Loren Alex Leech

Black male, born 20 September 1906 in Cairo, IL. He appears as both “Loren” and “Alex” in the records; and his last name is sometimes spelled “Leach.” He first entered my research as the named father of a stillborn infant born to Charlie Bell Beard on 14 April 1932 in Pensacola, FL. I have found no records of an official relationship between the two.

Loren’s parents were Lottie Catherine Washington, born in Illinois, and Alexander L. Leech, born in Kentucky or Missouri. The family was working class; Alexander is listed in the 1910 census for Cairo, IL as a yard man for a private family. Both Alexander and his wife, Lottie, were literate, and they had been married for 9 years in 1910. Loren was 4 years old at the time, born in Illinois, as were his three siblings: Orlandus (age 6), Emerald (male, age 3), and Lucilla (age 7 mos.). The family lived at 814 23rd Street.

The family was still living in Cairo in 1920, though their address on 23rd Street is given as 820. (It is 814 in the 1921 Cairo City Directory, so this is a mistake.) Both Alexander and his son, Orlandus, are engaged in a profession that is difficult to read – Ancestry transcribers have transcribed it as “policeman,” but this is not correct, especially as the industry is given as “private family.” I believe it is, perhaps, furnace man. The 1921 City Directory lists Alexander as a laborer. He rented his home and, in this census, he was identified as having been born in Kentucky.

Loren was 13 in the 1920 census, attending school. His younger brother, Emerald, was 11 and the daughter identified as Lucilla in the 1910 census appears in the 1920 census as Crystal; she was 10 years old.

Alexander Leech died on 7 February 1920 in Cairo. In the 1930 census Lottie, Emerald, and Chrystal were living with Lottie’s parents, George and Violet Washington, at 608 22nd St.

I have not yet found Loren Alex in the 1930 census, but he may have been on the move. The 1931 Pensacola City Directory lists an Oleander Leach, colored, musician, residing at 1408 San Carlos (a local hotel). I cannot decide if this is Loren Alex(ander) or his brother, Orlandus, who was also a musician – though this name does not appear again in the Pensacola directories and Orlandus would be back in his mother’s house in Cairo in the 1940 census, so I suspect it is probably Loren Alex.

The next time I find Loren Alex in the records is his daughter’s death certificate on 14 April 1932. The only information given about him is his birthplace of Illinois.

At some point before the publication of the 1934 Pensacola City Directory, Loren married a woman by the name of Hearline, Earline, or Pearline – her name appears spelled various ways depending on the record. Hearline Leech is listed without Loren in 1934, working as a maid and living at 314 E. La Rua Street in Pensacola.

The 1935 Florida State Census enumerates Alex and Herleane Leach at 913 N. Davis Street. Herleane was 24 years old, born in Georgia and working as a dishwasher. Alex was 26, working as a musician, born in Illinois.

Hearline Leach is listed alone again in the 1936 Pensacola City Directory, as a helper at the Empire Laundry Company, still living at 913 N. Davis. She appears once more, in the 1938 City Directory, this time as the spouse of Alex Leach, musician, at 913 N. Davis.

Alex and Earlyne Leach were enumerated in the 1940 census in Pensacola, living at 313 W. Chipley St. Alex was 35 and his wife was 30. Alex’s occupation was cleaner at a laundry.

Loren Alex signed a World War II Draft card on 16 October 1940 that listed Mr. Thomas Grimm as his brother-in-law. Loren was described as being about 5 feet tall and 125 lbs, black eyes, black hair, and black complexion. His employer was Mr. W.C. Mackey, Empire Laundry on N. Palafox in Pensacola.

An Escambia County marriage record shows that Loren Alex Leech married Ida Elizabeth Swails on 17 April 1942. I have found no documentation of what happened to Hearline. Loren and Ida were listed together in the 1942 Pensacola City Directory; Loren worked as a presser and they lived at 624 Belmont St.

After that, Loren and Ida become difficult to find. I have not located them in subsequent Pensacola City Directories and I suspect they may have moved out of town. Loren died in April 1959, according to Social Security claims records, but the record does not indicate where he died.

Ida was listed as a surviving daughter in the obituary of her father, Sam Swails, in 1966. She was identified as “Mrs. Ida Leech of Chicago, Illinois.” I have not located a death record for her.

FAMILY:

Mother: Lottie Catherine Washington

Father: Alexander L. Leech

Children: Unnamed infant daughter

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SOURCES:

Florida Certificate of Death, Florida Deaths, 1877-1939. Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 14 June 2016. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.

Ancestry.com. U.S., City Directories, 1822-1995 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.