Kate McPhelim Cleary
Kate McPhelim Cleary was a Canadian-born author who navigated a challenging life marked by personal loss and adversity. Born in New Brunswick, Canada, Cleary faced significant hardships early on, including the death of her father when she was just two years old. The family moved to Ireland during a time of famine before returning to the United States, where they settled in Chicago. Cleary became a prolific short-story writer and novelist, marrying Irish immigrant Michael Thomas Cleary and producing notable works such as *Vella Vernel: Or, An Amazing Marriage* and *Like a Gallant Lady*, the latter featuring a strong female protagonist. Despite some success, her life was plagued by personal tragedies, including the loss of two children and a battle with morphine addiction, which led her to a sanatorium and later an asylum. Cleary's literary contributions are recognized for their authentic depictions of frontier and Chicago life, infused with humor and satire. Her legacy lies in her ability to capture the complexities of life in the American Midwest during the late 19th century.
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Subject Terms
Kate McPhelim Cleary
Author
- Born: August 22, 1863
- Birthplace: Richibucto, New Brunswick, Canada
- Died: July 16, 1905
Biography
By the time Kate McPhelim Cleary was seventeen years old, she had moved from Canada to Ireland to the United States and had published less for literary purposes than to help her family make money. Cleary was born in New Brunswick, Canada, and lost her father, James McPhelim, when Cleary was just two years old. The family was comfortable for a time, but when McPhelim’s fortune from lumber and shipping interests dwindled, the fatherless family went to Cleary’s parents’ native country, Ireland. Ireland in the 1870’s was wracked by famine, and so the McPhelim family moved back to Philadelphia in 1879 and to Chicago in 1880.
Cleary’s family business was writing, and the family augmented their collective income with the pieces they sold. Cleary was an adept short-story writer. At twenty, Cleary married an Irish immigrant, Michael Thomas Cleary, who moved the young couple to Nebraska. Cleary was a productive writer in her new home, penning several novels, including the 1887Vella Vernel: Or, An Amazing Marriage. She also sold numerous stories to magazines.
Although her husband’s business was mildly successful, Cleary did not entirely escape her hardships. She lost two children and became addicted to morphine after prolonged difficulties after the birth of one of her children. While her husband was in Chicago in 1895, one of Cleary’s daughters died, and another contracted typhoid fever.
In late 1897, Cleary published Like a Gallant Lady. The book was notable for its strong writing—it made an important contribution to regional writing—and for Cleary’s independent female protagonist. With Cleary’s health and her husband’s health failing, the family returned to the Chicago area in 1898. Cleary’s husband worked many jobs, and Cleary resorted to selling popular fiction to newspapers and magazines to supplement the family income.
The last years of Cleary’s life were sad ones. She attempted to overcome her addition to morphine in 1902 and admitted herself to a sanatorium. The effort was, unfortunately, unsuccessful. Emaciated, her health in shambles, she was admitted to an asylum for the insane in 1903. She recovered enough to begin writing again but could not collect the money she earned from her writing because she was not considered competent. Her husband was inexplicably unsupportive.
Upon her eventual release into a friend’s custody, Cleary was able to write, but her health remained precarious. She and her husband lived apart, and he unsuccessfully attempted to have Cleary readmitted to the asylum in July, 1905. Later that month, Cleary died during a visit with her family. She left behind a collection of work noted for its believable portrayals of frontier and Chicago life. As an author, she was appreciated for her deft incorporation of humor and satire, which she used to illustrate life in the American Midwest in the last third of nineteenth century.