, Nathaniel Hendryx. Jonathan served in the War of 1812 in the New York Militia along with two of his brothers, Epaphras and Thomas. It is at this time when I start to find the Leete name as Leet. One by one each of the brothers migrates to the state of New York. Epaphras Leet and his family stayed in Lockport, Niagara County, New York. Thomas and Noah Leet shows up in Henrietta, Monroe County, New York in the 1820 Federal Census. Shortly after the 1830 Census, three of the brothers, Jonathan, Thomas and Noah, relocate to Michigan. Jonathan is found in the Michigan territory in 1833. Thomas is first found in Washtenaw County, Michigan in 1834 but moves to Clinton County by the 1840 Federal Census. Thomas remains in Clinton County for the rest of his life. Noah remains in Oakland County Michigan the rest of his life.

Jonathan has two children born while he was living in Oakland County, Michigan, William (1831) and Polly (1834). By the time of the 1840 Federal Census, he and most of his children have moved on to Wabash County, Illinois. Jonathan’s father-in-law, Nathaniel Hendryx and his son Abraham, had moved to Wabash County, Illinois prior to the 1830 Federal Census. It is the birth of these two children in Michigan that helped me to resolve the puzzle of how my 3X Great Grandmother, Nancy Leet came to Michigan. In the brief time that Jonathan and his family lived in Oakland County, Michigan, their daughter Nancy met and married Valentine Boyer. She remained in Michigan when most of her family moved west to Wabash County, Illinois. Eventually Victor Leet, Nancy’s older brother moved back to Oakland County, Michigan after spending a few short years in Illinois.

The Leete /Leet family “branched out” from Connecticut to Vermont to New York to Michigan to Illinois.

Happy Hunting,

Jan