Richard Grant Cleaveland was born on 27 July 1926 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He is the son of LeRoy Adams Cleaveland and Suzayne Margaret Calligan. He married Ethelene Ann Johnson, daughter of Ralph Johnson and Pluma Della Bellows, on 9 April 1949 in Whitefish Bay, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.¹ Richard and Ethelene were divorced on 8 April 1965 in Prince Georges County, Maryland. He married Barbara Ann Benner, daughter of Roland George Benner and Susan Jeanette Ault, on 24 April 1965 in Salem, Salem County, New Jersey.

Richard spent his early years in Shorewoood, a suburb of Milwaukee, attended Shorewood High School (1938-44). He was on active duty with US Naval Reserve 1944-46 (Electronics Technician second class). He attended Northwestern University (1947-1950, BSEE), and was elected to national honor societies Tau Beta Pi and Eta Kappa Nu; he was custodian of the University Amateur Radio station. He was employed by Iron Mountain-Kingsford Broadcasting Co (1947); Milwaukee Broadcasting Co. (1949); Line Material Co., S. Milwaukee (1949, 1951); Philco Corp. (1951-64); Defense Communications Agency, Washington DC (1964-82), and U.S. Air Force, Washington DC (1982-86). He retired from Government service in 1986 as a member of the Senior Executive Service.

During his work with Philco he traveled to various Atlantic and Mediterranean ports on contract with U.S. Navy and was assigned (1956-60) to Bell Telephone Laboratories in Whippany, NJ while working on air defense system evaluation, where he learned to program digital computers, including the pace-setter Whirlwind at MIT. Later at Philco Computer Division headquarters he was Manager of Programming Systems, and personally developed their major product operating system. While with the government he specialized in National level military Command and Control data processing and communications systems engineering.

After retirement he traveled extensively with his wife in their motor home, visiting Alaska, the Canadian Maritimes and Mexico, and become active in the use of his computer as applied to genealogical research. In 1995 he was elected President of the ROOTS Users Group of Arlington, Virginia, which had over 600 members world-wide; he served two years in that position. In later years he worked as a volunteer for the Arlington Commission on Aging and other non-profit organizations, designing and implementing data management systems for them.

Richard held both Commercial Radio Operator and Amateur Radio Operator licenses.²

He traveled to Sweden to be present at the ceremonies associated with the award of the Nobel prize to Charles Pedersen; for a description of the trip see the appendix "The Nobel Prize Trip." On-line viewers select .³

He was among those attending a pre-Easter family gathering in 2003; see for a picture of the attendees.³

For the story of an amusing episode at the family home on Farwell Avenue in Milwaukee, see the appendix "The Fruit Juice Fiasco." On-line viewers select .
For a narrative of a cruise to the Orinoco river area of South America, see the appendix "The Cruise From Hell." On-line viewers select .³
For a diary of Dick and Barbara's first Alaska trip (1991) see the appendix "Alaska And Return the Long Way." On-line viewers select .³
For a diary of Dick and Barbara's RV trip to the Canadian maritimes, see the appendix "Arlington to the Canadian Maritimes and Return ." On-line viewers select .³
For a diary of Dick and Barbara's second RV trip to Alaska (1997) see the appendix "Arlington to Alaska and Return." On-line viewers select .³
For a diary of Dick and Barbara's RV trip to Mexico, see the appendix "Arlington to Cabo Saint Lucas and Return ." On-line viewers select .³
For a description of a "DeLuxe" Amtrak trip Washington DC to Chicago and back see the appendix "An Amtrak Trip." On-line viewers select .³

Richard and Ethelene had one additional child not listed here, who has asked that he and his family not be listed on the internet.

     Moses Cleaveland was born 1624 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. He married Ann Winn, daughter of Edward Winn and Joanna Hatch, on 26 September 1648 in Woburn, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony. His wife Ann died before 1682. He died on 9 January 1701/2 in Woburn, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony.

