Parents were John Cleary and Ann Russell
Grand Island Daily Independent Saturday 21 May 1927, p. 1
Grand Island's Oldest Mayor Passes Beyond
End of Life Comes Peacefully to One of Third City's Venerable Men
Elected Mayor Twice
Held Other Minor Offices and in All Fully Met His Obligations and Fulfilled His Trust—Was Western Pioneer
Hon. James Cleary, Grand Island's oldest former mayor, passed away peacefully early today. And Grand Island mourns, today, the loss of one of its oldest, its staunchest, most faithful citizens. The funeral will take place at 9:30 a. m. Monday from St. Mary's Catholic church.
James Cleary was born at Tipperary, Ireland in 1847. He came to America in 1859 with his father, his mother having passed away in Ireland, and went to Lewisberg, Virginia, now West Virginia, where a brother conducted a tin and stove store and where he learned his trade as a tinner. Soon the civil war broke out. In 1863, his father having died, he, like most other boys of the section, joined the Confederate cause and at an early age enlisted in Co. A. 14th Virginia cavalry, serving in General McCausland's brigade, which was part of Longstreet's division, until the close of the war.
After the war, conditions in the south being unsettled, he came west, worked for a time in Missouri, then went to Junction, Kansas, an outfitting point for freighters' ox teams across the plains, and joined one of these, arriving in Denver in 1866. He remained in Colorado until 1870, employed at a tinner trade at Denver, Blackham, Georgetown, and Central City and at Cheyenne, Wyo. In the spring of that year he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia, but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman, who urged him to locate at Grand Island. "I took him at his word," Mr. Cleary repeatedly has stated since, "bought a second hand set of tinners' tools and also a small stock of supplies and came to Grand Island in the spring of 1870."
In 1874 he married Joanna Donahy. This month marked their 53rd wedding anniversary.
Plays Active Part
Mr. Cleary soon established himself permanently in the tinner and hardware business. He was not only very successful in this but also became very active in the community's public affairs. Local historical data shows him to have been one of the signers of the petition, in 1872, incorporating the "town of Grand Island." In 1874 he was elected treasurer of the town. In 1876 he was elected its mayor. He served one term and in 1882 he is again found elected as a member of the city council. He was again called on to occupy the mayor's chair in 1901 and was re-elected in 1903. His election in 1901 marked one of the greatest single forward steps in the way of the well ordered city government Grand Island has ever taken. He was elected on the issue after a severe contest. HE remained true in every promise in this respect, swerving neither to the radically stringent, blue-law element, nor to those who would have persuaded him to forget the moderate but firm promises of regulations against commercialized gambling, winerooms, etc. He stepped out of his office with high honor and in his declining years was deservedly rewarded with the highest esteem and regard of all fellow citizens who really knew him.
Surviving him are his widow, Mrs. Joanna Cleary, his son John L., who also has been called to serve as mayor of this city; his son Frank J., vice-president of the First National Bank; and his daughter, Miss Josephine Cleary. Two children preceded him in death. One son died in infancy and another son, James T., was accidentally drowned in California in 1909.
******
Joined Confederate Army in 1863. Co. A 14th Virginia Cavalry, General McCausland's brigade, Longstreet's division. Lived in Missouri; Junction, KS; Denver (1866), Blackman, Georgetown and Central City, CO; Cheyenne, WY (until 1870) In the spring of 1870 he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman who urged him to locate in Grand Island, NE. Original signer of the petition incorporating Grand Island, 1872. Elected treasurer 1874. Elected mayor 1876 for one term. Elected to city council 1882. Re-elected mayor, 1901 & 1903.
Married Johanna Danahey in Omaha, Douglas Co., NE 4 May 1874.
******
Greenbrier Independent, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Friday, June 6, 1919, page 2
This Week 38 Years Ago
Condensed From the Issue of Thursday, June 9 1881
James Cleary, of Grand Island, Nebraska, is here to attend the funeral of his brother, P McCleary.
