Hüsing Genealogy » McCleary

Catherine McCleary

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:15:17 +0000

Mr. Harden was married in this township to Miss Kate McCleary, a native of Pennsylvania and a daughter of William and Salinda (Morehead) McCleary,who were pioneers of Lee County. Her parents were born in Pennsylvania but were of Scotch lineage. They came hither when she was young, and at first lived on a farm in Nachiusa Township. Later the father purchased a farm in Nelson Township, to which he removed his family and here he died in 1884 at the age of three-score years and ten. Religiously, he was a Presbyterian and, politically, he was a Democrat. Mrs. Harden was fourteen years old when the family came to this State, and she remained one of the parental household until her marriage. She died here in the home in whose upbuilding she had assisted her husband, December 3, 1889, at the age of thirty~ eight, and was mourned far beyond the home circle, as she was a woman of rare merit, of a sweet and wholesome nature, and all who came under her influence found her to be kind and true. By her death the Lutheran Church lost one of its most esteemed members. She was a devoted wife and fond mother, and her happy marriage with our subject that was saddened only by her death, was blessed to them by three children: Eva J., at home with her father; William J., and Lawrence D., who is being reared by an aunt.

Source: “Dennis C. Harden” Portraits & Biographical Record of Lee County IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892. 199.

William McCleary

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:04:07 +0000

William McCleary, as the eldest of ten children. looked after the large farm, owned by his father, after he attained manhood. He was married in New Castle to Miss Selinda Moorehead, who was born and reared at that place, her parents, who were of Pennsylvania birth and of Scotch-Irish blood, having been early settlers of Lawrence County, moving there from Westmoreland county. Mr. and Mrs. McCleary lived in New Castle many years after their marriage, all of there all of their children were born. In 1865 they came to Illinois and established a new home in Lee County, in which the father passed the rest of his days. He died in the fall of 1880, at the age of sixty-seven, leaving behind him the record of a well-filled life and the legacy of a good name, which his children and children’s children hold in reverence. He was an active member of the Presbyterian Church and was deeply interested in every movement for the moral uplifting of the community. In politics he was thoroughly in sympathy with the Democratic party. His wife, who survives him and makes her home with her children, was born June 30, 1816, yet old age has not dimmed her faculties. She is a noble Christian woman and is a member of the Presbyterian Church.

Of the seven daughters and two sons born to the McClearys, one daughter and two sons are now dead. James enlisted in October, 1861, in Company B, of the famous Cooper’s Battery, in the First Pennsylvania Artillery, and fell while bravely fighting for his country at the battle of Gettysburg; John C., the eldest son, a farmer in Palmyra Township, married Mary Gruver, of Nelson; Mary is the wife of Jerry Hetler, a farmer of Dixon Township; George S. is the third son of the family; Kate, now deceased, was the former wife of D. C. Harden, of whom a biography appears in this work; William, a farmer in Carroll County, married Miranda Mason; Elliott S. is the next in order of birth; Joseph, who married Ida Long, is a member of the firm of McCleary & Long, boot and shoe merchants of Dixon. All the brothers are very successful in business. All but two of them are Presbyterians, and all of them are stalwart Democrats in politics.

Source: “George and Elliot S. McCleary” Portraits & Biographical Record of Lee County IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892. 211-212.

Elliot McCleary

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:59:08 +0000

Elliott S. McCleary has won a fine reputation as a farmer of much ability, who employs modern methods in conducting his operations, keeps his farm up to a high standard in point of cultivation and improvement, and is raising first-class stock. His homestead lies on sections 12 and 13, Nelson Township, and here he and his family live very pleasantly. He gives much attention to the dairy business and has thirty-five cows of the finest breed for that purpose, which net him a good yearly income.

He has found in his wife, formerly Miss Melinda Gruver, a capable coadjutor in the making of a home. Their marriage was celebrated in Nelson Township, where Mrs. McCleary was reared and educated, coming here with her parents when a child. She, like her husband, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Columbia County in 1853. and is a daughter of Ujinli Gruver, a wealthy farmer, living in Dixon.

Our subjects are sons of William McCleary, who was a native of the same Pennsylvania county in which they were born.

Source: “George and Elliot S. McCleary” Portraits & Biographical Record of Lee County IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892. 211-212.

George S. McCleary

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:53:43 +0000

George S. and Elliott S. McCleary are profitably engaged in business as dairymen and farmers, and each has a well-stocked and finely equipped dairy farm in Nelson Township. These gentlemen are natives of Lawrence County, Pa., the first-mentioned born February 15, 1848. George McCleary’s farming interests are centered on section 13, where he owns one hundred and thirty-eight acres of excellent farming land, that is finely adapted to stock-raising purposes, and is one of the best dairy farms of the neighborhood. It is stocked to its fullest capacity with cattle of good breeds, and for the past two years Mr. McCleary has kept a herd of thirty dairy cows and by his able management has made this branch of agriculture a paying business. He and his brother came to this county with their parents and other members of the family in the spring of 1865 and have since been numbered among its most desirable citizens. He spent the first eighteen months after his arrival in Dixon Township, and since then has been a resident of Nelson Township, becoming the owner of his present farm in 1876.