Moses (or MOYSES) Cleveland or Cleaveland was the common ancestor of the Clevelands or Cleavelands of New England origin. He came, when a youth, from Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. According to family tradition he sailed from London and arrived in America in 1635. He first landed somewhere in Massachusetts, probably either at Plymouth or Boston. He was born about 1624; according to court files of Woburn he was 39 years old in 1663. He was an apprenticed joiner, and went to Woburn with his master, and there settled in 1634. His master is not identified, but thought to be Edward Winn, as he married Winn's daughter. In 1643 he became a freeman, and later a man of some prominence in New England as he was identified with all the political movements of the day. His signature as witness to a document of 1762 shows that he spelled his name Cleveland.²

     Ann Winn was born circa 1626 in Wales. She was the daughter of Edward Winn and Joanna Hatch. She married Moses Cleaveland on 26 September 1648 in Woburn, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony. She died before 1682 in Woburn, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony.

Ann Winn came to Woburn from England with her father, Edward. The first mention of his name was when he appeared at the house of Thomas Graves in Charlestown (Mass) as one of the Commissioners, at their first meeting December 18, 1640, held for consulting on the affairs of the contemplated town of Woburn. She probably died prior to May 6, 1682, as the will made out by her father that date mentions "the three youngest children of his daughter Ann, wife of Moses Cleaveland" but not her.

     Josiah Cleaveland was born on 26 February 1666/67 in Woburn, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony. He was the son of Moses Cleaveland and Ann Winn. He married Mary Bates, daughter of John Bates and Mary Farwell, 1689 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony.^1,2 He died on 26 April 1709 in Canterbury, Windham County in the Connecticut Colony.

Josiah served in the Indian wars 1688-9, then settled in Chelmsford. In 1693 Josiah followed his older brother Samuel to Plainfield, which later was called Canterbury. At that time there was one other English family in that town. In 1699 he purchased 176 acres of land from Owaneco, Chief of the Mohigan indians. He was instrumental in establishing the town of Plainfield and in later splitting off Canterbury (1703) where he lived with only nine other inhabitants. In all, Josiah had seven sons and four daughters.³

     Mary Bates was born on 8 May 1667 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony. She was the daughter of John Bates and Mary Farwell. She married Josiah Cleaveland, son of Moses Cleaveland and Ann Winn, 1689 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony.^3,4 She died on 20 July 1743 in Canterbury, Windham County in the Connecticut Colony.

As "widow Cleaveland" Mary was admitted to the church at Canterbury Connecticut on 15 June 1712.

     Henry Cleaveland was born on 22 December 1699 in Chelmsford, Middlesex County in the Massachusetts Colony. He was the son of Josiah Cleaveland and Mary Bates. He married Lucy Fitch, daughter of James Fitch and Alice Bradford, on 19 March 1718/19 in Canterbury, Windham County in the Connecticut Colony.^2,3 He died 1779 in Mansfield, Tolland County, Connecticut.
Henry lived first in Canterbury. He was established as an Ensign in 1739 and commissioned 1st Lt. in 1745. In 1746 was appointed to a regiment for an expedition against Louisburg (Nova Scotia) in the Old French War. About this time he moved to Mansfield, being admitted to the church there in 1747 and withdrawing in 1762. In all he had four sons and one daughter. One son, Jabez, was reportedly killed in the battle of Bunker Hill.⁴

     Diana Or Dinah Brown was born on 15 January 1720/21 in Canterbury, Windham County in the Connecticut Colony. She married Nehemiah Cleaveland, son of Henry Cleaveland and Lucy Fitch, on 8 November 1744 in Mansfield, Tolland County in the Connecticut Colony.¹ Her husband Nehemiah died on 29 October 1792.² She died on 15 January 1805 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

     Nehemiah Cleaveland was born on 20 July 1721 in Canterbury, Windham County in the Connecticut Colony. He was the son of Henry Cleaveland and Lucy Fitch. He married Diana Or Dinah Brown on 8 November 1744 in Mansfield, Tolland County in the Connecticut Colony.¹ He died on 29 October 1792 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.² Nemiah lived at Mansfield until 1769, when he moved to Williamsburg.

     Naomi Warner was born in 1758 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County in the Massachusetts Colony. She married Amasa Cleveland, son of Nehemiah Cleaveland and Diana Or Dinah Brown, on 18 August 1780 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.¹ Her husband Amasa died in July 1833. She died on 3 July 1834 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.

