Harold was born 20 February 1884, the fourth child of #9 Watson Leach and #10 Sarah Catherine Kenney. He never knew his older sister (Estella) because she died before he was born. One of his older brothers, #5 Charles Albert Leach, was the webmaster's grandfather.

The 1900 U.S. Census shows Harold was 16, attending school, and living with his father Watson Leach and Edith A. Leach [note: Edith was his stepmother. His birth mother died when he was only 4 years old].

In 1907, his father died and Harold became the executor of the will. Click here to see the will.

The 1910 Census shows that Harold is living in Painesville Ward 3, Lake, Ohio. He is a boarder. His occupation is an inspector of nurseries.

Harold served in WWI: 2 Lieutenant Quartermaster Corps 15 Aug 1917 from CL. 1 Lieutenant Quartermaster Corps 2 Apr 1918; Captain Quartermaster Corps 4 Aug 1918. Fort Benj Harrison Ind 15 May 1917 to 15 Aug 1917. Quartermaster Corps to Discharge Chillicothe O; Cp J E Johnston F.

The 1920 Census shows he is 35, living in Detroit Ward 1, Wayne, Michigan, and is a roomer. He is a sales executioner for investment printing.

The 1930 Census shows he is 46, and a boarder in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio. His occupation is attorney in general practice.

 

In 1965, at the age of 81, Harold moved into The Seneca Hotel in downtown Columbus, Ohio. From 1930 when he was living in Cleveland until 1965, it is unknown by the webmaster where Harold resided.

Photographs 1 and 2 below of Harold are courtesy of Sharon Hinckley, granddaughter of Belva Leach, Harold's' sister..

The two photographs below were found in an old trunk of Jane Webster (Deceased). Jane was Hal's niece. Jane's father was Charles Albert Leach, Hal's brother.

On July 29, 1968, Harold wrote a letter to his sister (Belva) about their brother Homer's stroke. In his letter, he refers to other letters he is enclosing, but they were not in the envelop in 2022, when the webmaster examined it. Hal stated, "These letters contain all the information I have of advising you of the situation rather than repeating the information in this letter. While the letter states the stroke is a slight one it impresses me that it is a pretty severe stroke, and at Homer's age it would seem doubtful that he will ever be the same." Harold said he had just made a short trip up to Wisconsin by bus and it was a "pretty rugged method of traveling. Sincerely H.D.L""

On August 15, 1968, Hal wrote in a letter to Belva , "Am thinking of taking a three or four day trip on the Delta Queen from Cincinnati over the Labor Day week end- but not sure. I moved into the Seneca about this time in 1965 and had a very nice apt. on 3rd floor for a $150.00 per month, but about a year ago all guests were required to vacate the 3rd and 4th floors as they were converting them to a dormitory type for young people and since that time have been on the 8th floor in an apartment not as attractive and paying $175.00 per month. Now another raise of 10% as of Sept 1 at to 192.50 per month. I do not need so much room and am thinking of taking a single room as there are some that are real large and do not feel that I get my moneys worth at the price I have to pay. The last I heard from Homer he is improving very slowly and they expect he will leave the hospital today or tomorrow. Sincerely H.D.L""

In a letter written on December 13, 1968 by Agnes Kenney to Belva, Agnes states, "Did you see Hal's 'suite of rooms'? I envy him two things - the good daily service and the lovely view to the west overlooking the capitol and downtown." [This letter indicates that Hal did find a better place to live in downtown Columbus than the Seneca. That place must have been Broad Towers, referred to below in his obituary. Agnes Kenney is Hal's first cousin. She is the daughter of Alavander Kenney (Hal's mother's brother.]

On October 5, 1971, Hal wrote to Belva, "I did not know that Dorothy [their niece] was ill until quite recently when I called Russell [their nephew] on a matter altho she had been seriously ill since last May. The trouble and cause of death was cancer. You are fortunate to be able to travel and I envy you your sojourn in California- I had intended to take some kind of a trip this summer but have not quite felt up to it-I had in mind a trip on the Delta Queen but it is too late now. This place suspended serving meals last January and am anxious to locate some place before cold weather arrives when I will not leave to go out for all meals-they have devoted the first 8 floors to a dormitory and are now on the 9th floor and it is not so very satisfactory. Altho it does not appeal to me as being a pleasant place to be have been thinking that maybe I should consider some of the retirement places-The ones that are of the better class want a big donation - and the other kind are certainly not very attractive. A week ago Monday Russell drove me up to place at Mt. Vernon which was advertised as being O.K. but one look at this place was enough. If you know of a likely place of this kind around Washington you might advise me. A letter from Blanche since Dorothy's death and they were very much perturbed that they had not been advised except through other sources. Sincerely H.D.L"

All letters referred to in green above were courtesy of Sharon Hinckley. Portions of the letters were transcribed by the webmaster on September 4, 2022

Harold died 24 May 1975. He was 92 when he died, and is buried at Bloomfield Cemetery in Morrow County, Ohio. Below is his obituary that appeared in the newspaper.

 

His tombstone below states that he was a Capt in the US Army in World War I.

The photo below is courtesy of ancestry.com.

Having never married, Harold left his estate to his living brothers and sister and children of his deceased siblings. His brother #5 Charles had died in 1950, so Harold left part of the estate to Charles' children (Harold's nieces and nephews): #3a Dorothy, #3b Robert, #3 Russell, and #3c Jane [spelled Jayne in the will]. [The will was written in 1962, Dorothy died in 1971, and Hal died in 1975]

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Harold's Will: (The cover letter and copy of the will are below and are courtesy of Sharon Hinckley, daughter of Roberta).

The document below was sent on July 10, 1975 to Roberta S. Smull, daughter of 5e Belva Leach. Belva had died and Roberta was to inherit a portion of her Uncle Hal's estate. The three pages that follow this cover letter are scanned pages of Harold's will, written in his own hand and signed on August 7, 1962. The will was not filed with the court until June 9, 1975, following Harold's death. The executor of the will was Harold's nephew #3b Robert Leach.

At the bottom of this page is a transcript of Harold's Will, written by the webmaster (Harold's great niece) on August 29, 2022.

 

 

The Transcription:

Below is a listing of how the estate was to be distributed to Harold's living nieces and nephews according to the Deputy Clerk of the Probate Court:

 

 

Contact person for this website is Susan Snyder: susanleachsnyder@0