The marriage of George McCleary with Miss Mary A. Alcorn was solemnized in his native county. She was also a Pennsylvanian by birth, born in Beaver County, in 1855, and was ten years old when her parents, Henry and Catherine (Baker) Alcorn, removed to Lawrence County, where they now live retired, having formerly been engaged in farming. May 29, 1889, death crossed the threshold of the home of our subject and took from him his beloved wife, who had filled in a perfect measure her position as daughter, wife and mother, and was truly a home-maker. She was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and her Christian spirit was evinced in her daily life. Four children were born of her marriage with our subject, all of whom arc with him and are named as follows: Edna, Iva P., Charles N. and Frances C.

Our subjects are sons of William McCleary, who was a native of the same Pennsylvania county in which they were born.

Source: “George and Elliot S. McCleary” Portraits & Biographical Record of Lee County IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892. 211-212.

Samuel McCleary

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 23:08:46 +0000

Samuel McCleary, who was a native of the North of Ireland, and came to this country when he was twelve years old, with his parents, who were of Scotch-Irish stock. The family first settled in Westmoreland County, Pa., and when Samuel was a young man removed from there to what is now New Castle, the county seat of Lawrence County, that city now being built upon the farm that the grandfather of our subjects developed from the dense growth of primeval forest that then prevailed in that section of the country. Samuel Mc-Cleary spent his remaining days in the home that he made there, dying at the age of fifty-six. He was prominent in promoting the growth of New Castle and lived to see it a flourishing town. He was one of its pioneer merchants and one of its principal business men in his day. Besides running a mercantile establishment he did an extensive business as a drover, taking stock to Philadelphia, and with the proceeds of the sales buying goods to sell at home. He and his wife were great workers in church matters, and they helped to organize the Presbyterian Church in their town.

Samuel MeCleary was married in New Castle to Nancy Gorden, who was born on the Atlantic Ocean when her parents were emigrating to this country from their ancestral home in Scotland. They were a branch of the celebrated Gorden family so well known in the history of Scotland. They settled first in Westmoreland County, Pa., after their arrival in America, and thence removed to Mercer County in the early days of its settlement, and were pioneers of the country around New Castle, where they hewed out a farm from the wilderness. Some of them served as privates in the War of 1812. They were stanch Presbyterians in religion and were Whigs in polities, while the old stock of McClearys were Democrats. Mrs. Samuel McCleary survived her husband many years and died during the Rebellion when nearly eighty years of age. She was a large woman, of fine physique, and retained her bodily and mental faculties to the last.

Source: “George and Elliot S. McCleary” Portraits & Biographical Record of Lee County IL. Chicago: Biographical Pub. Co., 1892. 211-212.

Samuel McCleary was a stone-mason in early life, and it is claimed that in 1812 he erected the first two-story building in New Castle, building it on the plot of ground where the Y. M. C. A. Building now stands. He was also a large farmer, and owned a valuable tract of 400 acres, now located in the borough of West New Castle. In addition to his other lines of business and occupation, he kept a large store, where the Rink Building is now located on Beaver and Washington Streets. He was a man of unusual business tact and energy, and although he died at the early age of forty-four years he had accumulated a fine fortune for those days.
Source: “Samuel Moorhead”, Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens Lawrence County Pennsylvania. Biographical Publishing Company, Buffalo, N.Y., 1897. p175.

Thomas J. McCleary

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:12:57 +0000

THOMAS J. McCLEARY, editor and proprietor of the New Castle Democrat, was born in New Castle, Jan. 23, 1844, and is a son of Thomas McCleary, and a grandson of Samuel McCleary, who was born in the north of Ireland, and came to this country when a boy. He settled in Lawrence County, and became a large land-owner—his property being located just across the Shenango River from what is now New Castle, and which is now the site of West New Castle. He was one of the first merchants of Lawrence County, and was engaged in mercantile business at the time of his death, which occurred in 1844, when he was aged fifty-eight years. He married Nancy Gordon, whose parents were born in Ireland, but who, herself, was born on board ship in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, when many days from land; she died in 1864, when sixty-five years of age. They reared the following children: William, deceased; Thomas, deceased; Jane (Moorhead), deceased. Eliza (Spiese); Samuel, deceased; James, deceased; John N., deceased,: Joseph W.; Amanda (Paisley), deceased; Eben Scott; and Leander, deceased.

