J. T. (James Thompson) McCleary

Born in Ingersoll, Ontario, on February 5, 1853, J. T. McCleary—James Thompson McCleary—was educated at Ingersoll High School and McGill University. He worked in education early in his career, serving as superintendent of schools in Pierce County, Wisconsin, before moving to Minnesota, where he became a state institute conductor and a professor at the normal school in Mankato.

McCleary became a prominent public figure in Minnesota and was elected as a Republican to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served from 1893 to 1907. After his time in Congress, he was appointed Second Assistant Postmaster General during Theodore Roosevelt’s administration and later worked as secretary of the American Iron and Steel Institute in New York City.

In the later part of his life, he was described as engaging in literary pursuits, adding writing to a career that had already spanned education, politics, and public service. He died on December 17, 1924, in La Crosse, Wisconsin.