Edward Leonard (1828-1895)

Edward's family for several generations back were servants on the Lord Deering Estate in County Kent, each one being trained for various duties such as Hosler, Gardener, Butler, etc. Edward was being trained as a Hosler. He came to America around 1846. He crossed the Atlantic in a sailing vessel. It was very stormy weather and the vessel came near to sinking several times. Edward came to Buffalo, New York where he met the Pennells family, also from County Kent. The Pennells were brickmakers and Edward learned the craft from them. He married Hannah Pennells, a sister of Henry who married a cousin Mary Pennells.

Henry and Mary came to Michigan and eventually settled on a farm northwest of Cloverdale. Edward and Hannah had six children before leaving Buffalo, Elizabeth (Libby), Hattie, Mary, Edward, Thomas and George. They moved from Buffalo to Kalamazoo, Michigan around 1855, coming with an ox team around the south shore of Lake Erie. He found very poor roads, some of them being toll roads. On one occasion, finding an unusually poor toll road and having trouble with the gatekeeper, some of the party hitched an ox team to the gate and hauled it out into the swamp.

The family stopped first at East Cooper where Edward made brick on the Vandenburg farm, where the brick house is still standing. William was born in East Cooper in 1856. Then came Charles and Ethel. From East Cooper they moved to the Humphrey-Cox farm behind Mt. Holyoke (female seminary) where Edward made brick for the seminary. The family then moved south of Kalamazoo, along the creek north of the present Milham Park where Edward made brick until the clay banks were drowned out by water backing up from the new paper mill being built on Cork Street. This mill has since been torn down. Then to Miller Farm, just east of the Paddy Miller Woods, and again back to Milham Park, and then back to Miller Farm and finally to Recreation Park where Edward made brick for the brick house still standing near the school house. Charles was born there. Hannah died, while on one of the places south of Kalamazoo, we believe in child birth, and is buried in the cemetary located on the corner of Cork Street and Sprinkle Road with her newborn infant. Ethel, William and Charles were still at home.

Edward then married Ann and came back to the Humphrey-Cox farm. He bought a house in Kendall to make brick for Johnson and ?. Johnson was a Kalamazoo contractor. He later bought 17.8 acres on the shore of North Lake, in Pine Grove Township, Van Buren County, section 33, 2-3 miles south of Kendal and west of Kalamazoo, where he lived until he died in 1895. 1998 research tells us his funeral was held in Saint Lukes Church and Church records tell us he was buried on the Reis Farm. We have been unable to find that location as of yet.

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