William Leas ¹

  General Notes:

All family members born in Pennsylvania
Burial(4):

Residence(5): William stayed in Adams County, Pennsylvania and in the 1850s wrote a series of letters to his brother Jacob in Jefferson County, Ohio in which he referred to the settlement of their father's estate and the "house in Gettysburg" which had cost John Leas $750. The letters mention the various amounts which John Leas had advanced to George Leas, Jacob Leas, Elizabeth Zimmerman, John Leas, Susan Lichtenwalter, and Sally Hertzel and other heirs.




Letter to Jacob Leas in Ohio from his brother, William Leas in PA.

John has died as this letter will bear out. My records show that he died
May 20, 1847.

The family seems to have been in the business of loaning money at
interest.

Does anyone have a copy of the will of John Leas? (1755-1847)
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From:
Adams County, PA

July 12, 1847

Respected brother,
Through and by the will of God I send you these lines to let you know
that we are well at
present thanks be to the Great Giver. Mother is midlin harty at present.

Hoping this may find you well and I received yours dated June 22 and you
wrote that Warner had paid 460 dollars and you did not know what to do
about it.

I went to Jacob ___________ and consulted with him concerning it and we
thought the
best would be for you to keep it and keep it on interest as much as
possible and just to send
the interest that is coming of father's money every spring. We think you
as safe to take care of it as we should be ourselves for we will be in need
of all the interest that we can raise every spring according to the will.


I don't know whether I stated in my last about Mothers Legacy. She has
to get the third bushel of everything that is raised on the farm if she
thinks proper to have them and we have to pay her out of the income of the
estate every year as long as she lives. Also $60 to Sally Hartzel for the
interest of the thousand dollars to keep up the repairs and pay the taxes
for the properties and if we can't their interest enough we will have to
break on the principal and there is a great many other things to be done
for mother that if we can't rent the farm for to get the whole of it done
we must pay it out of the estate if she sees proper to have them for there
is nothing to be sold, nothing to be divided while Mother is living.

I think and our sisters here and the neighbors around here all think
that it would be better for her to give up the house keeping and go and
live with one of her children for there would be less trouble on her mind
and less trouble for me for I don't know whether I will stay here if I can
suit myself somewhere else for I think the rent to high on this farm.
Still I will do for mother as long as I can get in reach of her but I think
her to old a woman to live there by herself in a manner as we say Jacob.
It never came as if always had been promised if I would stay with them but
so it is and so I must take up with it. If I could talk with you one hour
I could tell you much better than I can write.

I want you to examine this rite and consult with the rest of the heirs as
far as you can and likewise of Mother staying on and keep house the way she
is now and then write to me what was your opinion about these matters for I
would like to know all your opinions for I have stated it as near as I can
excepting I was with you to tell you personally as could show you a copy of
the will.

Our grain crop is very poor here, grain will be high with us excepting
there comes from another country. We had a very dry spring until now we
had these last days a good deal of rain.

No more at Present but my best respects to one and all of you.


William Leas


This letter is after the death of John Leas ---

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Leas Letter # 10

To Jacob Leas in Ohio
From William Leas in Pennsylvania
Re: Matters pertaining to settleing the Will of John Leas
Adams County, PA
May 30, 1848
Dear Friends,

I now will let you know that we are all well at present thanks be to the
Great Giver for His mercy shown toward us. Mother has got tolerable well
again and I hope these lines may find you all well. Further I had wrote to
you if I'm not mistaken that I received a
letter from Sally a few days ago. She gave me a price she would take and I
want you to get the consent of all the rest of the brothers and sisters
whether they are all agreed for me to give her the five hundred dollars
providing she releases in full for the will runs in this way that she is to
get the interest of the thousand dollars while she lives.

Take my word for it, I have a great deal of trouble with the estate for we
can't collect only the interest of the money to pay mother the hundred
dollars and taxes and repairs of the properties for we can't begin to
settle up while mother is a living. Therefore, I would wish the consent
of all of you as soon as you could get it. I am expecting Leonard. I will
write to him for I know where he lives. Now the two sisters and myself is
satisfied for her to have the five hundred dollars and if we could get the
matter fixed we could collect the thousand dollars as soon as we could ant
the half of that would have to be divided amongst the rest of us nine
heirs. But they will have to get their consent by writing their names or
marks to a notary drawn up by you or some other person for I would wish to
keep myself safe and Jacob, you must keep and account for your trouble
until we can make a firm settlement.

