First Biography of Edward CLEARY

Commemorative Biographical Record of the Upper Wisconsin Counties 
of Waupaca, Portage, Wood, Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, Vilas, Langlade, and Shawano

J. H. Beers & Co. [Chicago] 1895 - pp 182-183

EDWARD CLEARY, conductor, Ashland Division, Chicago & Northwestern Railroad, resident of Antigo, Langlade County [Wisconsin], was born in Lancaster, Worchester County, Massachusetts, 25 October 1855, son of Michael CLEARY, who was born in Ireland about 1827, son of Edward CLEARY, who died in Ireland when Michael was ten years of age [about 1837], leaving a widow and six children:  Maurice, Garret, Edward, Patrick, Michael, and Ann.

Michael CLEARY, father of the subject of this sketch, came to America when twenty years of age, in 1847, and settled in Massachusetts.  Here he [Michael CLEARY] was married to Mary POWERS, who was born in Ireland in 1830, one of a family of seven children:  Catherine, William,  Patrick, John Michael, Edmond, and Mary, born to Edward and Margaret (HAYES) POWERS, the former of whom was a farmer and fisherman.  [Either there are two children named Mary (one Mary dying before the other Mary, who became the wife of Michael CLEARY, was born) or there should be a comma separating John and Michael, otherwise there are not seven children named.]  In 1855 the family came to America and settled in Massachusetts where the father [Edward POWERS] died in 1867.  The mother [Margaret (HAYES) POWERS] passed away in Appleton [Outagamie County, Wisconsin] on 11 June 1894, aged ninety-eight years.

To Michael and Mary (POWERS) CLEARY were born eight children:  Maurice, who died in 1879 at the age of eighteen; Edward; Michael; Ellen; Katherine; Margaret; and two deceased in infancy.  Michael CLEARY, the father [of the subject Edward], came to Wisconsin in 1863, first locating in Appleton, from which place he moved soon after to a farm [near Appleton?], and returned to Appleton [Outagamie County, Wisconsin], where he [Michael CLEARY] died in March 1895.  Mrs. Ellen CLEARY, widow of Edward CLEARY and mother of Michael, followed her sons to America, and died at Michael's home in 1878 [while Michael was residing in Appleton or on "a farm" which may have been near Appleton?].

Edward CLEARY, the subject of this sketch, was given the advantages of the common schools, and remained at home on the farm [near Appleton?] with his parents until he was nineteen years of age.  He then went into the lumber woods, and worked there during winters for four years, returning home in the summers to assist his father on the farm.  In June 1878 he [Edward] was engaged on the right of way for the new railroad, chopping ties and braking on what was then the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad, now the Ashland Division of the Chicago & Northwestern Railway.  [The M., L. S. & W. R. R. was purchased by the C. & N. W. in 1893.]  He has railroaded ever since, being one of the oldest men on this division, and has been promoted from time to time, until in 1884 he was given a passenger run.  In 1886 he took up his residence in Antigo [Langlade County], and having great faith in the prospects of the town, has done everything in his power to help in building it up; in 1891 he erected a fine block, and moreover is interested in several other blocks here.  He is president of the J. C. Lewis Hardware Company, and has dealt extensively in outside lands.

Mr. [Edward] CLEARY was married in 1882 to Miss Margaret MORRISSEY, of Appleton [Outagamie County, Wisconsin], daughter of Patrick and Margaret (LANDERS) MORRISSEY, natives of Ireland who emigrated to the United States making their first New World home in Massachusetts, where they [Patrick and Margaret (LANDERS) MORRISSEY] were married.  They had a family of eight children:  (1)  Patrick, who was ordained a Catholic priest in 1875 and died at St. Louis [St. Louis County], Missouri, 10 May 1892; (2)  John, who was ordained a priest in 1883 and is now Pastor of a congregation at Oshkosh [Winnebago County, Wisconsin]; (3)  Thomas, married, lives in Antigo [Langlade County], Wisconsin, where he is manager of the DELAGLISE estate; (4)  Catherine, deceased; (5)  Ellen, a Sister of Charity at St. Agnes Convent, Fond du Lac [Fond du Lac County], Wisconsin; (6)  Margaret; (7)  Johannah; and (8)   Mary Ann, deceased.  The [Patrick MORRISSEY] family came to Wisconsin in 1850, where the father followed agricultural pursuits; the mother [Margaret (LANDERS) MORRISSEY] died in March 1885.

To Mr. and Mrs. CLEARY [Edward and Margaret (MORRISSEY) CLEARY] have been born five children:  John E., Agnes M., Raymond W., Emmet V., and Aloysius F.  [Note in the second biography of Edward CLEARY, published twenty-seven years later, in 1922, there are seven children.]

