by: Patrick Roger Cleary II
Our story begins in 1858 in the town of Borrisokane, Tipperary County, Ireland. A fourth child was born to Roday and Julia Cleary who they named Patrick Roday. Patrick’s parents were poor. Roday was a stockman on a large farm owned by the Marquise Tuthill, an Englishman. Julia worked in the farmhouse and they lived in a two-room thatch roofed cottage on the farm property.
Picture taken in 1938, 69 years after Patrick left Ireland
Patrick’s father and mother died about 6 or 7 years after he was born. The dates and causes of their deaths were never revealed to our family. His older siblings had migrated to the United Sates earlier and had settled in various places in Michigan. After their parents died, the Tuthills took in Patrick and his younger sister Annie. Since the Tuthills were English, the children continued their education in the English School that was not open to Irish children at that time.
In 1869, when Patrick was eleven, their older siblings sent for him and his sister Annie. They brought them to the United States where they settled in Hubbardston, Michigan. Hubbardston, a hamlet of less than 400 people today, is located in Ionia County not far from Lansing.
Patrick was an astute and industrious young man. He continued his schooling until he was fourteen and then went to work in a shingle mill for two years. He saved the money he earned while working and later returned to school where he completed high school in two years at age nineteen. Patrick Roday preferred being called P.R. or P. Roday rather than his given name due to the anti-Irish sentiment of the times.
After graduating from the Sheridan school, he entered the Northern Indiana Normal College (now Valparaiso University) where he studied for a year before enrolling in the Spencerian Institute in Cleveland where he received his diploma in penmanship.
By 1883 he had decided that Ypsilanti was where he would start a school of penmanship. Ypsilanti at that time was a bustling and prosperous city with 15 factories manufacturing a variety of products and enjoyed a cultural environment with an opera house and a conservatory of music.
Patrick Rodger Cleary in 1888
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Helen Clarke Jenks in 1888
In 1887 P.R. Cleary was making the front pages of the Ypsilanti Commercial Weekly with reporters speculating who would “land” Ypsilanti’s most eligible bachelor. That spring, Patrick was introduced to Helen Clarke Jenks, a pretty twenty-two year old young lady from St. Clair, MI. She was a cousin of a Mrs. Scherzer and was visiting in Ypsilanti. P.R was smitten with Helen and began a correspondence with her. She was the daughter of Robert and Mary Jenks who were well established in St. Clair, MI. Robert Jenks had been active in education, shipping, financial and other businesses in the St. Clair area and Mary was a writer and an active member of the St. Clair Ladies History Class. It was said that the Jenks’ enterprises lined the Great Lakes from Cleveland to Chicago. The Clarke’s were pioneers in Great Lake’s shipping.
Helen had graduated from St. Clair High School in 1883 and then attended Somerville, a private school for women in St. Clair.
There was a great deal of difference between the background of the two young lovers and people wondered if Helen Jenks would win the heart of Patrick Cleary. They did not wonder for long. By 1889, he had proposed to her and she had accepted. They were married in a small wedding ceremony in St. Clair on June 27, 1889.
On June 16, he had written to Helen: “Yes dear, it will the 27th before we know it. Only a week from Thursday and I have much work to do in the mean time. Could we practice at the church after I would get there?” Then he said, “But no, that would be too late. I must try to be there Wednesday noon at the outside.” He went on to say that he was going to Detroit to get a silk hat and two handsome shirts and a pair of light shoes. He wanted her to be proud of him.
Later in the same letter he wrote, “ Dearest, we must always be young, even though we advance in years. We must enjoy life. I think we will my dear little “Jink girl.” Then he wrote “I think I will have no trouble in getting a license provided I can get the money. But I think I can earn it this week.” He signed it, “Your own loving boy.”
The wedding surprised the Ypsilanti residents since they had considered P.R. as a most eligible bachelor and he had given no indication that marriage was imminent. The newlyweds left immediately after the wedding for a month long honeymoon in Europe.
Marjory, Ruth, Helen, Owen and Charles (L. to R.)
By the end of the century, P.R. and Helen had four children: Charles Brooks Cleary in 1890; Marjory Julia Cleary in 1892, Ruth Marie Cleary in 1894 and Owen Jenks Cleary in 1900.
