The Dr. Ernest Cleary Family Papers document the life of Dr. Cleary and his family from 1855-1980. The papers consist of correspondence between Cleary family members, journals Dr. Cleary kept during school and his career, photographs and journals of backpacking trips and his time as doctor of the Sugar Pine saw mill, photographs and papers from his time in military service in the medical corps during World War I, portrait photographs of relatives and friends, newspaper clippings, publications, articles, and stories written by Dr. Cleary. Some other contents include business, financial, and legal documents, military insignia and uniform pieces, and keepsakes such as dried flowers from a wedding bouquet and locks of hair.

Dr. Ernest Winton Cleary was born on May 17, 1880 near Milton, California in Calaveras County, to mother Mary Eliza “Mollie” (Cooper) Cleary and Frank C. Cleary. When Ernest was 7 years old, his family moved to Pleasant Valley, CA, near the Posa Chine Creek, where his father had bought land and built a cabin. Following a drought in the late 1890s, Ernest and his father took up work in the nearby oil fields, where he became a driller. Ernest Cleary then decided to follow his childhood dream of becoming a doctor. He returned to high school and graduated from Santa Cruz High in 1905.

34 boxes 38 linear feet

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The collection is open for research.