52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 26

 Week 26:

The theme for Week 26 is “Favorite Name.” Whether it’s the name of a favorite ancestor or you just like the way it sounds, many of us have a name in our family tree that makes us smile. This is a good week to write about the person with that name.


Clercy Ray Gross 

Born: 24 Apr 1910 Newberry, Pennsylvania

Died: 24 Jun 2000 Etters, York County PA


Clercy was my 1st cousin 2x removed. I've never met another person named Clercy and especially not one from Newberrytown! Creative names clearly run in the family. 

Clercy was born and raised in Newberrytown. He spent his adult life there working as a self-employed mechanic. He was a WWII veteran and rose to the rank of Sargent. I still have some of his army pins for safekeeping. 

He was a bit of a recluse, what some might call a hermit. He worked out of Beshore's Garage and he also lived there. To my knowledge, he never cashed the checks from the mechanic work that he did. He would stuff everything into an old, beaten-down car that he owned. He'd wear worn out dirty clothes and would come over to my grandpa's house for meals and essentials. It wasn't that he didn't have the money, it was just how he wanted to live. 

Clercy never married or had kids, and spent the last few years of life in the county nursing home. I have vague memories of visiting him and seeing him around my grandpa's house.

Clercy was the son of William Henry "Harry" Gross and Glennie Edna Gross née Sipe. He was born in 1910 and lived to the ripe old age of 90. Both of his parents died fairly young and he lived with his grandmother for a time. 

Both Clercy and his parents are buried in Paddletown Cemetery and share a headstone. 




















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