"Lessley-Lesley-Leslie Family Tree":Information about William Robert Lesley
William Robert Lesley (b. 09 Feb 1727, d. 1802)
Notes for William Robert Lesley:The Leslie family was once spelled as Lesley and somewhere down the line the spelling was changed to it's current spelling.The Lesley family is of Scottish or Scotch-Irish extraction.William Robert Leslie was the progenitor of the Leslie family of Eastern Kentucky.He and his brother John Leslie emigrated from Scotland to New York City.Here John and William became separated and never saw each other again.William Robert then migrated to Pennsylvania where he met Elizabeth Buchanan.Katherine Caroline Craft remembers Garrett Hobart Leslie speaking of these names when she was younger.Katherine was the wife of Carl Lawerence Leslie, whom was the son of Garrett.William and Elizabeth then migrated to Augusta County, Virginia where there four children were born.William Robert was a Revolutionary War Soldier.
This Leslie family attempted to make a settlement at the mouth of Pond Creek on the Tug River, then Mason County, in 1789 but were driven out by the Indians.They returned in 1791 but instead of stopping at Pond Creek, they went on to John's Creek and founded what to this day is known as the Leslie Settlement.The Leslies must have been the earliest permantent settlers in the Big Sandy Valley Region.
According to some authorities, William Leslie migrated to and settled in what is now Pike County, Kentucky in 1802.William died at the age of 73.
Ely in "The Big Sandy Valley", p. 211, describes William Robert Leslie casket and burial as follows:
"In early days when the plank in the upper Johns Creek country was sawed by hand, and used as fast as sawed, William Leslie died at seventy-three, and no plank could be procured to make a coffin to bury him in.Nor could a whipsawbe procured to saw enough.His relatives and friends were determined to give him a decent burial.They had a nice poplar tree cut down and chopped off a log of proper length, squared it up, and with an axe and adze, shaped it into a coffin, digging out a trough.They took clapboards and shaved them, with which they made a nice lid for the trough-like casket, and in this unique case the remains of William Robert Leslie of Johns Creek were consigned to mother earth."
Served in Lord Dunmore's War in 1774. Served in Rev. War in Militia from Montgomery Co. VA
Birth: 1722 in Fifeshire, Scotland
Death: 1802 in Pike Co., KY
_FA1: Came to New York City with brother John.
_FA2: Migrated to PA where he m. Elizabeth Buchanan.
_FA3: They migrated to Augusta Co., VA where 4 children were born.
_FA4: Was a Revolutionary War Soldier.
_FA5: Migrated to Floyd Co., KY 1st in 1789, and 2nd 1791.
_FA6: Settled in Emma, Floyd Co in 1791.
Short Biography
William Robert Lesley is believed to have been born in Ireland about 1729. He arrived in New York City about 1755 with his brother John. According to family tradition they had brought with them equipment for setting up a linen business. They soon got into trouble in New York in some type of street brawl, after which William went to a barber shop to be cleaned up. The barber as it turned out was a friend of William's opponent in the street brawl and slit William's throat. The wound was quite serious and he was close to death for quite some time. When he recovered his brother John was gone and they never met again.
William, no doubt anxious to leave New York, set off for Philadelphia. He is believed to have married Elizabeth Buchanan in Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania. They removed together to Augusta Co., Virginia. They had four children: Nancy, Elizabeth, John and Robert, all born in Augusta County. William is known to have been in the Bluestone area of Augusta in May 1774 when he appears on a list of inhabitants. On July 20, 1774 he appears on a list of men who were to march with Major James Robertson in service during Lord Dunmore's War. In April 1775 William made a survey for 63 acres on the Bluestone. In 1783 he aquired another survey for 400 acres and in he made two surveys, for 212 and 291 acres. He established himself as a miller and constructed his mill near a stream that flowed out of Wright's Valley into the Bluestone.
It is not known at what date the Lesleys made their move into Kentucky. Some claim it be as early as 1789. By 1798, however, William's son Robert was making improvements at the mouth of Pond Creek on the Tug River. He bought land there in 1802 and shortly thereafter moved with his family to the region. William went with Robert and his family. William died in 1802 in Kentucky as the result of choking on a piece of venison. It was said that the scar from the wound on his neck had made it difficult for him to swallow and indirectly brought about his death.