This thing would take a great burden off me if it could be arranged amongst
us and as you wrote to me about them intersts I called with our attorney
and he thinks it would be better for you to leave it as it is until there
would be a divide made for some of the rest has a great deal more than you
have that if you would pay your note you would be at a
loss with the rest of the heirs. I had told him what father had said but
he says we must go to the will and the laws of Pennsylvania and as for
taking money of Warner this fall, I don't like to do it excepting we could
get this matter fixed with sister Sally...

Again I would sooner you could keep it out there for it will have to go out
some time again but if you don't wish to keep it there we must take it and
do the best we can. No more at present, but my best respects to you all.

Wm. Leas



Written to Mr. Jacob Leas in Ohio
From his brother, William Leas in Pennsylvania.
(Sons of John Leas and Sophia Ziegler)

Adams County, PA
October 2, 1850

Dear Brother, I received yours dated Sept. the 8th last and I know I
should have written to you long ago but I was still waiting to get them
writings fixed and could still not get them ready.

I will now inform you how we are. My family is well and Mother (Sophia
Ziegler Leas) is as well as can be expected. She is able to be up and
about the house and still wants to work. Yet it is so surprising how
smart she is for her age for she is in her 90 year since April last and
as for our wheat crop in this part of the country was very good.
Considering to the quality of the ground as for my poor little farm we
cut 450 dozen of good what and I expect about 300 bushels of oats. Our
corn is not as good as it might be we had a very cold wet backward
spring. We had a good crop of grass so as we could make a good deal of
hay. I expect to have about 25 bushels of clover seed this fall. I
will now close and I hope these lines may find you all in good health
so may God bless us all. From yours respectfully.

Wm. Leas


This letter was written to Jacob Leas in Ohio from his brother,
William Leas in Adams County, PA.

Adams County, Pa.
May 12, 1851

Dear Brother and friends, I will inform you that we are all well
thanks be to the great giver. Expecting these lines may find you all
enjoying good health and firther mother is well still able to be up and
about and as for her eyesight is just midling. She can't see to read
but she can see to go about through the house and outdoors and her mind
is good for her age. She is now in her ninety-one year since the 13
day of April last. Further I received your letter dated April 16th
1851 with a check calling for $91.32 cents which money I received for
said check and further about the money you can do just as well with it
as I could and there will be a time when it has to go there anyhow so
it may just as well stay.
Our wheat crops looks midlin well at present but we don't know what it
may be yet. We had a very wet spring so far until now. The ground is
just go in tolerable order for planting corn. Wheat is bringing from
95 cents to one dollar in York at this time. In Baltimore from one
dollar to 1.08, corn 54, oats 35cts per bushel.
Friends I will now close my lines but my best respects to you all.

Wm. Leas




This letter is to Jacob Leas in Ohio; written by his brother William
Leas in Adams County, PA.

Adams County, Pa.
September 21, 1852

Dear Brother and friends, I will inform you that my families
reasonable well at present thanks be to the great Giver and every good
and perfect gift and all ther resto fo our sisters as far as I can tell
at present. But now I must inform you with sorrow that our dear mother
has left our worldly side she departed this life on the 16th of this
month at 11 o'clock at night and was buried on the 18th and my hopes to
her is that her spirit is in heaven and my friends our only way is to
strive to get there to meet her. As I wrote before she had been
complaining for some time back but the most only weakness till the last
8 or 10 days. She appeared to be better than she had been for some
time back. Some of the neighbors told me that had been to see her the
evening when she died that night she had been as lively as could be
expected. She went to her bed in the evening as well as usual and at
about 10 o'clock she said to the girls that she was now adying and
before they could get any person there but Mrs. Widner she was a corpse
so we should be thankful to God that she had not to suffer long.
Now we intend to have a sale here on the 29th of this month and I think
that we will try the land this fall yet it is late in the year but it
will give us a better chance for next fall if we don't sell this fall.
I would wish you to send your opinion what you though it ought to
fetch. Another I wish you to let the rest know about Mother's death.
If the farm is not sold we will rent it for one year and put all the
rent in repairs at the place and pay the taxes.
The letter you sent to mother came too late it came that morning she
lay a corpse. No more at present but my best respects to you all
hoping these lines may find you all enjoying good health.

Wm. Leas

  Noted events in his life were:

• United States Census: Resident, 1860, Huntington Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA.

• United States Census: Residence, 1880, Huntington, Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA. Also living with William and Catherine was their granddaughter, Lizzie S. Fickes, Age 23

• United States Census: Residence, 1880, York Springs, Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA.

William married Elizabeth Yeagy. (Elizabeth Yeagy was born on 9 Feb 1810 and died on 23 May 1837 in Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA.)

William next married Catherine Brown about 1838. (Catherine Brown was born about 1812 in Pennsylvania, USA and died on 20 Dec 1889 in Huntingdon, Adams County, Pennsylvania, USA.)