Biography of Caleb Leach, Tioga Co., NY Kingman, LeRoy Wilson, EARLY OWEGO, published at the Owego Gazette Office, Owego, NY, 1907 Copyright (c) 1999 by Deborah (Huntington) Smith (rover42256@aol.com) ************************************************************************ USGENWEB NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ************************************************************************ CALEB LEACH Nearly all the earliest settlers of Owego had been soldiers in the revolutionary war, and some of them were commissioned officers. Caleb Leach who came here in 1806, saw service in that war. He was born in 1755 at Plymouth, Mass., and was the eldest son of Peter Leach, who is supposed to have come from England and who died at Halifax, Mass. in 1744. In early life Caleb Leach, who was possessed of considerable inventive genius, was apprenticed to a watch maker. July 8, 1775, when twenty years of age, he enlisted from Bridgewater for eight months in Capt. James Keith's company in the 28th regiment, commanded buy Col. Paul D. Sargent. At the expiration of his term of service he re-enlisted for one year, and marched into Boston in 1776. He was taken ill with small pox and went to Brooklyn hospital. Upon his recovery he marched to Hell Gate, where his company; had a skirmish with the British troops. At White Plains he was taken ill with bilious fever and was sent to Stamford hospital, and thence home on a furlough. Sept. 10, 1777 he again enlisted at Halifax in Lieut. Jesse Sturdevant's company. marching to Albany, NY, to guard military stores, and while there was transferred to Capt. Amos Cogswell's company in Col. James Wesson's Eight Massachusetts Continental line. They marched to near Trenton, NJ, then to White Marsh, Pa., and thence to Valley Forge, where they joined Gen. Washington's army and wintered. He served three years in Col. Wesson'a regiment, the last ten months being sergeant in charge of field armory, and was discharged Sept., 10, 1780. Upon leaving the army Mr. Leach returned to Halifax and resumed business as a watch and clock maker. While thus engaged he made the first orrery that was ever made in America. This orrery was presented to Brown university by Dr. Fobes, who was pastor of a church at Rayham., Mass., and at the same time a lecturer before the university. In 1796, with Joshua Thomas and others, he organized the Plymouth aqueduct company and constructed the works, which are said to have been the first water-works constructed in America, and which continued to furnish water to Plymouth until 1855. These works he built under contract, using conduits, bored out to from two to four inches in diameter. For boring these logs he invented the screw auger and the machine for which he received a patent from the United States, dated April 13, 1797, to run fourteen years. The patent was signed by John Adams, president. The first screw auger he invented is preserved in Plymouth Hall, with the name of the blacksmith who made it for him attached. In 1799, at the solicitation of Aaron Burr, DeWitt Clinton and others, he went to New York city and built the Manhattan water-works. Upon whose charter the Manhattan bank was founded. He was superintendent of these water-works until his removal to Owego in 1806. One day in the fall of 1906 some laborers were excavating a trench at the intersection of Wall and Water streets when the unearthed a blackened log of wood, with a hole bored through it. There was some speculation as to what it had been used for, but finally Guy Duval, of Brooklyn, whose office was near there, identified it as one of the oak pipes of the Manhattan water company. It was as sound as when laid a century previous. He had it sawed into sections and each section bound with brass, one of which he gave to editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, labeled as follows: "Section of one of the first water pipes laid in New York by the Manhattan company in 1779, dug up at Wall and Water streets in 1806. Presented to Dr. St. Clair McKelway by Guy Duvall." In James Parton's "Life with Aaron Burr" may be found an interesting account ot the bitter partisan fight between the Federalists and Republicans over the establishment of the Manhattan bank, to accomplish which the water-works were built. In 1800 and 1801 Mr. Leach built the first Fairmount water-works in Philadelphia. In 1803 he was interested in the Jamaica Pond Aqueduct company of Boston. In constructing water-works Mr. Leach became possessed of what was considered in those days a handsome competence. Mr. Leach and his brother-in-law, Dr. Samuel Tinkham, who had settled in Owego in 1792, had purchased land here jointly, and Dr. Tinkham was probably, influential in inducing Mr. Leach to come here. In a letter written by him to Mr. Leach, dated Sept. 5, 1801, Dr. Tinkham writes: The deed of your lot is made out and will be completed in a few days. The crops on the farm are tolerably good. Wheat is likely to be plenty in this country this season. And we hear that it bears a good price down the river. If you should think proper to make sale of your farm I believe there will be an opportunity within a twelve month. This farm of 253 acres in the town of Tioga was sold by Col. David Pixley June 30, 1800, to Polly Tinkham (Dr. Samuel Tinkham's wife and Col. Pixley's daughter) for a consideration of $100. The same property was deeded Aug. 7, 1800 by Dr. Tinkham to Caleb Leach, consideration $1, 550. April 25, 1806, Mr. Leach bought of Henry Stewart 140 acres of land on the Owego creek, partly in the town of Tioga, to which he added other land in 1812. There he built in 1809 a grist mill, saw mill, woollen mill, and a distillery, The distillery he soon dismantled and abandoned, The saw mill was burned later, and the woollen mill was burned in 1855. When Mr. Leach came to Owego he lived in the building on the south side of Front street, opposite the park, in a part of which was Dr. Tinkham's store, and remained there until 1809 when he built the mills and his residence in the town of Tioga. The house stood on the west side of the highway west of the mills. It was rebuilt about 1822 and remained there until this year (1907) when it was torn down. A few years after the death of his wife Mr. Leach divided his property among his children, reserving a small income, and retired from business. For his service in the army he received a pension dated March 4, 1831, of $96.66 a year. At about this time he went to Utica to live with his youngest son Dr. Ebenezer Leach, where he died March 18, 1837, aged 82 years. His body was buried in the Friends' burying ground at New Hartford, about four miles from Utica. Caleb Leach and Abigail Tinkham, daughter of Ephraim Tinkham, of Middleboro, Mass., were married Jan. 17, 1782, at Plympton, Mass. She died July 2, 1818. Their children were as follows: 1. Ebenezer Leach born 3 Sept., 1782; died 31 January, 1796. 2. Abigail Leach, born 19 March, 1785; died 24 Dec 1795. 3. Dr. Caleb Leach, Jr., born 17 Nov., 1786; married Harriet Duane, of Owego. 4. Ephraim Leach born 10 Oct., 1788 at Plymouth, Mass.; married Sophia Jones, of Owego, 4 Jan., 1812. Died February 19, 1855. On the day of his funeral the annual festival of the Pioneer Historical Association of The Susquehanna Valley was being held at Ahwaga hall. Judge Avery announced his death and said that the funeral procession would arrive form Tioga at the Presbyterian church yard at 3:30 o'clock when his acquaintances and friends would have an opportunity of paying the last tribute of respect to his memory. Ephraim Leach was a man of scientific attainments. He planned and constructed the first bridge across the river at the foot of Court street in 1828 and he designed and constructed the first fire engine used in Owego, in 1830. He conducted Leach's mills until his death, after which one of his sons, Stephen W. Leach, conducted them until Stephen'a death in April, 1899. 6. Samuel Tinkham Leach, born 19 Sept., 1792; married Clarissa Hart, of Candor; died 22 May, 1838. 7. Dr. Ebenezer Leach (2) born 18 March, 1797; married Olive Foster, of New Hartford, N. Y.; died at Utica 21 July, 1861. 8. Abigail Leach (2) born 6 Oct., 1802; died 5 Aug., 1803