Belva was the 5th and youngest child of Watson Leach (#9) and Sarah Catherine Kenney (#10). She was the sister of Charles Leach #5, the webmaster's grandfather.
As told by Jane Webster (#3c) (the webmaster's aunt) on 2 November 2008, "Belva was raised in Eaten, Ohio by an aunt, Louisa (Kenny) Newton (#10e) [her mother's sister] and Uncle John Newton after her mother died. She was only about 4 months old when her mother died."
Sarah's obituary (courtesy of Matt Kenney, Great- Great- Great Grandson of Albert Kenney) is transcribed by this webmaster below and explains the circumstances of Belva's mother's death. The original obituary transcription obtained from Matt is linked here. The original transcriber is unknown.
SARAH CATHERINE KENNEY LEACH
Sarah Catherine Kenney Leach was born in Delaware Co., Ohio on Nov. 5, 1843 and died at O. P. Morton’s home in Camden, O., on Oct. 24, 1888, age 44 yrs. 11 mo. and 19 days. She was married to Watson Leach of Delaware Co., O. in 1872.
In October she came to Camden to attend a reunion of her mother, brothers and sisters near Sugar Valley. After a visit of several days and on the eve of returning home, she took typhoid-pneumonia and after three weeks died. She leaves her husband and dear little children at home. She was anxious to visit dear old mother and sisters when death came.
(Her children surviving her were Arthur, age 12, Charles, Harold, Homer and Belva Lockwood age 3 mos. Sarah Catherine’s sister, Louisa Conger took the baby and raised her.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Stella, who was killed in an accident. Also a twin brother, John Peter Kenney died Jan. 17, 1864 while in the Union Army at Lookout Valley.)
(Photograph of baby Belva is courtesy of Matt Kenney, Great Great Great Grandson of Albert Kenney).
According to an e-mail from Sharon Hinckley Nov 3, 2009, "Belva was indeed raised by her Aunt. Kind of a 'Cinderella story" as I understood it. After her mother died, her dad came back and took her brothers, but left her with her Aunt. Belva apparently got to do a lot of the less desirable chores which, among other things, included getting a board to prop up the family horse in the morning. (Apparently the horse had difficulty getting up by himself.)
Children of aunt and uncle (Belva's first cousins) included : 1) Mary Leona Conger (1859-1870) (no spouse); 2) Albert Ross Conger (1860-1901) (married Mattie D. Borradaile); 3) Caroline "Carrie: Luella Conger (1862-1935) (married Eli Gilmore Harris); 4) Joseph Edwin "Ed" Conger (1865-1942) (married Margaret Catherine "Katie" Bussard); 5) Herbert Adair Conger (1867-1949) (married Lucy Parker); 6) Katherine Ann "Kate" Conger (1870-1950) (married Elwood M. Shaffer and Walter Marion Reed) ; 7) An infant Conger (1873-1873), and 8) Bertie Adele Conger (1879-1972) (married Claude Hartcourt Kennedy). The purple information is courtesy of Doug Hart's posted ancestry.com information. [These were the people Belva grew up with].
According to Sharon Hinckley' Nov 3, 2009 e-mail: "Belva taught 'Normal' school briefly. She and my grandfather spent two years in Gila Bend, Arizona early in their marriage. While there Hooker (the name my grandfather was called by) stoned a rattlesnake to death. My mother still has its tail somewhere. From there they moved to the Washington, DC area where Hooker made his career as a concrete contractor. Among other things, he built the first covered parking garage for a retail store in the United States. It was for a store called the Hecht Company and was located in Arlington, Virginia".
"Belva enjoyed reading, the theater and traveling. The Farm where she grew up was in Eaton, Ohio".
[Belva and Hooker had one child, Roberta, born in Washington, D.C.]
Belva and Hooker built a house in Chevy Chase, Maryland in 1947. They resided in the house until they died. Their daughter lived there until her death. Their granddaughter (Sharon Hinckley) rented out the house after that and sold it in August 2022. She believes the total cost to build the house in 1947 was $36,000.
In 1930, Belva lived in Bethesda Montgomery, Maryland and District 7, Montgomery, Maryland in 1940. She died on 24 February 1975 at the age of 86.
Contact person for this website is Susan Snyder: susanleachsnyder@gmail.com