     Amasa Cleveland was born on 16 June 1756 in Mansfield, Tolland County in the Connecticut Colony. He was the son of Nehemiah Cleaveland and Diana Or Dinah Brown. He married Naomi Warner on 18 August 1780 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.¹ He died in July 1833 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts.
Amasa was a prosperous farmer and served in the Revolution as a member of the Mass. Continental Line and Militia in the grades of private and sergeant. He was pensioned in 4 March 1831. He served on expeditions in the Bennington Alarm, and to Stillwater and Saratoga.²

     Polly Hawkes was born on 23 August 1787 in New England. She married Asaph Cleaveland, son of Amasa Cleveland and Naomi Warner, on 6 August 1809 in Jackson Twp, Steuben County, Indiana.¹ She died on 9 April 1846 in Jackson Twp, Steuben County, Indiana.

     Asaph Cleaveland was born on 26 October 1785 in Williamsburg, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. He was the son of Amasa Cleveland and Naomi Warner. He married Polly Hawkes on 6 August 1809 in Jackson Twp, Steuben County, Indiana.¹ His wife Polly died on 9 April 1846. He died on 15 January 1847 in Jackson Twp, Steuben County, Indiana. He was buried in Flint, Steuben county, Indiana.

Asaph moved to Gorham in 1809, to Marcellus, NY in 1813, and lived in Onandaga County until 1838 when he moved to Jackson.

     Eliza Littlefield was born on 9 February 1812 in Belleville, Jefferson County, New York. She was the daughter of Edmund Littlefield and Amy Thomas. She married David Hawkes Cleaveland, son of Asaph Cleaveland and Polly Hawkes, on 26 November 1837 in LaGrange County, Indiana.⁴ Her husband David died on 23 August 1849. She married Jason Dove on 24 November 1850 in Steuben County, Indiana.^5,6 Her husband Jason died on 23 January 1866.⁷ She died on 15 October 1887.^8,9 She was buried in Flint Cemetery in Flint, Steuben county, Indiana.⁸

Having just been widowed and left with three children, Eliza in the 1850 census is shown living in close proximity to two other Cleavelands. One is her husband's brother Amasa, along with his wife and three children. The other is Merritt (Merit) Cleaveland, with his wife Charlotte and son Addison (Adison) and daughter Rosella (Rosilla). This latter Cleaveland family appears to be very remotely related to Amasa and David Hawkes according to the 1899 Cleveland Genealogy, which lists them on page 936. The 1860 census shows Elizabeth living as the wife of Jason Dove, together with his son Robert Dove as well as Emily, Osmer and George Cleveland. Jason lost his first wife Emma in April of 1850, marrying Elizabeth 7 months later.¹⁰

     David Hawkes Cleaveland was born on 1 June 1816 in Skaneateles, Onondaga County, New York. He was the son of Asaph Cleaveland and Polly Hawkes. David purchased land (forty acres about a half mile south sourtheast of Flint, Indiana, adjacent to the patent aquired by his brother Amasa) on 5 June 1837 in Steuben County, Indiana.² David purchased land (forty acres about a mile sourtheast of Flint) on 1 August 1837 in Steuben County, Indiana.³ He married Eliza Littlefield, daughter of Edmund Littlefield and Amy Thomas, on 26 November 1837 in LaGrange County, Indiana.⁴ David purchased land about 8 miles west of Columbia City in the amount of 80 acres on 20 August 1838 in Whitley County, Indiana.⁵ He died on 23 August 1849. His remains were interred Flint Cemetery Section C, Lot 38, in Flint, Steuben County, Indiana.

David was a farmer.

Excerpts from the record of probate of his estate: "... and it having been represented to the clerk of the Steuben Circuit Court by Amasa M. Cleveland that one David H. Cleveland had lately died in said county and whos estate was not of the value of two hundred dollars and that said decedent was not at the time of his death the owner of any real estate and that said decedent left a widow and it having been represented that William Castner & Franklin Alexander are respectable House???? of the township in which said decedent reside prior to his death said clerk did by virtue of the act above⁶ mentioned appoint the said William Castner and said Franklin Alexander appraisers of the said estate as follows..." dated ?? September 1849.
     
