Leavitt Pioneer Memorial Sites

HINGHAM, Massachusetts
Hingham is a southeast suburb of Boston. It was the second home of John Leavitt. At nineteen, he was a runaway english Tailor's Apprentice who arrived in the New World in 1628. He became patriarch to one of the oldest and largest Leavitt families in the United States. His name was originally spelled John Levett, but he later changed it to Leavitt.

His grave was relocated to the Hingham Center Cemetery from the Old Ship Church's cemetery (now Hingham Cemetery) when the road was widened. A memorial to he and his family has been placed on each side of a stone monolith in the Hingham Cemetery.

EXETER, New Hampshire
Deacon John Leavitt's son, Moses, married Dorothy Dudley and lived in Exeter. Moses had moved there from Hingham, Massachusetts by the time he was fourteen. It is likely he worked for/with his mother's brothers in their successful lumber business. Moses became one of the most prominent men in New Hampshire. He and Dorothy raised their 12 children together in Exeter.

DEERFIELD, New Hampshire
Deacon John Leavitt's grandson (via Moses), Joseph, married Mary Wadleigh. Initially, they resided in Exeter, but Joseph's continual military service brought land grants from other developing areas. Deerfield is where he and his wife decided to reside.


GRANTHAM, New Hampshire
Deacon John Leavitt's great-grandson (via Moses' son Joseph), Nathaniel, married Lydia Sanborn and lived in Grantham. He was buried in a family graveyard on Leavitt Hill just north of Grantham.


E) HATLEY, Quebec, Canada
Nathaniel Leavitt's son, Jeremiah, married Sarah Shannon and lived in Hatley, Lower Canada (Quebec). Due to his having three direct Jeremiah descendants, he is known as "Jeremiah I". During their stay, several of Jeremiah's children married Hatley residents. When several family members left for Kirtland, Illinois in 1837, some family members remained. After Jeremiah's son, Nathaniel died in Sturgis, Michigan, his young wife, Betsy Bean Leavitt, returned to this area with their youngest children. They were all buried in various cemeteries in the area: Reedsville Cemetery, North Hatley (Betsy Bean Leavitt), United Church Cemetery, East Hatley (Mary Jane Leavitt Hodges), and Old North Cemetery, Hatley (Jeremiah Leavitt, Nathan Rowell & Anna Leavitt Rowell, and Nathan's parents, Thomas & Lydia Hawes Rowell).


TWELVE MILE GROVE, Illinois
Most of the Leavitt Company who originally left Hatley in 1837 arrived at the Grove that fall and remained as late as 1845. Today, we find this grove on the immediate north edge and partially encompassing the small town of Wilton Center. Most of the Leavitt families lived near the northeastern end of this grove (near the northeast corner of Elevator Rd and Daum Rd). Many family members died there. Their memorial was placed in the Wilton Center Cemetery.


OTHER LOCAL LEAVITT HISTORIC SITES Nauvoo, Illinois
Most of the surviving Leavitt families at Twelve Mile Grove moved to the Mormon city of Nauvoo in the early 1840's. They made homes for themselves and planned to stay for the rest of their lives, but mobs killed their prophet then threatened their lives if they did not immediately vacate. In an emergency effort to flea to safety, most departed west across the river to Iowa in February, 1846. One of the casualties of the weather and poor conditions was Levi Snow. His infant body was layed to rest in the west bank of the Mississippi (Memorialized in Bonaparte, Iowa).


WHITE PIGEON, Michigan
Two of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's sons left the Leavitt company during their journey west to Kirtland, Ohio. At Buffalo, New York, Josiah Leavitt, as well as his brother, Nathaniel Leavitt and his family boarded a ferry to Michigan. Upon reaching Sturgis Prairie, Michigan (located between today's towns of Sturgis and White Pigeon), they rented some land and started farming. The following year, 1838, both brothers died. Nathaniel's young bride, Betsey Bean was desperate and returned home to Canada. However, the three children of Nathaniel and Deborah Delano Leavitt (Nathaniel Jr., Flavilla and John) remained behind at White Pigeon. After a short time, Nathaniel's brother, Jeremiah, picked them up and they all continued west together, joining the main family group at Twelve Mile Grove, Illinois.


CAMBRIA, Michigan
In 1837, most of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's children traveled west toward Kirtland, Ohio. Their son, John, and his wife Lucy Rowell were included. After their arrival, John did not continue west with the rest of the family. He remained until 1845, when he and his family moved north to Cambria, Michigan. They farmed that area together for about seven years. During that time, John and others of his family died and were buried there. Eventually, all who remained made their way west to join with others in Utah. John's wife, Lucy, died on her way there. Their daughter, Sarah, married a cousin, James Adams Chamberlain, and remained in the Chicago area for most of her life.


