Leonard Andrew was his mother's 15th child. His birth occurred at the same time his oldest sister was birthing a child a few miles away. Leonard and his mother Crescentia were healthy, but sister Mary Gully Gilles died at age 21 years a few days after delivery of her son, the family's first grandchild.

Mother Crescentia Jaeger lived to birth another child, two years later in October 1876, and then she herself died leaving a farmhouse full of kids. Leonard was two years old when his mother died. His father, Johann Jaeger, died of a heart attack four and one-half years later when he was seven.

Now orphaned, four of Leonard's siblings stayed near their home farm at St. Martin, MN raised in foster homes while he and three older sister siblings relocated to Pierz, Minnesota where they were welcomed into the homes of Jaeger relatives. Leonard was taken in by his dad's sister Josepha and husband John Premisberger, ages 52 and 62 years old respectively. They farmed with one daughter, Josepha age 16, still at home.

Of Leonard's three older sisters living near him in Pierz, the two oldest died prematurely from consumption-- Elizabeth at age 22, and Crazenz at age 25. His third sister Catherine (Meyer) survived. She married in Pierz in 1889, raised twelve children in the area and died at age 86 years.

At age twenty, Leonard married neighbor Katherine Becker at Pierz Catholic Church on April 3, 1894. Kate was born in Dane County, Wisconsin to German immigrant parents and was their fourth of five children.
They birthed six children:
1) Jacob P. Jaeger born Oct 8, 1894 died 1969 buried Roseville, MN. Married Martha Ann Davis 1898-1954 St. Paul, MN, (one child Dorothy Wegscheider),
2)William Jaeger born May 1896-died September 1963 in California, widower
3)Frank H. Jaeger born August 1897- died February 1970 in Havre, Montana unmarried
4) Carl Jaeger born 11 Sept 1901- died 9 November 1901. Infant death.
5)Mary Margaret Jaeger born July 22, 1904-died Sept 1987 in Evanston, IL--married Edgar Paul L'Herault 1895-1975 Evanston, IL, four children Rosemary, Noela, Edgar and Audrey
6)Katherine Jaeger born June 1907- died January 1976 Regina, SK., married Peter Arnusch 1903-1966. One child Shirley Arnusch 1929-deceased.

In 1900, the family was living in the town of Pierz where Leonard was engaged in "day labor". By 1905, they had moved to Philbrook, Fawn Lake Township, Todd County, Minnesota where they farmed. Sometime after, they relocated to North Dakota to farm and from there, in 1910, the family settled five miles south of Scotsguard, Saskatchewan, opened a farm and were successful. He owned one noncontiguous section, 640 acres of land, according to his estate summary not including in later years his home lot in the town of Shaunavon.

In 1919 or 1920, Leonard, Katherine, and their two girls made a trip visiting sights and relatives in North Dakota and Minnesota. It had been many years since anyone had seen Leonard. He talked of his good fortune in Canada. Shortly after his return home, he moved off his rural residence near Scotsguard into the town of Shaunavon where he died of a heart attack at age 49 years old.

Brother John Jaeger of Hankinson, ND area, made the long solo drive up to his brother's funeral (His funeral trip confirmed in oral family history). Leonard was buried from Sacred Heart Catholic Church and interred in local St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery. Katherine continued to live in the area for awhile before she moved back to the states, firstly in St. Paul and then to Chicago where her daughter Mary Margaret had located. Leonard is the only family member buried in Shaunavon. Their youngest daughter Katherine married Canadian Peter Arnusch and lived her life in Regina, however, as young adults, the remainder of their children permanently returned to the US for work. written by great nephew Gregory Dorr