On 5 October 1849 the appraisers filed the following description of the property:
One three year old heifer $12.00.
One cow 10.00.
Two pigs 2.50.
One harrow 1.50.
One plow 1.00.
One horse cutter.
One lag and one whiffle tree chain 1.50.
One pile of ???? 6.50.
One grain cradle and sifter 2.00.
70 feet of cherry boards one two horse sled 2.06.
Leather ???? one axe 1.50.
One half acre of potatoes six dollars 6.00
Two spriong polues? $3.00.
One ????? heiffer $4.00. 7.00
Four hogs $14.00.
six sheep $6.00. 20.00
2 Clevis? $1.00
eight old barrels $2.00.
Tusky and Hevs $2.00.5.00
2 Hog Pork ?? each 2 T worms ???? $5.00. 6.00.
One spade $1.00
saddle bridle and martingally 3.00.
Large spinning wheel Barmels-Beans & Bones 3.00.
One bed bedding and bed $16.00
one ditto ditto 21.00
Two chests one trunk cupboard chairs 9.00
3 ??? chairs table clock pails 7.00.
Cook stove ??? and furniture 8.00.
Carpenters tools and coffee mill 4/ 1.50.
10 tin pans 10/6 bolles 3/6 looking glass 2/ table dishes 24/ 4.93.
3 bags born? weave?
3/ Hoe 2/ wash tub pork in ?? ??? 8/1.94
Smoothing iron ???
pincers ???
calf skins 10/ ???? ???? 2.75
Tea kettle pan 6/ shove plow looking glass 2.75
30 Mens woolen ???
hand saw 6.80.
Outstanding demands seven eighty one 7.81.
Total amount 165.04.
     
     The court then approved transfer of the above property to Eliza, widow of David. No mention is made of other survivors.

     The middle name Jane and place of birth are from the death certificate of her daughter Ina (Roberts). The dates are from Nancy's gravestone. Nancy Jane Kirkland was born on 19 June 1845 in Bucyrus, Crawford County, Ohio.^3,4 She was the daughter of James Kirkland Jr. and Harriet Parcher. She married George David Cleveland, son of David Hawkes Cleaveland and Eliza Littlefield, on 28 June 1866 in Steuben County, Indiana. Her husband George died on 5 June 1909; of general disability.⁵ She died on 18 April 1923. Her remains were interred circa 20 April 1923 Flint Cemetery Section A, lot 45, in Flint, Steuben County, Indiana.

Much of the material on the Kirkland relations comes from Nancy's notes which were loose in a family bible presented by her to her daughter Ina (Cleaveland) Roberts in 1910. This bible later went to Willis Roberts, who passed it to Richard Cleaveland in 1991. In 1920 Nancy was enumerated as living with her son in-law, Roy Roberts.

In the Steuben Republican newspaper of March 21, 1900 there was the item "Mrs. George Cleveland of Flint was the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Roy Roberts last week." In that same paper on March 20, 1901 there was the following item: "Mrs. George Cleveland remembers very well seeing the Prince of Whales [sic] now King of England at Bucyrus, Ohio in 1860."

     George David Cleveland was born on 19 November 1842 in LaGrange County, Indiana.^4,5 He was the son of David Hawkes Cleaveland and Eliza Littlefield. He married Nancy Jane Kirkland, daughter of James Kirkland Jr. and Harriet Parcher, on 28 June 1866 in Steuben County, Indiana. He died on 5 June 1909 in Flint, Steuben County, Indiana.⁶ He was buried circa 7 June 1909 in Flint Cemetery in Flint, Steuben county, Indiana.
About the time he was 18 George worked as a day laborer for Jason Dove along with his older brother Osmer. Extract from 1885 history of Steuben County: "George D. Cleveland enlisted in August, 1861, in Company A of the Twenty-ninth Indiana Infantry, and served three years and nine months, seventeen months of which he served in rebel prisons. He participated in the battles of Shiloh, Corinth, Stone River, and Chickamauga. He with seventeen others of his company was taken prisoner at the latter battle and taken to Richmond, and confined in Castle Pemberton about two months. Thence to Danville, and April 1, 1864, to Andersonville, where they remained five and a half months, and were then taken to Charleston, S.C. and thence to Florence, and paroled from there March 1, 1865, and sent to Wilmington, N.C. He was discharged in Indianapolis. His long experience in rebel prisons so shattered his constitution that he never recovered from its effects. Mr. Cleveland married Nancy Kirkland, daughter of James Kirkland, who came to Steuben County from Richland County, Ohio, in 1864, and died in February, 1876. He was married four times (but see * below). His second wife was a sister of Dr. McConnell, of Angola. He served as Assessor of Jackson Township."
     
