John Leary Biography from History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire From: Patricia Cooper - pcooper@peaknet.net Surname: LEARY Source: History of Rockingham County, New Hampshire and Representative Citizens by Charles A. Hazlett, Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, Ill., 1915 Page 1188 JOHN LEARY, an active business man and sucessful merchant of Portsmouth, deals in grocery provisions and meats. He is one of that vast host whose energy and ambitions led from native land to foreign shore where greater opportunity for success prevailed. Mr. Leary was born in Ireland, January 24, 1871, and is a son of James and Margaret (McCarthy) Leary .His father died in Ireland, where the mother still resides. They are of the Catholic religion. There are two children in the family, John and Hannah, the latter being the wife of Frank Reardon of Portsmouth. John Leary attended the common schools in his native land until he was fourteen years old, when he began an apprenticeship in the grocery business, as was the custom there. His service lasted three years, and he continued six months longer with the same concern. At the age of seventeen he came to the United States and immediately located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where he entered the employ of the Portsmouth Machine Company. At the end of four and a half years he left that company and started his present business. His start, in the year of 1895, was in a small way as his capital was limited, but as his patronage increased under good management and service, his store, its stock and equipment grew likewise. He employs three clerks and has two wagons. busy in making deliveries. Mr. Leary has always been interested in the development of the city and upon occasion has been called into public service. He is a democrat in politics and served four years in the city councii. He was clerk of the third ward for two years. In 1898, Mr. Leary was united in marriage with Miss Nellie Stack, who was born in Ireland and came to the United States when young. Her father was James Stack, and neither of her parents ever came to this country. Seven children have blessed this union, four of whom are living, namely: Mary E., Eleanor, John and James. The family attends the Catholic church. Mr. Leary is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks; the Ancient Order of Hibernians; the Forresters and the Royal Arcanum. ********************************************************************** * * * NOTICE: Printing the files within by non-commercial individuals and libraries is encouraged, as long as all notices and submitter information is included. Any other use, including copying files to other sites requires permission from the submitters PRIORto uploading to any other sites. We encourage links to the state and county table of contents. * * * *The USgenWeb Project makes no claims or estimates of the validity of the information submitted and reminds you that each new piece of information must be researched and proved or disproved by weight of evidence. It is always best to consult the original material for verification.