| ©Barlow Genealogy 1998-2005 |
Edward Frederick Leitz, son of Nellie Barlow and Jacob LeitzFrom the research of Barbara Button |
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December 2002 My grandfather, Edward Leitz, is the son of Nellie Barlow and Jacob Letiz from Bridgeport, Connecticut. Jacob dismissed Nellie and remarried someone else due to family problems that had arisen. He was German and she was Irish. Edward ran away at the age of 11 in search of his biological mother. We learned that he located them in Washington, but she drowned in a rip tide about a month before his arrival in Washington. It took him about 10 years to get to Washington, so we are guessing that it occurred in about 1918 or later. We had always thought his mother drowned on the east coast and did not know that it had happened out here. It was obviously painful for him to talk about. He had told a good friend and he advised us of this after he passed away. December 29, 2001 Nellie may not have lived or drowned in Washington. I believe the person that told my dad that had Westport, Connecticut and Westport, Washington confused with each other. I received an e-mail from Ann Barlow from Westport. She is married to the son or grandson of Clarence. She recalls hearing a story of someone drowning while digging clams. Still looking for more information. July 04, 2002 I received an e-mail from a nephew of my Grandmother's reporting that Nellie, Josephine and Lilly Barlow drowned at the turn of the 19th century on Compo Beach near Westport, Connecticut. The only details he had were that they fell into a sink hole. We still don't know when, where she's buried or what happened to their mother, Abbie. September 19, 2002 by Barbara Raymond, Volunteer Archivist at the Westport Historical Society. In the book, "Green's Farms, Connecticut
- the old west parish of Fairfield," by George Penciled
Jennings, on p.127, only this is written: "Our beach is
treacherous on account of the sandbars. Not so many years
ago three Green' Farms women, the Barrow sisters, were
drowned together while clamming; the incoming tide confused
them and they stepped off the sandbar into the deep water;
although expert swimmers, they were drawn under by the
weight of the baskets full of clams attached to their waists." |
Barbara notes: We are thinking that instead of telling my grandfather that she drowned he was told she went out west. The other 2 sister's were Josephine Barlow-Meeker and Lilly Barlow. December 04, 2002 Nellie had one more sister, Lillian Bell Barlow b April 21, 1887. Josephine, Nellie and Lillian drowned on July 14, 1921 which was 10 years after my grandfather ran away. That rules out our previous theory. Lillian is burried at the Willow Brook Cemetary in Westport next to her husband, Aaron Lockwood Jr. Their father John Barlow Sr. died on 5-18-1926 from diabetes. Still no further information on their mother, Abbie Jane. His father's side of the family was prominent. His father hired private detectives in an attempt to find him. My grandfather did not see him again until he was ready to be found. He was approximately 40 or more at the time. According to the information submitted to the Mormon Church, Nellie and Jacob were married before 1898 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. His last name was spelled Litz instead of Liese which is the spelling shown on my grandfather's baptismal certificate. Her mother's name was Abbie but, there wasn't a first name listed for her father. A bit more history on Grandpa, Edward Leitz: He married my grandmother, Geraldine Anne Snyder May 1933 in Helena, Montana. She was the daughter to William Snyder and Sarah Cooper. Grandpa passed away in Monroe, Washington on June 07, 1976. Grandma passed away in Yakima, Washington on April 16, 1991. They had two son's, Robert Edward; born April 06, 1934 in Helena, Montana, still living, and William Jacob; born in April of 1935 in Helena, Montana, and died in May of 1991 in Everett, Washington. Grandpa, Grandma, and William "Bill" are all buried in Tobacco Valley Cemetery in the Snyder family plot located in Eureka, Montana. Grandpa led quite an interesting life. He had was in the Merchant Marines in his teens after being taken in by different families during his youth as he made his way out here. |
He opened the first
milk store in the Shelton Washington area in the mid
to later part of the 1930's. He moved his business to
North Bend, Washington in the 1940's and started Meadow-
brook Farms which he operated until the mid 1950's. It
was during that time that several of the private dairies
ceased. He refused to ship to them and family members have shared
horror stories of some of the occurrences because of this. They moved
to Snohomish, Washington in 1957 and Grandpa continued
to dairy and sold it from the farm. They sold
their cattle in 1964 and moved to Monroe,
Washington to retire. Grandpa never actually retired
though. He continued to buy and sell dairy cattle until
his death at the age of 77.
I did not know until I started researching his family a couple of years ago what his real age was. My grandmother was 4 years older than he. She didn't want anyone to know so she told everyone that she was born in 1896 and he was born in 1898. She even had it put on their tombstone. You can imagine the surprise! I'm trying to obtain more information on Grandpa's sister, Rose. She was born March 30, 1898 in Bridgeport. She married Howard Massey. She died in December 1983 in Clearwater, Florida. See also, Certificate of Baptism for Edward Frederick Leitz,
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Lineage of Nellie Barlow is as follows: David Barlow III - born 1773 in Fairfield Co Connecticut. Married Hannah Patchen on August 16, 1789. They had 6 children: Peter born c1790 Eunice - born October 23, 1790 Betsey - born c1791, died as an infant Sarah - born c1793, died after 1860 Betsey Ann - born January 11, 1795, died May 05, 1874 Samuel - born 1798 Samuel married Sarah Barnes born 1814 in Connecticut. They had 4 daughters and one son, John - born 1848. Sarah passed away sometime before 1850, and Samuel married Lucy Mills and they had 3 daughters and 2 sons. John - born 1848 was Nellie's father. He married Jane "Abbie" Barnes, daughter of Sanford Russell Barnes and Abbie Jane. They had 7 children: |
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| 1. | John Edward - born November 17, 1868 - died June 01, 1887 |
| 2. | John Jr. He married Jennifer Mills in Westport, Connecticut in 1897.
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| 3. | Harriet - born July 10, 1870 - died March 10, 1871 |
| 4. | Charles Henry - born March 17, 1872 - died September 08, 1955 |
| 5. | Josephine - born April 02, 1875 - died unknown She married Horace Meeker on November 11, 1897 in Westport Connecticut. He was 53 at the time, and she was 20. They divorced before 1910, and she married Morris Mills, Jr. in Westport Connecticut,. There were 2 children born from that union. Morris Jr. and Walter Mills. |
| 6. | Nellie - born March 27,
1879. (Children of Nellie and Jacob: Rose 1898, and Edward Leitz) After Nellie's divorce from Jacob in 1911, she married Walter Marks.. It's unknown if there were any children born from that union. |
| 7. | Lillian Bell Barlow born April 21, 1887 |