Leonard Genealogy - James 1620

Descendants of James Leonard 1620-91, Ironworker, of Taunton, Massachusetts

James Leonard’s father and grandfather were Thomas Leonard, a fyner who traveled about the west of England working at various ironworks,and Henry Leonard, about whom almost nothing is known. James was not a descendant of Sampson Lennard, Lord Dacre. More about the deeper ancestry of the Leonards is to be found at Origins of the MA Leonards (website_ xxx) and here in the section on Research on Leonards (see link below).  James settled in Taunton, MA, after initially working at the Massachusetts Bay Colony’s ironworks in Lynn/Saugus and Braintree.  

James’ descendants test in Haplogroup J2, also known as J-L70.

Link to Research on Origins

Saugus Ironworks, Saugus, Masschussetts

Taunton, Massachussetts, site of James' ironworks furnace

His descendants here number about 7,000+ through 10 generations.  Some in the 11th generation and later generations are still alive and are not listed for that reason.  

The main source for this descendancy is the unpublished typescript and charts compiled by Elisha Clark Leonard 1819-1894 and his grandson, George Marston Leonard 1880-1959. I’ve checked their information against other sources, such as NEHGS and VR’s, and added to their information from personal contacts, census data, and ancestry.com. 

Possible sources of confusion include the descendants of Solomon Leonard 1610-1671 who lived in Bridgewater, MA, neighboring Taunton, Raynham, Norton, and Middleborough where the Iron Leonards resided.  Also, the descendants of William Leonard ca.1685-aft.1750 and Sarah Bolton inhabited Bridgewater and neighboring towns in the 1700’s.