     He was a member of the Crosswalt Post No. 150 of the G.A.R.
     The last name spelling is without the 'a' in the Steuben County History, in the county index of marriage records, in the 1899 Genealogy (page 1664), in his obituary, on the Civil War monument in the Angola square and the 1880 census rolls. The 'a' is included in the name as it appears on the 1900 census rolls, on his (1909) gravestone and in surviving writings by his wife, Nancy. This sequence of spellings supports the story that he changed the spelling of his name in protest of the behavior of President Grover Cleveland who was in office from 1885-89 and again from 1893-97, which he felt was bad for farmers and Civil War veterans.
     
     The 1870 census of Steuben County is particularly interesting as it shows that the Golden, Cleveland and Kirkland families lived in fair proximity. Lyman Kirkland with his wife Rhoda are on the rolls as family 53, family 54 is George and Nancy Cleveland with children Zula and John, and James Kirkland, Nancy's father, lived with his new wife Charity and son Ulysses as family 55. A page away in the census is the George Golden family (his wife Adelpha was George Cleveland's first cousin). Among the members of that household was one Sarah Castner, a domestic servant of 19, who may or may not have been a daughter of Amasa M. Cleaveland's wife Jane Castner by a previous marriage.
     
     He was elected Assessor of Jackson Township in April 1882⁷, again in 1890⁸ and in 1885 was operating a grist mill on the Pigeon river in Flint along with Wallace Clark; this mill burned down in the early 1920's⁹. The mill, the first one in the County, was owned by a man named Gillette¹⁰. In 1885 George David Cleveland was reported to be in business as a blacksmith in Flint while Mr. Clark continued to operate the grist mill¹¹; note the disagreement with the earlier citation from the 1955 history. It is of course possible that George worked two jobs at that time. There is a separate report that he was in business as a blacksmith in Flint in 1897¹²
     
     On July 2nd 1878 George David purchased a half acre of land near the center of Flint from J. B. Blue; the property was valued at $225. According to Willis Roberts this is the property upon which he had his residence and forge. He sold the property to his son John in November of 1895 (valued at $550), but John sold it back to him in August of 1908 (valued at $410). In September 1999 the property was occupied by a Mr. Smith; the house and accompanying garage were sided in yellow.
     
     *The reference to the number of his marriages and that his second wife was a sister of a Dr. McConnell avoids a clear statement that Nancy Kirkland was his last wife; she succeeded him, and lived for a time after his death with the Roberts family. Since his marriage to Nancy took place when he was 21, it is highly unlikely that he had three wives before his marriage to her. Indeed, except for the statement in the 1885 county history (which was parroted in some other sources), there is no evidence that he had ever been married to other than Nancy Kirkland.¹³

     Sarah 'Sadie' Arphina Pease was born on 15 April 1869 in Brookdale, St. Lawrence County, New York.^1,2 She was the daughter of Chauncey O. Pease and Arvilla E. Adams. She married John Monroe Cleaveland, son of George David Cleveland and Nancy Jane Kirkland, on 10 February 1898 in Reed City, Osceola County, Michigan. Her husband John died on 13 June 1939; of a heart attack.³ She died on 26 May 1958 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She was buried in Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee, Milwaukee county, Wisconsin.

As a child she lived for a while in Nashua, NH. Her father took her to Reed City MI probably some time after 1880. Sarah Arphina Pease was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star. Energetic and hardy, while she was in her 80's she drove alone from Milwaukee to Florida and back. One of her favorite sayings, according to her son Earl, was "a woman can dish it out with a spoon faster than a man can bring it in with a shovel." Her grandson Earl Chandler recalls another saying: "Don't marry a German - they cream all their vegetables." Earl married a German. According to a newspaper item⁴, she visited her husband's father's family in Indiana in August of 1899, a little less than five months before giving birth to her first child, LeRoy, there.