Politically Edward CLEARY is a Republican, and has served his adopted city as Supervisor one year, and Alderman two years.  He is a member of the Order of Railroad Conductors of America; was a delegate to Toledo, Ohio, in May 1893, and a delegate to Atlanta, Georgia, in 1895, from the lodge at Ashland [Ashland County], Wisconsin.  He was First Chief Conductor of the lodge at Ashland in 1889, and elected twice afterward, serving in that incumbency three years in all.  In religious faith the entire family are members of the Catholic Church.  Mr. CLEARY owns one of the handsomest homes in the city of Antigo [Langlade County], and figures as one of the representative men of the place.  Being public-spirited, he is ever ready to advance any cause that he thinks will permanently aid the growth and prosperity of the city.  He is much respected by all who know him, the more so because he is known to have commenced at the bottom of the ladder, and with no assistance, save his own energy and attentiveness to business, worked himself up to a position of prominence and affluence.  He is justly proud of the fact that though he has been a railroad man nearly all of his life, he is not unfitted for other lines of usefulness, and he is counted one of the practical business men of Antigo.

Second Biography of Edward CLEARY

History of Langlade County, Wisconsin, 
from U. S. Gov't Survey to Present Time, with Biographical Sketches
Dessureau. Antigo, WI: Berner Brothers, 1922, pp 348 - 349 
Submitted by Cathy Kubly

Edward CLEARY, lately deceased, who was one of the prominent pioneer railroad and business men of Langlade County [Wisconsin], was born in Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts, 25 October 1855, the son of Michael CLEARY, a native of Ireland.  In 1863 he moved with his parents to Appleton, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, from which place they moved onto a farm, and then returned to Appleton.  Until nineteen years of age the subject of this sketch assisted his father on the farm.  During the next four winters he worked in the lumber camps of Northern Wisconsin.  In June 1878 he secured employment as one of the workers on the Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway, then piercing the northern part of Wisconsin.  The following December [1978] he started as brakeman on the M., L. S. & W. Railway, and for many years after was one of the most efficient conductors on the Ashland Division.  He was granted his first passenger run in 1884.

Two years later [1886] he [Edward CLEARY] took up his residence in Antigo [Langlade County, Wisconsin], and from that time until his death he labored faithfully in the promotion of everything he considered essential to the welfare of Antigo.  He erected the Cleary Building in 1891 and became financially interested in numerous commercial undertakings, viz:  President of the J. C. Lewis Hardware Company and an officer of the old Antigo Telephone Company.  He devoted much of his energies toward helping the fortunes of the county and the success of many enterprises are directly due to his activity.

Mr. [Edward] CLEARY was united in marriage in 1882 to Miss Margaret MORRISSEY, of Appleton, Outagamie County, Wisconsin, the daughter of Patrick and Margaret (LANDERS) MORRISSEY, natives of Ireland.  To this union seven children were born:  (1)  John E., a resident of Chicago [Cook County], Illinois; (2)  Agnes M., now Mrs. Charles E. CODY, of Antigo, Wisconsin; (3)  Raymond W., of Chicago, Illinois; (4)  Emmet V., of Antigo, Wisconsin [born in Langlade County, Wisconsin, on 06 March 1893?]; (5)  Aloysius F., deceased, who is buried in the Antigo Catholic cemetery; (6)  Marquette, of Antigo, Wisconsin; and (7)  Eugene, also of Antigo.  [The pre-1907 Index of Wisconsin Births notes the following CLEARY births in Langlade County:  Emmet V. CLEARY born 06 March 1893, Aloysius F. CLEARY born 16 June 1894, and Eugene CLEARY born 09 February 1902, who are probably sons of Edward and Margaret (MORRISSEY) CLEARY; submitter did not view microfilmed birth records for this family.]

Politically Mr. [Edward] CLEARY was a Republican.  He was for several years a member of the City Council as a Supervisor and Alderman, and served on the Board of Education of Antigo for many years.  Fraternally he was affiliated with the Order of Railway Conductors, a charter member of the Antigo Lodge, No. 662, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and also a charter member of Antigo Council No. 1002, Knights of Columbus, and of the Catholic Order of Foresters.  In religious faith the entire family are members of the Catholic Church.

With the death of Mr. [Edward] CLEARY on 21 February 1918, Antigo lost from its citizenship a man who had taken a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the community and as a consequence a good and public-spirited citizen.  [There was a severe and widespread flu epidemic that year which caused many deaths, but it is unknown to the submitter what caused Edward CLEARY's death.]  When he was selected Postmaster of Antigo on 21 July 1901, he had made no solicitation for the appointment, which came to him as a surprise.  He was Postmaster from that time until 30 July 1910.  Mr. CLEARY's life should be an inspiration to any young man who, handicapped in youth because of meagre worldly possessions, strives to succeed.

ADDITIONAL INFO SENT IN BY CATHY:
Short Summary of Families - 
1st generation:
Edward POWERS wed Margaret HAYES - 7 children (one was Mary POWERS)
Edward CLEARY wed Ellen ---- - 6 children (one was Michael CLEARY)
2nd generation:
Michael CLEARY wed Mary POWERS - 8 children (one was Edward CLEARY)
Patrick MORRISSEY wed Margaret LANDERS - 8 children (one was Margaret MORRISSEY)
3rd generation:
Edward CLEARY + Margaret MORRISSEY - 5 children (second biography has 7)