Patrick McCleary
Grand Island Daily Independent Saturday 21 May 1927, p. 1
Grand Island's Oldest Mayor Passes Beyond
End of Life Comes Peacefully to One of Third City's Venerable Men
Elected Mayor Twice
Held Other Minor Offices and in All Fully Met His Obligations and Fulfilled His Trust—Was Western Pioneer
Hon. James Cleary, Grand Island's oldest former mayor, passed away peacefully early today. And Grand Island mourns, today, the loss of one of its oldest, its staunchest, most faithful citizens. The funeral will take place at 9:30 a. m. Monday from St. Mary's Catholic church.
James Cleary was born at Tipperary, Ireland in 1847. He came to America in 1859 with his father, his mother having passed away in Ireland, and went to Lewisberg, Virginia, now West Virginia, where a brother conducted a tin and stove store and where he learned his trade as a tinner. Soon the civil war broke out. In 1863, his father having died, he, like most other boys of the section, joined the Confederate cause and at an early age enlisted in Co. A. 14th Virginia cavalry, serving in General McCausland's brigade, which was part of Longstreet's division, until the close of the war.
After the war, conditions in the south being unsettled, he came west, worked for a time in Missouri, then went to Junction, Kansas, an outfitting point for freighters' ox teams across the plains, and joined one of these, arriving in Denver in 1866. He remained in Colorado until 1870, employed at a tinner trade at Denver, Blackham, Georgetown, and Central City and at Cheyenne, Wyo. In the spring of that year he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia, but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman, who urged him to locate at Grand Island. "I took him at his word," Mr. Cleary repeatedly has stated since, "bought a second hand set of tinners' tools and also a small stock of supplies and came to Grand Island in the spring of 1870."
In 1874 he married Joanna Donahy. This month marked their 53rd wedding anniversary.
Plays Active Part
Mr. Cleary soon established himself permanently in the tinner and hardware business. He was not only very successful in this but also became very active in the community's public affairs. Local historical data shows him to have been one of the signers of the petition, in 1872, incorporating the "town of Grand Island." In 1874 he was elected treasurer of the town. In 1876 he was elected its mayor. He served one term and in 1882 he is again found elected as a member of the city council. He was again called on to occupy the mayor's chair in 1901 and was re-elected in 1903. His election in 1901 marked one of the greatest single forward steps in the way of the well ordered city government Grand Island has ever taken. He was elected on the issue after a severe contest. HE remained true in every promise in this respect, swerving neither to the radically stringent, blue-law element, nor to those who would have persuaded him to forget the moderate but firm promises of regulations against commercialized gambling, winerooms, etc. He stepped out of his office with high honor and in his declining years was deservedly rewarded with the highest esteem and regard of all fellow citizens who really knew him.
Surviving him are his widow, Mrs. Joanna Cleary, his son John L., who also has been called to serve as mayor of this city; his son Frank J., vice-president of the First National Bank; and his daughter, Miss Josephine Cleary. Two children preceded him in death. One son died in infancy and another son, James T., was accidentally drowned in California in 1909.
******
Joined Confederate Army in 1863. Co. A 14th Virginia Cavalry, General McCausland's brigade, Longstreet's division. Lived in Missouri; Junction, KS; Denver (1866), Blackman, Georgetown and Central City, CO; Cheyenne, WY (until 1870) In the spring of 1870 he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman who urged him to locate in Grand Island, NE. Original signer of the petition incorporating Grand Island, 1872. Elected treasurer 1874. Elected mayor 1876 for one term. Elected to city council 1882. Re-elected mayor, 1901 & 1903.
Married Johanna Danahey in Omaha, Douglas Co., NE 4 May 1874.
******
Greenbrier Independent, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Friday, June 6, 1919, page 2
This Week 38 Years Ago
Condensed From the Issue of Thursday, June 9 1881
James Cleary, of Grand Island, Nebraska, is here to attend the funeral of his brother, P McCleary.
