In Memory of Mrs. Susan (Leach) Washington

Miss Susan Leach was born sometime around 1835 in Missouri.
Her parents were from Kentucky.
Susan was the first wife of William Washington.
They married on September 20, 1866 in St. Joseph, Missouri,
by J. John M. Wilkerson, a minster of the Gospel.


This chop photo  is believed to be of Susan
and her husband ,William / John Washington.

According to the 1870 census, Susan Washington was listed as black / white, keeps house. Susan couldn't read nor write.  She was living with her husband, William Washington who was listed as black / white and their two daughters, Laura Washington and Nannie Washington.

According to the 1880 census, Susan Washington was listed as black born in Missouri about 1845. Susan couldn't write.  She was living with husband, William who was listed as mulatto and their 6 children.  Laura Washington, Nannie Washington, Amelia Washington, James A. Washington, Virginia Washington, Lillie Washington and her mother, Lillie Lewis.  They lived on Mulberry Street.

Susan's mother, Lillie Lewis, was listed as black, a widowed, born in Kentucky about 1787. Lillie was listed at age 93. (Lillie's first name was Delilah. Lillie may have been a nickname.)

The paper trial of Susan is limited to her marriage record, the census records and her obituary. Also , I came across a 1947 handwritten obituary of Anna Laura Washington Walters. Anna's parents were Susan and John Washington. 

I stumbled across Susan's obituary in on May 16, 2017. The news paper was dated on Friday, January 10, 1890. "Mrs. William Washington passed at her residence at the corner of 18th and Mulberry streets, last evening at half passed six  o'clock...at the age of 54  ."

Mrs. Susan Washington passed on Thursday, January 9, 1890 at 6:15 pm her resident. She had a "lingering illness of one year and two days." Her funeral was held on Sunday at the A.M.E. at 2 PM.

Susan (Leach) Washington was my 2nd Great Grandmother on my mother's side. I'm on  the branch of Anna Laura (Washington) Allen Walters, her first daughter, Mary, her daughter Lula.

Thanks for reading.
God bless you.
S.A. Blakley