Family of James * Henry LEONARD and Mary * MARTIN

Husband:	James * Henry LEONARD (1621-1691)
Wife:	Mary * MARTIN (1619-1664)
Children:	Thomas * LEONARD (1641-1713)
	James LEONARD (1643- )
	Joseph LEONARD (1647- )
	Rebecca LEONARD (1647- )
	Benjamin LEONARD (1652- )
	Uriah LEONARD (1653- )
	Abifail LEONARD (1654- )
	Rebecca LEONARD (1658- )
Marriage	1640	US1

Husband: James * Henry LEONARD

Wife: Mary * MARTIN

Name:	Mary * MARTIN
Sex:	Female
Father:	Isaac * MARTIN (1591-1643)
Mother:	Margaret * FORD (1599- )
Birth	1619
Immigration	1636 (age 16-17)	to Boston, Middlesex, MA, US5
Death	1664 (age 44-45)	Taunton, Bristol, MA, US4

Child 1: Thomas * LEONARD

Child 2: James LEONARD

Name:	James LEONARD
Sex:	Male
Birth	1643

Child 3: Joseph LEONARD

Name:	Joseph LEONARD
Sex:	Male
Birth	25 Oct 1647

Child 4: Rebecca LEONARD

Name:	Rebecca LEONARD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1647

Child 5: Benjamin LEONARD

Name:	Benjamin LEONARD
Sex:	Male
Birth	1652

Child 6: Uriah LEONARD

Name:	Uriah LEONARD
Sex:	Male
Birth	10 Jul 1653

Child 7: Abifail LEONARD

Name:	Abifail LEONARD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1654

Child 8: Rebecca LEONARD

Name:	Rebecca LEONARD
Sex:	Female
Birth	1658

Note on Husband: James * Henry LEONARD

The beginnings of the iron industry came to the present Taunton area by the middle of the 17th century (1652) when Henry and James Leonard and Ralph Russell of Braintree were invited by the inhabitants "to set up a Bloomery Work on the Two Mile River". It took some 4 years to accumulate sufficient capital, a dam to be built and heavy machinery to be imported for the iron works to become a reality. The records are not clear whether Henry Leonard and Ralph Russell were actually engaged in this works; for history, finds them involved in iron workings in Dartmouth and Lynn during this period. However, the records are quite clear that James Leonard was a proprietor in the organization of the works in 1653-54. In 1656, the production of limited quantities of iron was finally begun.

 

In 1683, Captain Thomas Leonard, son of James, became the "clearke and manager" of the expanding works. It is through his ledgers that the history of Taunton iron making has been preserved from 1655 until his death in 1713.

 

James Leonard, his sons, and their sons all engaged in iron manufacturing and became involved in the various works in and about the Taunton area. It appears that a "bloomerie" or forge was established at any location where good grade bog iron, a sizable river and an abundance of timber for charcoal was readily available. Some 4 works were operational in the Taunton area before 1700. It is to be remembered that early Taunton encompassed Raynham, Norton, Dighton and Berkley.

 

Iron became so important to the early settlers that not only shareholders and workers were paid in iron of various manufacture, but it served as a medium of exchange well into the 18th century. It is recorded that as late as 1751 Reverend John Wales of Raynham, received a third of his salary in bar iron.

 

As Taunton grew and iron works occupied main rivers and surrounding bogs, the search for suitable conditions expanded outward to where damnable streams with nearby bogs and timber stands began to be utilized.

Sources

1	"US and International Marriage Records, 1550-1900" (on-line, Yates Publishing, Provo, UT).

2	"American Genealogical-Biographical Index" (Godfrey Memorial Library, On-Line, Provo, UT).

3	"MA Census, 1790-1890".

4	Edmund West, "Family Data Collection - Death" (Generations Network, Inc 2001).

5	"Passenger and Immigrations Lists Index 1500-1900".

6	"MA Town Birth Records" (on-line, Provo, UT).

7	"MA Town Death Records".