     John Monroe Cleaveland was born on 26 September 1869 in Flint, Steuben County, Indiana.^2,3 He was the son of George David Cleveland and Nancy Jane Kirkland. He married Sarah 'Sadie' Arphina Pease, daughter of Chauncey O. Pease and Arvilla E. Adams, on 10 February 1898 in Reed City, Osceola County, Michigan. In about 1928 the daughter and sons of John Cleaveland were photographed; the sons were all members of the Naval Reserve. He died on 13 June 1939 in his home, in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He had been ill a few days.⁴ He was buried in Forest Home Cemetery, Section 46, in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.⁵

On the day before he died, John wrote two letters; see the appendix "John Monroe Cleaveland's Last Letters." On-line viewers select .

John Monroe Cleaveland worked as a railroad telegrapher at Reed City, MI, which was the junction of the Pennsylvania railroad and another. "Sadie" Pease, his future wife, ran the restaurant there. The passengers would telegraph ahead what they wanted to eat, and he would give the order to her and then the meals would be ready for the passengers when they arrived, and that's how they met. Later he became a claims agent for the Pere Marquette Steamship Co. and worked his way up to company President. They had the ships Nevada and Virginia. The Virginia sank in the ice in Lake Michigan. The Nevada was originally a Russian icebreaker, then the Navy got it, and the steamship company got it from the Navy.

Once while traveling on a railroad near Pembine Wisconsin a rail broke and went up into the sleeper he was in.⁶ He was told that his leg would have to be amputated to save his life, but he refused the amputation and survived anyway.

Prior to 1902 the family lived in a duplex at what was then 216 14th Street in Milwaukee (between Wells and what in 2002 is Kilborn). The house was gone in 2002, the area replaced by a pair of medium-sized apartment buildings. By 1903 they had moved the family residence to 374 N. Farwell Ave, Milwaukee (which later- in 1930 - became 2022 N. Farwell Ave). The lot the house was on was 35 feet street-side by 150 feet deep. It was sold in 1960, following the death of Sadie Cleaveland, for a price of $12,000. The garage behind that house was still standing in 1988 although the house was gone by then. By 2002 the North two garage units had been combined into what appears to be a living accommodation.

As an interesting side note, when the family was enumerated for the 1920 census, his name was spelled without the "a" and his age was reported as 46, although he was actually 50.^7,8,9

     LeRoy Adams Cleaveland was born on 30 December 1899 in Flint, Steuben County, Indiana.^1,2 He was the son of John Monroe Cleaveland and Sarah 'Sadie' Arphina Pease. He married Suzayne Margaret Calligan, daughter of Charlotte M. Helsom, on 25 November 1925 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. LeRoy and Suzayne were divorced on 21 September 1933 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He married Pearl Ann Miller, daughter of Charles Herman Miller and Emma Marie Gauerke, on 26 September 1937 in Elkton, Cecil County, Maryland.³ He died on 1 September 1999 at Overlook Hospital, in Summit, Union County, New Jersey.⁴ He was buried on 4 September 1999 in Fairview Cemetery, Lenape section lot 868N in Westfield, Union county, New Jersey.^5,6

As a leading Ham radio operator in Milwaukee before World War I, LeRoy was asked by the Navy to install radio equipment on one of the Reserve ships, the Yantic(info), so he went up to Lake Superior to do the installation. The transmitter took 5 Kilowatts, and the ship couldn't make enough steam to run it as well as the other things aboard. He says "when I turned the generator on, the ship would slow down. The lights would dim. The captain said `don't turn that thing on when we go through the locks at Sault Ste. Marie.'"

Leroy enlisted in the US Navy on March 5, 1917, a month before the U.S. entered the war. They first sent him to Buffalo to be a censor. He was told to cut all the telephone wires going into Canada, and stop the Western Union office. He also was to hire some radio operators to operate the Marconi station there - they fired all the operators when the Navy took it over. It was down near the shore of Lake Erie, in the railroad yards. He stayed there only a month or so, then they sent him to Harvard to learn all the tactical aspects of radio - the secret codes, and so forth. On September ]25, 1917 they sent him to Norfolk to the Battleship Utah. (info)²

Three months later he reported aboard the gunboat USS Petrel, PG-2. (info) While there he qualified as Marksman, Sharpshooter and Expert Rifleman.² To read a newspaper article about one of his adventures see the appendix "The Mexican Election." On-line viewers click on .