Thomas McCleary was born in New Castle, and there grew up to manhood, obtaining his education in the public schools. When a young man he embarked in the grocery business in his native town, and was thus identified with its commercial life for thirty-five years, and after retiring from the grocery business was engaged in representing insurance companies a number of years. His death took place in 1889, at which time he had attained an age of seventy-five years. He was a Democrat and always interested and active in party matters, and eager to engage in political discussions. Religiously, he favored the Presbyterian Church. He married Rhoda Galbreath, daughter of Judge Ephraim Galbreath of Blair County, Pa.: she died in 1855, leaving five children, as follows: Samuel; Amanda C.; Calvert; Thomas J., our subject; Joseph B.; and Charles G. He married for his second wife Mrs. Mary Frampton, who died in 1887.

Thomas J. McCleary received his education in the schools of New Castle, and at the age of fourteen commenced his apprenticeship as a printer under E. S. Durban, and was afterwards in his employ as a journeyman printer. In 1861, he enlisted in the 88th Reg. Ohio Vol., Inf., Co. D, and after serving the period of his enlistment he returned to New Castle, and went into the grocery business with his father, remaining with him three years. He then went to New York City, where he spent six months, and from there to San Francisco, where he worked for a time at his trade. After returning to New Castle, he went to Texas in 1875, where he remained until 1881, when he again returned to New Castle, and bought William Gordon’s interest in the Democrat; in 1883 he secured entire control of the paper and plant by purchasing the interest of his partner, G. W. Penn, and since that time has been sole owner and editor. The New Castle Democrat is a weekly paper devoted to the best interests of Lawrence County. Mr. McCleary also engages in job printing work in connection with his newspaper business.

Mr. McCleary married Ella C. Lynn of Altoona, Pa.; she died at the age of thirty-eight and left one son, Paul. His second matrimonial union was with Miss Lillian O’Donnell of Allegheny.

Source: “Thomas J. McCleary”. Book of Biographies: Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Buffalo, New York: Biographical Publishing Company, 1897. 204-27.

Joseph White McCleary

admin — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 03:25:20 +0000

JOSEPH W. McCLEARY, a dealer in a fine quality of building sand, which is taken from a bank on his property, and a large real estate owner of New Castle, is the son of one of the town’s founders. He was born in New Castle. Oct. 1, 1825, and is a son of Samuel McCleary, and grandson of Thomas McCleary.

Our subject’s grandfather was born in County Down, Ireland, and came to this country with his family, living only three months after his arrival. He had settled in Mercer County, near Mercer, and there left two boys and three girls. One boy died in youth. The other, Samuel, who was born in the same place in Ireland as his father, came to New Castle, and about the year 1810 purchased five hundred acres of wilderness, which is to-day West New Castle. He learned the stone-mason’s trade, and worked at it a number of years, and being a practical, saving body, and not afraid of work, he soon had enough capital to go into business, and he accordingly built a house, where Allen’s Rink is now, and kept a small store for some fourteen years, it being one of the very first stores in the town. He then began to clear his land, and to deal in live stock, buying cattle, and driving to Philadelphia, and to towns along the Delaware, where he disposed of them to good advantage. In 1832, he built a home near the Shenango Glass Works, and began to sell off his property in lots for building. His death, which occurred in 1844 at the age of fifty-nine, was from dropsy of the bowels, which was undoubtedly brought on by hard work. His wife was Nancy Agnes Gordon. She died in 1865 at the age of seventy-eight. They had twelve children, three of whom are now living.

This is the record: William, deceased; Thomas, deceased: Jane, deceased; Eliza; Samuel, deceased; James, deceased; Newton, deceased; Joseph; Amanda, deceased; Nancy, deceased; Scott; and Leander, deceased.

Our subject assisted his father in clearing the farm, and in attending to its culture, and upon his parent’s death he inherited a tract of twenty-six acres, and farmed the homestead for his mother for eight years, when it was divided up. In 1854, Mr. McCleary built a house, which burned down in 1879; this he replaced with a handsome residence, which is a decided ornament to the street on which it is situated. He has sold many building lots, and now owns ten tenements, which are located on a part of the tract that came to him from his father. About the year 1857, he found on his land a fine quality of building sand, and since then has sold yearly about $1,000 worth.

Our subject married, in 1853, Miss Margaret Workman of West Virginia. She has enjoyed with her husband the highest esteem of the citizens of New Castle, and their friends are to be numbered by the score. They have had nine children, as follows: Lawrence, who died at the age of four years; Amanda, who died when aged 3 years, Wilfred Wallace, a carpenter by trade, who married Caroline E. Sicafew; Laura lives at home; Mary A. married L. L. Schafenocher, Carrie A. married H. P. White; the three younger children, Howard, Albert, and Maggie, are all young and live at home. Mr. McCleary is a Democrat, and has served fifteen vears as a school director. His portrait appears on a preceding page.

Source: “Joseph White McCleary”. Book of Biographies: Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Lawrence County, Pennsylvania. Buffalo, New York: Biographical Publishing Company, 1897. 214-216.