Patrick McCleary
Parents were John Cleary and Ann Russell
Grand Island Daily Independent Saturday 21 May 1927, p. 1
Grand Island's Oldest Mayor Passes Beyond
End of Life Comes Peacefully to One of Third City's Venerable Men
Elected Mayor Twice
Held Other Minor Offices and in All Fully Met His Obligations and Fulfilled His Trust—Was Western Pioneer
Hon. James Cleary, Grand Island's oldest former mayor, passed away peacefully early today. And Grand Island mourns, today, the loss of one of its oldest, its staunchest, most faithful citizens. The funeral will take place at 9:30 a. m. Monday from St. Mary's Catholic church.
James Cleary was born at Tipperary, Ireland in 1847. He came to America in 1859 with his father, his mother having passed away in Ireland, and went to Lewisberg, Virginia, now West Virginia, where a brother conducted a tin and stove store and where he learned his trade as a tinner. Soon the civil war broke out. In 1863, his father having died, he, like most other boys of the section, joined the Confederate cause and at an early age enlisted in Co. A. 14th Virginia cavalry, serving in General McCausland's brigade, which was part of Longstreet's division, until the close of the war.
After the war, conditions in the south being unsettled, he came west, worked for a time in Missouri, then went to Junction, Kansas, an outfitting point for freighters' ox teams across the plains, and joined one of these, arriving in Denver in 1866. He remained in Colorado until 1870, employed at a tinner trade at Denver, Blackham, Georgetown, and Central City and at Cheyenne, Wyo. In the spring of that year he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia, but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman, who urged him to locate at Grand Island. "I took him at his word," Mr. Cleary repeatedly has stated since, "bought a second hand set of tinners' tools and also a small stock of supplies and came to Grand Island in the spring of 1870."
In 1874 he married Joanna Donahy. This month marked their 53rd wedding anniversary.
Plays Active Part
Mr. Cleary soon established himself permanently in the tinner and hardware business. He was not only very successful in this but also became very active in the community's public affairs. Local historical data shows him to have been one of the signers of the petition, in 1872, incorporating the "town of Grand Island." In 1874 he was elected treasurer of the town. In 1876 he was elected its mayor. He served one term and in 1882 he is again found elected as a member of the city council. He was again called on to occupy the mayor's chair in 1901 and was re-elected in 1903. His election in 1901 marked one of the greatest single forward steps in the way of the well ordered city government Grand Island has ever taken. He was elected on the issue after a severe contest. HE remained true in every promise in this respect, swerving neither to the radically stringent, blue-law element, nor to those who would have persuaded him to forget the moderate but firm promises of regulations against commercialized gambling, winerooms, etc. He stepped out of his office with high honor and in his declining years was deservedly rewarded with the highest esteem and regard of all fellow citizens who really knew him.
Surviving him are his widow, Mrs. Joanna Cleary, his son John L., who also has been called to serve as mayor of this city; his son Frank J., vice-president of the First National Bank; and his daughter, Miss Josephine Cleary. Two children preceded him in death. One son died in infancy and another son, James T., was accidentally drowned in California in 1909.
******
Joined Confederate Army in 1863. Co. A 14th Virginia Cavalry, General McCausland's brigade, Longstreet's division. Lived in Missouri; Junction, KS; Denver (1866), Blackman, Georgetown and Central City, CO; Cheyenne, WY (until 1870) In the spring of 1870 he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman who urged him to locate in Grand Island, NE. Original signer of the petition incorporating Grand Island, 1872. Elected treasurer 1874. Elected mayor 1876 for one term. Elected to city council 1882. Re-elected mayor, 1901 & 1903.
Married Johanna Danahey in Omaha, Douglas Co., NE 4 May 1874.
******
Greenbrier Independent, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Friday, June 6, 1919, page 2
This Week 38 Years Ago
Condensed From the Issue of Thursday, June 9 1881
James Cleary, of Grand Island, Nebraska, is here to attend the funeral of his brother, P McCleary.
