“Write to the girls to be sure and
set good examples for their children, tell Alanson I want him to be sure he is
in the right course and then pursue it.”
Josiah Cleveland, March 1853
These are the last words
recorded of Josiah Cleveland (1772-1853). His words of advice were for his 12th
and last child, Alanson Josiah Cleveland. We can’t be sure exactly what he
meant by taking the right course, but it may have to do with what Josiah
perceived as Alanson’s career potential.
Alanson Josiah Cleveland
was born to Josiah and Fanny (Lathrop) Cleveland on 12 March 1822 in
Jacksonville, New York. Three
years after his birth his family lost three children, Gurdon Lathrop, Julia
Ann, and John Porter to typhoid fever. Alanson was a survivor and did go on to do good things.
In 1850 he was a teacher
in the Town of Catherine; in 1860 he was a merchant in that town. He joined the
U.S. Army and fought in the Mexican-American War. He was elected as one of the first officers of Cayuta
Township to hold the position of sealer of weights and measures.
In 1851 Alanson married
Lucy Minerva Lyon; they had two children, Walter Lyon Cleveland b: 1856 and
Mary France Cleveland b: 1858.
The family relocated to
Los Angeles in the 1890s. Alanson died July 1894; Lucy died 1911. They are
buried in the Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA.
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