William McCleeary (1905)

BALLENTINE, DILLON, CLAYTON, COOPER, GOLDEN, GRIMES, MCCLEEARY, TANNER

Posted By: Treva Patterson
Date: 3/10/2007 at 16:06:27

The Madison County Reporter
Winterset, Iowa
Thursday, July 20, 1905

Death of William McCleeary

This widely known citizen and pioneer of the county died at his home in Jefferson township, July 13th, 1905. The funeral was on the 15th and burial in the Jefferson cemetery attended by a large number of friends. All that is mortal of him now lies in a fine steel vault in the old cemetery he helped to establish in the early day. His death was caused by cancer of the head and neck from which he suffered the past year and a half but hastened by the swallowing of some poisonous medicine through mistake. He had been some time in Kansas City for treatment and on starting home was given two kinds of medicine, one to apply outside and one to take inwardly and he took the wrong medicine inwardly. This was on Monday and he died mainly from the effects the Thursday following.

William McCleeary, son of George and Sarah (Tanner) McCleeary, was born March 15th, 1830 in south Coshocton county, Ohio, where he resided until May 1856, when he came to Madison county. A carpenter by trade he followed it here for many years but also carried on farming. He settled on the land where ever after was his home in 1859 and in time came to own a large acreage in the county.

He was married in the year 1857 to Mary Jane, daughter of Alexander Ballentine, an early settler and prominent man of that time. The wife survives him. The children born to them in order of age were: Sarah Olive, who married Frank Dillon and resides in East Douglas township; Mary Catharine, who married Frank Cooper and living at Lamar, Colorado; George Albert, single of Jefferson township; William Allen, who married Ida Golden and living in East Douglas township; Margaret, who married Worford Grimes and living in Lucas county, Iowa; Ida May, who died in infancy; Alexander Ballentine, who is single and lives at the old home; Charley Asbury, who married Anna Clayton and living in Lee township.

The deceased was one of the organizers of Jefferson township and one of its first officers, frequently being elected to township, school and road offices since. Until very late years he was always very active in county politics as a democrat and sometimes a candidate on his party's county ticket and often a delegate to state and other conventions.

He joined the Methodist Episcopal church in Ohio in January 1848, and remained a member until his death. He was one of the charter members of the old Jefferson class organized in 1858 now the Grove church. He was always active and liberal in works of church and charity. He contributed largely toward the erection of the new United Brethren chapel at Jefferson in which a portion of his obituary services were held, conducted by Rev. E. W. Curtis, assisted by Goodliff Brooker and Rev. Young.

ANDREW HOISINGTON

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