Jeremiah Leavitt

Jeremiah was born 10 Jul 1760, the 3rd son of Nathaniel Leavitt and Lydia Sandborn, in Exeter, Rockingham NH. He was the 5th generation of the family of John Deacon Leavitt.

He was married to Sarah Shannon in 1784. In about 1800 Jeremiah, his wife Sarah Shannon along with their children left New Hamshire along with other Leavitt family members and moved to Sherbrooke County, Quebec near the town of Hatley. At that time the land was cheap and they could take up homesteads. They cleared the land and built housing.

They burned the hardwood trees that they didn't use and carefully saved the ashes and processed them to sell as pearl ash, which was shipped to Montreal and then London to be used in soda soap and potash. They also sold corn and potatoes.

Education was a big problem in Hatley so they built a school house in 1804. The children walked four miles to school and their only books were the Bible, a reader and a speller.

Unfortunately the family had lived there a short time when Jeremiah suddenly died 1806 in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada. He was only 46 and is buried in the Leavitt Cemetery at Hatley, Quebec, Canada.