Marriage 1 Elizabeth Buchanan
Married: ABT 1755 in perhaps Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania
Children
Elizabeth Lesley b: ABT 1758 in Montgomery Co., Virginia
John Lesley b: 23 OCT 1760 in Augusta Co., Virginia
Nancy Lesley b: ABT 1762 in Montgomery Co., Virginia
Robert Leslie b: 25 OCT 1763 in Augusta Co., Virginia
Sources:
Title: Big Sandy Valley
Author: Unknown
Publication: 1887
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Call Number:
Media: Book
Text: Information on Lesley family (Wiilliam Robert, Robert and Pharmer) of Floyd/Pike Co., KY
Title: Lesley--Leslie, a history of two hundred years in America, 1755-1955 : William Robert Lesley and Elizabeth Buchanan Lesley and their descendants
Author: Leslie, Ruth Cleveland
Publication: 1955
Repository:
Call Number:
Media: Book
Text: In Pennsylvania he met and married Elizabeth Buchanan. This is believed to have taken place in Lancaster County. They soon joined a caravan of Scotch-Irish settlers on their way to Augusta County, Virginia, which at that time encompassed all the lands of Virginia westward of the Blueridge to the Mississippi and northward to Canada.
The William Robert Lesley's were the parents of four children, all born in Augusta County, Virginia. Two draughts, Nancy and Elizabeth, are believed to have been older than the two sons, although dates of their birth have not come down to us, John, the elder son, was born in 1760, and Robert was born in 1763.
On Wednesday, July 20, the same year, Major James Robertston wrote to Colonel Preston's Command at Culbertson's that "the following persons will march me on Thursday." William Lesley is 14th on the list. This was for service in Lord Dunmore's War.
One evening when he was left alone with the smaller children while his son and daughter-in-law and others were attending to barnyard chores, he was choked to death on a piece of venison which he had broiled at the open fire. He is buried on the shelf of the hill just back of the then site of their home. For 120 years the date was kept visible in the bark of a beech tree beside the grave - indeed some remnant of it is still visible. However, in 1922, several of his descendants erected a more enduring marker of cement and on it carved the following simple inscription:
WILLIAM ROBERT LESLEY
1802
(more detail in book)
Title: Early Families of Eastern and Southeastern Kentucky And Their Descendants
Author: Kozee, William C.
Publication: Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc., Baltimore, 1979.
Repository:
Call Number:
Media: Book
Text: The Leslie family is of Scottish or Scotch-Irish extraction. William Robert Leslie was the progenitor of the Leslie family of Eastern Kentucky. He and his brother John emigrated from Scotland to New York City. Here they became separated and never saw each other again. William Robert migrated to Pennsylvania where he m. Elizabeth Buchanan, b. about 1765. They migrated to Augusta County, Virginia, where four children were born. William Robert Leslie was a Revolutionary War soldier.
This Leslie family attempted to make a settlement at the mouth of Pond Creek on the Tug River, then Mason County, in 1789 but were driven out by the Indians. They returned in 1791 but instead of stopping at Pond Creek, they went on to Johns Creek and founded what to this day is known as the Leslie Settlement. The Leslies must have been the earliest permanent settlers in the Big Sandy Valley region.
According to some authorities William Leslie migrated to and settled in what is now Pike County, Kentucky, in 1802. He d. at age 73 years. Ely in "The Big Sandy Valley", p. 211, describes his casket and burial as follows:
"In early days when the plank in the upper Johns Creek country was sawed by hand, and used as fast as sawed, William Leslie d. at seventy-three, and no plank could be procured to make a coffin to bury him in. Nor could a whipsaw be procured to saw enough. His relatives and friends were determined to give him a decent burial; so they had a nice poplar tree cut down and chopped off a log of proper length, squared it up, and with ax and adze, shaped it into a coffin, digging out a trough. They took clapboards and shaved them, with which they made a nice lid for the trough-like casket; and in this unique case the remains of William Leslie of Johns Creek were consigned to mother earth."
More About William Robert Lesley:
Burial: Unknown, Leslie Cemetery, Pike Co., Kentucky.
More About William Robert Lesley and Elizabeth Buchanan:
Marriage 1: 1755, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA.1
Marriage 2: Dec 1754, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Children of William Robert Lesley and Elizabeth Buchanan are:
- +Nancy Rebecca Leslie, b. 1756, Montgomery, Virginia, USA1, d. 14 Jul 1841, Logan, West Virginia, USA1.
- Elizabeth Lesley, b. 1758, Augusta, Bluestone, Virginia, USA1, d. 1837.
- +John Lesley, b. 23 Oct 1760, Augusta, Bluestone, Virginia, USA1, d. 07 May 1841, Lawrence, Kentucky, USA1.
- +Robert Leslie, b. 25 Oct 1763, Augusta, Virginia, USA1, d. 1822, Meta, Pike, Kentucky, USA1.