While he was on the Petrel he was in a hurricane off Cape Hatteras - they lost a lifeboat, had to catch barrels which were rolling around on the deck in the midst of the storm, etc. That was when they were searching for the Cyclops - a supply ship coming from Chile with a load of Manganese Ore (LeRoy remembers it as saltpeter)(info). He called them every 15 minutes on the radio, but no word was ever heard from the ship. For a first person report by LeRoy of the Cyclops search and the storm see the appendix "The Search for the Cyclops." On-line viewers select .

He later served briefly (March 22-31, 1919) aboard the USS Sara Thompson (info) and the USS Newburg (March 31- June 19, 1919), which was a steamer commissioned into the Naval Overseas Transportation Service (NOTS)⁷ He was released from active duty on June 26, 1919; on the first of that month he was awarded the rating of Chief Electrician (Radio). This made him, at the age of 19 (June 1st, 1919), one of the youngest, if not THE youngest, Chief Petty Officer ever in the Navy. He had been advanced to first class electrician (radio) August 1st 1918. He continued his service in the Naval Reserve for some years after that. His Navy service number was 121-67-03.²

During his service years and briefly thereafter he sent several post cards to members of his family. For a listing and description of several of these cards, see the appendix "Postcards from LeRoy Cleaveland 1917-1923." On-line viewers select . During these years he also kept a diary; see the appendix "Wartime Diary of LeRoy Adams Cleaveland." On-line viewers select .

Following his service he did some touring in a converted racing car in which he travelled to California and Connecticut; a description of it is in the appendix "LeRoy's Monroe." On-line viewers select .

As a civilian he took and passed the examination for First Class Radiotelegraph Operator, a license needed to be chief operator aboard a ship. He got the highest score ever recorded on this exam, he said.

One of his father's company's ships, the Virginia, sank in the ice in Lake Michigan with a load of Harley-Davidson motorcycles and silk hosiery. LeRoy says "they got that stuff up, and I got a bunch of the parts and made a motorcycle out of them." His mother got some of the hosiery, laundered it and sold it. The Nevada, another one of the company ships, was originally a Russian icebreaker, then belonged to the Navy, and the steamship company got it from the Navy. LeRoy went out to San Francisco to act as both third mate and radio operator to bring the ship around to Lake Michigan. There was a mutiny in Costa Rica, the army came out, took all the crew ashore and put them in jail. They towed the ship to the Panama Canal and got a new crew down there. The ship then had a Russian name and Russian inscriptions were everywhere, making it hard to understand how to run the ship's equipment.

He worked for United Motors Service in Miami as a radio repair man, then got a job on a yacht as a radio telegraph operator about 1934.⁸

LeRoy worked for Eastern Air Lines from about 1935 to 1944, moving to New Jersey circa 1937. Among his memorabilia for this period is a January 1941 letter signed by the famous Eddie Rickenbacher, who was then President of the airline, promising to provide the bowling team, which LeRoy headed, with prize money and bowling shirts.⁹

He worked for United States Instrument during World War II, then as a safety inspector for the state of New Jersey. An avid fisherman, in July of 1949 he caught a 97-pound marlin off Brielle, New Jersey.¹⁰ Continuing his amateur radio activities he operated station K2BD¹¹.He and his wife Pearl lived in Mountainside, New Jersey, in the home he built himself, from about 1939 to the time of his death.

LeRoy held First Class Radiotelegraph Operator and Amateur Radio Operator licenses throughout most of his life.¹¹

Video clips: Note: Real Player is required on your system to play these clips.
Select for a 35 second video of LeRoy telling a hunting story. this is a 600 KB file
Select for a 3.5 minute video of LeRoy telling of the Cyclops search and the storm. this is a 3.8 MB file. On LeRoy's 89th birthday a large part of his family joined to wish him well.⁵

LeRoy and Pearl had one additional child, not listed below, who prefers not to have her relationship to the remainder of the family published on the interenet.