BONAPARTE, Illinois
As the "Mormons" fled the mobs who had invaded Nauvoo, the Leavitt families were among them as they fled across the Mississippi River and headed west toward Council Bluffs. They stopped briefly at Reed's Creek, just east of Bonaparte. During their stay, many worked for local businesses to buy supplies. While many gained from their brief respite at Reed's Creek, many succamb and were buried in various makeshift cemeteries (currently unmarked and unlocated). Those who moved on stopped next at Mt. Pisgah. Jeremiah Leavitt II's family stayed there while he returned to Bonaparte for supplies. He died shortly after arrival. A Leavitt Memorial has been placed at Bonaparte's Cemetery (west of town) for he and his grandson Levi Snow, who had died on the west bank of the Mississippi River during their emergency exodus from Nauvoo. John Huntsman, second husband to Roxanna Leavitt (Nathaniel and Deborah's daughter), died near Mt. Pisgah (memorialized at Council Bluffs).


LAWRENCEVILLE, New York 
Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's daughter, Lydia Rowell, lived with her husband, Thomas, and died in this area. Their son, Horace, also lived and died in this area. Two cemeteries are involved: Pleasant View (for Lydia) and Hale (for Horace).


VERMONT NORTH ALBANY, Vermont
Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's son, Nathaniel, married Deborah Delano. For a short while they lived near Irasburg, Vermont. Then, they moved across the border to Hatley, Lower Canada (Quebec) with the rest of Jeremiah's family. Deborah is buried in Albany's Delano Cemetery.
Nathaniel's sister, Sarah, married William Rowell. They settled in the Albany area and are buried in the Enoch C. Rowell Cemetery.


BARTON, Vermont
 One of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's sons, Jeremiah II, married Sarah Sturtevant. She was from a very religious family who lived in Barton. Her parents were Lemuel and Priscilla Thomson Sturtevant.


IRASBURG, Vermont
 Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's son, Wiear, married Abigail Cowles. She was from an established Irasburg family, Phineas and Catherine Stone Cowles. Upon Abigail's death, Wiear married her sister Phoebe.


OAK LAWN, Illinois
About 1845, Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's daughter, Rebecca Chamberlain, moved with her husband Franklin north from Twelve Mile Grove, Illinois to the Black Oak (now Oak Lawn), Illinois area. Although most of the Chamberlain children eventually moved west, Franklin stayed until his death. Afterward, his wife Rebecca also moved west.
Franklin and Rebecca's home was located where the Oak Lawn Public Library now stands. Their memorial plaque is located atop a bronzed-metal stand outside the southeast corner of the City Office building.


COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa 
As the Leavitt families made their way west, their next big stop was Kanesville, now Council Bluffs. The area of the "Mormon" encampment spread some 21 miles along the east side of the river. Some crossed the Missouri River and camped at the church's Winter Quarters, now Omaha. From extreme fatigue, lack of proper diet, and poor living conditions, many died during their stay. Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's daughter, Betsey Adams, granddaughter (via Jeremiah), Lydia Snow, and their great-granddaughter (via Nathaniel's daughter Flavilla), Orliva Farlin, all died at Council Point; and their grandson (via Jeremiah), Weare, and their great-granddaughter (via Jeremiah's daughter Louisa), Isora Louisa Jones, both died at Trader's Point. Their granddaughter (via Jeremiah), Louisa Jones, died while with her husband in St. Joseph, Missouri.

OTHER LOCAL LEAVITT HISTORIC SITES Trader's Point
The Jeremiah Leavitt II family housed themselves near the river at Trader's Point.

Council Point
The James Adams family and part of the William Snow family housed themselves at Council Point.

PAROWAN, Utah
In 1853, Jeremiah Leavitt I's daughter, Hannah Fish, and her husband, Horace, made their way past the Little Salt Lake to a place the Indians called Parowan. Horace died here in 1870. A memorial plaque to Horace and Hannah was placed at the Parowan Heritage Park in 2001.

SANTA CLARA, Utah
Several members of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's family settled this area during the 1850's. As a memorial to their endeavors and lifesblood, a statue of Jeremiah's widow, Sarah Sturtevant, has been placed (1998) in a quaint corner side park.


BUNKERVILLE, Nevada
Several of Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's family settled this high desert town in the late 1870's. A memorial to their grandson, Dudley Leavitt, and his wives was placed in the Bunkerville Cemetery in 2002.


AYER'S CLIFF, Quebec, Canada
Upon Deborah Delano's death, Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's son, Nathaniel, married his second wife, Betsy Bean. Their son, Wire, lived and died in this area.


MASSAWIPPI, Quebec, Canada
Nathaniel and Deborah Delano Leavitt's daughter, Salena Kezar, lived and died in this area.


LYNDONVILLE, Vermont
 Jeremiah and Sarah Shannon Leavitt's son, Jeremiah, married Sarah Sturtevant. Their first daughter, Clarissa, married her first cousin, Horace Sturtevant. When he died, she married Simon Colton. They lived and died in Lydonville.