John D. Leahy (1782-1862) & Catherine Hoff (1801-1879)

From Hardship to Heritage: A Family Forged in Resilience

John D. Leahy was born on October 4, 1782, in Pennsylvania, a child of the early American republic. He was baptized just a few months later, on January 29, 1783, at St. Jacob’s Stone Church, where his sponsors, John Warner and his wife Judith, stood with him at the font. Over the years, John’s surname appeared in various forms—Lehigh, Leigh, Leheigh, or Leahigh—but the roots of his identity were firmly planted in Pennsylvania’s German-speaking communities.

It is possible that John served his country during the War of 1812, perhaps even as a sergeant in the Pennsylvania militia, though the details are uncertain.

By his young adulthood, he had married for the first time, and by May 2, 1814, he and his first wife, Catharina, welcomed a son, John F. Lehigh, born in Pennsylvania. This first marriage ended sometime before 1831, and John later began anew.

On July 19, 1831, John married Catherine Hoff, a Pennsylvania-born woman who spoke only German and who, like John, carried the traditions of her heritage into the next generation. Catherine had endured her own trials before their union: her first husband, Jacob Brenneman, whom she married in York County in 1796, had died in 1828. With him she had borne four children—Daniel (1821), Moses (1823), Elizabeth/Nancy (1825), and Mary (1828)—all of whom carried the Brenneman name forward.

Together, John and Catherine began building their own family. Their children came quickly: Jacob (about 1829), followed by Catherine Lockman Leahy (1832), Hannah (1834), Lydia Ann (1836), Simon H. (1839), Magdalene (1843), John (about 1849), and finally Ellie (1861). Their household was a bustling mix of older half-siblings and young children, with German spoken as naturally as English.

By the 1840 census, John and Catherine were living in Manheim Township, York County, Pennsylvania, their neighbors including familiar families like the Bollingers and Hoffs, further evidence of the tightly knit German community that surrounded them. Sometime in the following years, the family relocated to Baltimore County, Maryland, where by the 1850 census John and Catherine were recorded together with seven children in the household.

John made his living as a schoolteacher, a role that reflected his grounding in education and discipline. Yet, like many men of his generation, he also wrestled with the responsibilities of land, debt, and providing for a large family. In 1857, John drafted a will in Carroll County, Maryland. In it, he showed his care for Catherine by ensuring she would retain the house, household goods, and financial support for her years ahead. He named their son Simon and wife Catherine as executors, while also noting a $100 debt owed by his son John. Curiously, many of the children listed in the 1850 census were not mentioned in the will. Instead, modest bequests were made to individuals such as Daniel and Moses Brenneman (Catherine’s sons from her first marriage), Nancy Paul, and Mary Wentz—likely reflecting the complexity of blending two families and the shifting relationships of inheritance.

John’s life came to an end on July 26, 1862, in Carroll County, Maryland. He was laid to rest in the Bollinger Family Cemetery in Lineboro, close to the community that had shaped so much of his life.

Catherine lived on for nearly two decades after John’s passing. By the 1870 census, she was residing with her daughter Magdalene (married to Henry Sanders) in the Manchester District of Carroll County. But life grew harder in the years that followed. In 1874, she faced foreclosure proceedings brought by the Carroll County Building Association, losing her property at Stoney Hills. Despite these hardships, Catherine persevered, eventually moving west to Indiana, where some of her children had settled.

She died on October 5, 1879, in Henry County, Indiana, far from her Pennsylvania birthplace. Catherine was buried in the Locust Grove Cemetery, Liberty Township, Henry County, where she rests today.

Together, John and Catherine’s story reflects the resilience of Pennsylvania’s German-speaking families, who carried their faith, language, and traditions into Maryland and beyond. John, the teacher, and Catherine, the steadfast mother who spoke only German, wove together a blended household that endured the joys and struggles of 19th-century American life.

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