Bound for Utopia: The Idyllic Name, But Brutally Short Life of Eutopia Leachman
Eutopia Gilly Leachman: 1855-1860 (Maternal Great-Grandaunt)
As I researched Bruce’s second-great-grandfather, William
Parker Leachman, I was delighted and charmed by the name of one of his
daughters, Eutopia Gilly Leachman. I had to know more about this girl with such
a sweet name. Unfortunately, her story was a very short one.
Eutopia was the first child of eleven born to William and
his wife, Susan Elizabeth Mosely Leachman. Susan and William had only been
married for a year when Eutopia was born in McLean County, Kentucky on October
15, 1855. Susan was only fifteen when she married 22-year-old William, so she
was just sixteen when she became a mother. Perhaps her youth and idealism
prompted the choice of name for her first daughter. The middle name, Gilly, was
in honor of father William’s sister Gillie Leachman, who was in turn named
after her aunt Gillwater “Gilly”Robertson. (Gillwater was a surname repurposed as a first
name, and thankfully shortened to Gilly.)
While some records, including a new headstone, show the
little girl’s name spelled “Utopia”, I believe the parents originally spelled
it “Eutopia”. The official Kentucky record of her birth lists initials only,
and her name is listed on the record as “E. G. Leachman”. The 1860 census
record spells it “Utopia” but the spelling on census forms is notoriously
inaccurate.
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| Birth record for E.G. Leachman |
The census taker filled out the census form on June 23,
1860. Just eight days later, little Eutopia Gilly was dead. I have been unable
to find a death record for Eutopia, so there is no known cause of death. It
could have been an accident or illness.
Little Eutopia Gilly was buried in what is now known as the
Robert C. Moseley Family Cemetery near Cleopatra, Kentucky. Robert Cartwright
Moseley was Eutopia’s grandfather, Susan Elizabeth’s father. The Leachman
family erected a lovely headstone for Eutopia, which reads: “Daughter of W.P.
& S.E. Leachman. Born Oct 16, 1855. Died July 1, 1860.” The headstone, as
visible today, does not include Eutopia’s name. However, a later small stone
was made at a much later time, probably the 1960s or 1970s, which reads “Utopia
Leachman.” That stone lays on the soil in the shadow of the original erect marker.
Both Susan and her husband William Parker Leachman are
buried in this family cemetery as well. Eutopia’s siblings Henry Griffith
Leachman, Willie Moseley Leachman, and Nancy Catherine Leachman McFarland are
also buried there. According to the Find a Grave website, the Robert C. Moseley
Family Cemetery holds 43 graves that have been identified and photographed. It
is a lonely, out of the way little graveyard. Find a Grave describes it as
follows:
“The Robert C. Moseley Family cemetery is on top of a hill,
with no signs. The cemetery is off of HWY 140. The entrance is from State HWY
2156, you have to drive across a corn field and up a hill. The cemetery is
surrounded by trees on three sides. The nearest community is Cleopatra.”
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| Robert C Moseley Family Cemetery where Eutopia and her parents are buried |
I am glad that the memory of this little four-year-old girl
with the charming and unique name is preserved in stone atop that lonely hill.
And, thanks to the efforts of several people who made the trek to that tiny
graveyard over the years, her memory lives on through the photographs of her
resting place that have been shared online.
Sources:
E G Leachman in the Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847-1911Ancestry.com.
Kentucky, U.S., Birth Records, 1847-1911 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1213/records/143729?tid=81812584&pid=260027101437&ssrc=pt
Utopia G Leachman in the 1860 United States Federal Census. Ancestry.com.
1860 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA:
Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Images reproduced by FamilySearch. https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/7667/records/39250494
Findagrave Entry for Utopia Leachman. Photo by Anita R.
Austill. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/33863842/utopia-leachman?_gl=1*3gywdm*_gcl_dc*R0NMLjE3NDgxODU4NjEuQ01UMnJPZnp2bzBERmJDSEF3Z2RWX1EwdVE.*_gcl_au*NDgyMTExMDQ3LjE3NDY4MjAzMzA.*_ga*OTczMjY1MzMyLjE3MDQ4NTI3MzQ.*_ga_4QT8FMEX30*czE3MzYwN2RjLTNjN2EtNGEwYi1iZWRlLTFkMzEwYTFmMzVhYSRvNjg1JGcxJHQxNzQ4MTkwNTEzJGozNyRsMCRoMCRkbmxjYVlZa1RzUWV4UDdNOWRHM3pYd2tWclM0WW4tRUdmQQ..*_ga_LMK6K2LSJH*czE3MzYwN2RjLTNjN2EtNGEwYi1iZWRlLTFkMzEwYTFmMzVhYSRvNjg2JGcxJHQxNzQ4MTkwNTE2JGowJGwwJGgw
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