Patrick McCleary
Grand Island Daily Independent Saturday 21 May 1927, p. 1
Grand Island's Oldest Mayor Passes Beyond
End of Life Comes Peacefully to One of Third City's Venerable Men
Elected Mayor Twice
Held Other Minor Offices and in All Fully Met His Obligations and Fulfilled His Trust—Was Western Pioneer
Hon. James Cleary, Grand Island's oldest former mayor, passed away peacefully early today. And Grand Island mourns, today, the loss of one of its oldest, its staunchest, most faithful citizens. The funeral will take place at 9:30 a. m. Monday from St. Mary's Catholic church.
James Cleary was born at Tipperary, Ireland in 1847. He came to America in 1859 with his father, his mother having passed away in Ireland, and went to Lewisberg, Virginia, now West Virginia, where a brother conducted a tin and stove store and where he learned his trade as a tinner. Soon the civil war broke out. In 1863, his father having died, he, like most other boys of the section, joined the Confederate cause and at an early age enlisted in Co. A. 14th Virginia cavalry, serving in General McCausland's brigade, which was part of Longstreet's division, until the close of the war.
After the war, conditions in the south being unsettled, he came west, worked for a time in Missouri, then went to Junction, Kansas, an outfitting point for freighters' ox teams across the plains, and joined one of these, arriving in Denver in 1866. He remained in Colorado until 1870, employed at a tinner trade at Denver, Blackham, Georgetown, and Central City and at Cheyenne, Wyo. In the spring of that year he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia, but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman, who urged him to locate at Grand Island. "I took him at his word," Mr. Cleary repeatedly has stated since, "bought a second hand set of tinners' tools and also a small stock of supplies and came to Grand Island in the spring of 1870."
In 1874 he married Joanna Donahy. This month marked their 53rd wedding anniversary.
Plays Active Part
Mr. Cleary soon established himself permanently in the tinner and hardware business. He was not only very successful in this but also became very active in the community's public affairs. Local historical data shows him to have been one of the signers of the petition, in 1872, incorporating the "town of Grand Island." In 1874 he was elected treasurer of the town. In 1876 he was elected its mayor. He served one term and in 1882 he is again found elected as a member of the city council. He was again called on to occupy the mayor's chair in 1901 and was re-elected in 1903. His election in 1901 marked one of the greatest single forward steps in the way of the well ordered city government Grand Island has ever taken. He was elected on the issue after a severe contest. HE remained true in every promise in this respect, swerving neither to the radically stringent, blue-law element, nor to those who would have persuaded him to forget the moderate but firm promises of regulations against commercialized gambling, winerooms, etc. He stepped out of his office with high honor and in his declining years was deservedly rewarded with the highest esteem and regard of all fellow citizens who really knew him.
Surviving him are his widow, Mrs. Joanna Cleary, his son John L., who also has been called to serve as mayor of this city; his son Frank J., vice-president of the First National Bank; and his daughter, Miss Josephine Cleary. Two children preceded him in death. One son died in infancy and another son, James T., was accidentally drowned in California in 1909.
******
Joined Confederate Army in 1863. Co. A 14th Virginia Cavalry, General McCausland's brigade, Longstreet's division. Lived in Missouri; Junction, KS; Denver (1866), Blackman, Georgetown and Central City, CO; Cheyenne, WY (until 1870) In the spring of 1870 he left Cheyenne with the intention of returning to Virginia but at Omaha was dissuaded by a fellow tradesman who urged him to locate in Grand Island, NE. Original signer of the petition incorporating Grand Island, 1872. Elected treasurer 1874. Elected mayor 1876 for one term. Elected to city council 1882. Re-elected mayor, 1901 & 1903.
Married Johanna Danahey in Omaha, Douglas Co., NE 4 May 1874.
******
Greenbrier Independent, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Friday, June 6, 1919, page 2
This Week 38 Years Ago
Condensed From the Issue of Thursday, June 9 1881
James Cleary, of Grand Island, Nebraska, is here to attend the funeral of his brother, P McCleary.
Patrick McCleary
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