Families (Leach, Bethany Jane 1849)


Bethany Jane Leach was the daughter of James H. Leach and Julia Anne Seawell or Sewell.  Bethany Jane’s father, James H. Leach was born on October 24, 1818 in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.  Bethany Jane’s mother, Julia Anne Seawell or Sewell was born in 1819 in Carter County, Missouri.

Bethany Jane Leach married George Columbus Wood in 1870, in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri.  They moved to Douglas County, Missouri.  George and Bethany Jane had three children.  She and her two daughters contracted tuberculosis and died between 1900 and 1902.  Bethany Jane died in 1902 in Douglas County, Missouri.  She was buried in Douglas County, Missouri.

The first of George Columbus wood and Bethany Jane Leach’s three children was Cecil William Wood.  He went by Will.  He was born in 1872 in Carter County, Missouri. Will was a farmer.  He married Louise Jenkins in Douglas County, Missouri.  We don’t know exactly when.  Louise was always called Lou.  Will died in 1914.  We don’t know where he died or where he was buried.

Pruda Florence Wood was the second child of George Columbus Wood and Bethany Jane Leach.   Pruda Florence just went by Pruda; but her husband called her Prudie.  Pruda was born in Douglas County, Missouri, on July 27, 1875.  She married Joseph Asa Johnson on September 7, 1890 at the age of fifteen, in Douglas County, Missouri.  On October 8, 1902, Pruda died of tuberculosis in Douglas County, Missouri.  She was buried at Good Hope Cemetery, in Douglas County, Missouri.  Pruda left four children, when she died.  After her death, her youngest daughter’s Christening gown was made  with the left over fabric from her Pruda’s coffin.

George Columbus Wood and Bethany Jane Leach’s third child was Cora May Wood.  She was born in May of 1879, in Douglas County, Missouri.  Cora May married a man who’s last name was Mathis.  We have no record of  his first name, or the date of their marriage.  Cora May died of tuberculosis in 1901, in Douglas County, Missouri.  She  left one daughter behind, when she died.

The death of Cora May Wood Mathis, Pruda Florence Wood Johnson, and Bethany Jane Leach Wood was terrible.  All died from tuberculosis.  Cora May contracted the illness.  The others took care of her and caught it.  The entire family was in shock.