Edmund Clark Leach
On Section Three of Fairmount Township is the home of Edmund Clark Leach. Two hundred and forty acres of some of the finest land to be found in southern Grant County are the basis of his industry as a farmer and stockman, and by his success he stands in the very front rank of producers of agricultural crops. His judgment in farming matters is regarded as almost infallible, and everything about his place attests the progressive and prosperous business man. From a considerable distance this home can be recognized by its large white house, red barn, and silo, and the condition of the fields and the fences is a further evidence of his ability. Mr. Leach grows crops that average sixty bushels of corn to the acre, forty bushels of wheat and other grains in proportion, and everything grown on the place is fed to his cattle and hogs. The Leach family has been identified with this section of Indiana, since pioneer times, and originally came from the old commonwealth of Virginia.
Great-grandfather Rev. Eaton Leach was born in Virginia, not long after the close of the Revolutionary War, and was married in that State. Most of their children were born in Virginia, and those whose names are remembered were: William Archibald, Reuben, James H., Mattie and Rebecca. Early in the year 1800 the family came over the Mountains to Franklin County, Indiana, where they were among the very earliest settlers in what was then Northwest Territory. Indiana did not become an individual territory for several years later, and did not become an individual territory for several years later, and did not become a State until 1816. Eaton Leach entered land from the government, and he and his wife spent the rest of their lives in Franklin County. He was a life long member of the Primitive Baptist Church. All his children mentioned above, with the exception of Rebecca lived to be married, and all had children of their own.
William Leach, grandfather of the Fairmount Township farmer, was the oldest, and was born in Virginia, about 1790. He enlisted for service in the War of 1812, his participation as a soldier of that war being one of the features in the family history of which his descendants may well be proud. In Franklin County, Indiana, William Leach married Miss Sarah or Sallie Harrison, who was born in Ohio, of the old Ohio family of that name. All the children of William Leach and wife were born in Franklin County, Indiana, and then in the early thirties, they moved to Fairmount Township in Grant County. Thus nearly eighty years have passed since the Leach name first became identified with Grant County, and its members have all been effective and honorable citizens of their respective communities. William Leach took up land from the government and eventually acquired by purchase eight tracts of eighty acres each, giving to each one of his eight children, a farm of eighty acres. On the old homestead he continued to make his home throughout the rest of his days, and did about 1848, when less than sixty years of age. His widow survived until a good old age. The first Primitive Baptist Church organization was formed in the home of William Leach, and he was one of the officials and active workers in that society. In politics his support was always given to the Democratic party, and he was in many ways an honored and respected citizen. The eight children of William Leach and wife were as follows: Rachael, Esom, John, Edmund, Jane, Mary (Polly), Martha A. and William Jasper. The last named died young, while all the others married and now have descendants living in this and other parts of the country.
Esom Leach, the oldest son and second child, was born in Franklin County, Indiana, and after coming to Grant County became owner of half a section or three hundred and twenty acres of land in the township of Fairmount. There his death occurred January 17, 1893. His wife, who survived him some years was Lucinda Corn, born in Kentucky, and spending part of her girlhood in Rush County, being still young when her family moved to Grant County. She was fourteen years of age when married to Esom Leach. Their career began in a very humble home, and by their industry and good management they provided well for their children and spent their own years in comfort and prosperity. Lucinda Corn was a daughter of Joseph Corn, one of the early settlers who came from Kentucky to Rush County, and later to Grant county, where he died when a very old man.
Mr. Edmund Clark Leach is one of thirteen children, all of whom married and had families, and eight sons and two daughters are still living. The fifth in this large family, Mr. Leach was born in Fairmount Township, May 26, 1849, was reared and educated in his native locality, and has always followed farming with such success as few of his neighbors have attained.
Mr. Leach first married Frances Caskey, who died without children. For his second wife he chose Elizabeth Mann, who was born in North Carolina, but was reared in grant county, and died in Fairmount in 1885. She left a son, William H., who married Myrtle Payne, who died leaving three children, Harold, Bernice, and Clarkson P. The present wife of Mr. Leach was Miss Zibbie Glass, a daughter of Robert and Elizabeth (Harrison) Glass. She was born and reared in Rush County, but in early womanhood came to Grant County. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are the parents of eight children, namely: Ethel, Myrtle, Elizabeth, Hattie, Carnetia, George, Wilma and Wilmer. The three oldest children are all graduates of the Fairmount Academy, and Miss Myrtle is now a Special Supply Teacher. Hattie is a student in the Academy as is also her sister Carnetia, while the three youngest are in the grade schools. Mr. and Mrs. Leach are workers in the Primitive Baptist Church at Fowlerton, and in politics Mr. Leach is a Democrat.
Source: Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914, page 736-77.