In 1905, P.R. moved his family from the house on Forest Avenue to 7 N. Normal St., a house that had been built in 1848 by the Smith family. It was a large, four-bedroom, Georgian style, house with an upper front porch that had wooden scrollwork forming the railing, which gave it a “New Orleans” appearance.
Cleary home, 7. N. Normal, Ypsilanti, MI
For years, in this large house it was commonplace for them to invite students for regular open house gatherings at their home to promote the students social development. Many of the students were from rural areas and could be shy. These social functions served to promote friendships among the students. Many times over 300 students would participate in one gathering. Helen would ensure that new students were introduced to the older ones who could help the new ones become familiar with the College routine. As stated by P.R. regarding the open houses, “I made it a point to see that the students mixed. If I saw a person or a group alone that was not talking, I brought others to them and gave them something to talk about. And in that, Mrs. Cleary was a real assistance to me. It kept us busy to keep them all in conversational contact throughout the evening.”
Helen was an elegant and generous hostess. Being one of nine children from a well to do family, she was brought up learning social graces and the art of entertaining. Besides staging the open houses for the students, she took charge of all the early Commencement banquets and entertained the Cleary sports teams and alumni groups. Students were always welcome.
It did not take long for Helen to enter into the role of partner and co-worker with P.R. She assisted him in publishing several books including, “How to Figure Profit.” She involved herself with community projects such as the Ladies Library and other civic organizations.
Helen was of great support to P.R. following the extensive damage to the new college building caused by the tornado of April 12, 1893. She not only had two young children to care for but also actively supported the reconstruction effort.
When the U.S. entered World War One, all the Cleary children took part in the war effort. In 1917, Charles was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Marjory and Ruth traveled to Washington, DC where they found work at the War Industries Board. In 1918, Owen was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U. S. Army. He was one of the youngest 2nd Lieutenants in the Army at that time.
Helen’s patriotism was amply demonstrated by her holding significant offices in the Daughters of the American Revolution and her membeship in the Detroit Chapter of the Daughters of Patriots and Founders. This latter affiliation came from her interest in her ancestry. Some of her forebears were prominent in Colonial America. On the Clarke side, she had an ancestor who participated in the Boston Tea Party. Further, with her children away and involved in war effort, Helen became active with the Red Cross
After the war she was commissioned by Governor Albert Sleeper to compile the records of all the soldiers from Washtenaw County who had served in World War I to be entered into the State of Michigan archives.
She was a life member of the Ladies Library Association. She had an abiding interest in history and compiled a history of the Association. She was prominent in the Ladies Literary Club, The Faculty Dames of the Normal College and of the women’s societies of the Congregational Church.
In 1933, when the College was turned over to a Board of Trustees, she became a trustee and was elected Vice-President of Cleary College, a position she held until her death. In addition to her other interests, she was a well known genealogist. She spent five years compiling the history of the Jenks line and accounted for over three hundred descendents of her ancestor Jeremiah Whipple Jenks and his wife, Hester.
P.R. Cleary and Helen in the sunroom of their home, circa 1935
Of the fifty commencements held during her marriage to P.R. cleary, she missed only very few and those due to illness. Two months before her death she made a supreme effort to bring her gracious presence to a Cleary Alumni banquet.
So what is Helen’s legacy? I think it can be summed up in one word, Example. She had high and unerring standards and conveyed them to her family, her friends and the community. She was a devoted mother; she was generous with her time and her funds; she served her family, Cleary College, the Ypsilanti community and her country.
Helen Clarke Jenks Cleary, 1938
She was a perfect example of the complete woman; kind and soft hearted yet strong in spirit and in her principles. She indeed was a woman for all seasons.
Helen peacefully passed away in her sleep on December 13, 1939.
A member of the Ladies Literary Club, Lulu, Capenter Skinner wrote a Eulogy for Helen the month after she died:
“That’s the portrait of a lady
Whom you’ve loved and lost awhile
Can you see her lovely features
Catch the magic of her smile
Feel her ardent spirit with us
And her gracious presence here
To inspire each to better service
Through the coming years.”
