John LEAR Jr. ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

Much of the information I've developed for John Lear, Jr. is presented on the page for John Lear (Sr.), in connection with the discussion of Mildred Pamelia Dobson Cosgriff's DAR application. Here I will address the question of his children. Recall that Mildred listed the following children for John Lear, Jr. in her application to the DAR: Jesse, George, William, John, Livina, Jimima and Susannah. (While it is probably of no importance, note that her genealogy scrapbook lists the same children in a somewhat different order: Jesse, John, William, George, Lavinia, Jemima and Susannah.) Let us examine the evidence as to each.

Jesse: Although no evidence is cited, I think Mildred was right about Jesse being one of their sons. We know there was a Jesse Lear who deserted from the 1st Virginia Regiment and that he was probably the Jesse Lear who joined the Loyalists, first in New York for the remainder of the Revolutionary War and thereafter in Nova Scotia. We also know that he appears to have named a daughter (Jemima) after his mother and another daughter (Lavinia) after his sister. Moreover, he himself appears to have been the namesake for other Jesse Lears in subsequent generations of Culpeper Lears. There are, however, no records in Culpeper County that involve Jesse. [N. B. Subsequent Y-DNA testing of a direct male descendant of Jesse resulted in a match with the modal haplotype of the Culpeper Lears. The Y-DNA results, together with the naming patterns mentioned above, indicate Jesse was indeed the son of John Jr.]

George: George seems to have just been presumed to be a son of John, without any evidence to that effect. I have opted to keep George as a son of John, because he did name a son John and named no son James. However, he may well have been a son of James, who wasn't too happy with William inheriting his entire estate, with the result being no namesake.

William: William, who married Hannah Bailey, seems to be another case where Mildred just presumed he was the son of John. The evidence is clear he was instead the son of James. It is true that an 1889 letter written by Jesse's son, James Cox Lear, recounts that his brother, John Moore Lear, told him Jesse had a brother named William, but there is no evidence in the records of another William, other than the son of John Sr. Accordingly, I have not included any William in this family. (This letter also names John Lear and Tobias Lear as brothers. Tobias Lear, born in New Hampshire, was the personal Secretary to George Washington and related to him by marriage. Even Mildred, who tried very hard to connect all the Virginia Lears, did not claim Tobias, much to her credit.)

John: Although such a son would not be a surprise, insufficient evidence exists to list him. All we have is the questionable -- as least as to the children of John, Jr. -- 1889 letter and an ambiguous reference to John Jr. as John Sr. in the 1794 tax list for Culpeper County. If the previously discussed muster roll card for a John Lear in the 1st Virginia Regiment and the death of a Private John Lear from Virginia in 1780 could be substantiated, then that John could easily be a son of John Lear, Jr. However, I'm convinced these records are false and accordingly I have not included any son John in this family.

Levina: I have listed Levina, apparently never married, as a daughter on the basis of her 1809 will, which included a bequest to her father and mother at a time when John Lear, Jr. (and apparently wife Jemima as well) were the only older Lears still residing in Culpeper County.

Jemima: Jemima married Owen Campbell/Cammel on 30 Nov 1787 in Culpeper County. Her given name suggests she was a daughter of John Jr. and Jemima Lear, although it's possible she was a daughter of James. On the basis of her name, I have listed her here.

Susannah: I have found no Susannah Lear in the records other than the widow of John Lear (Sr.). Accordingly, she is not listed here.

Mildred appears to have not known about three other children: David, Thomas and Frances/Fanny. The evidence for them is set forth below.

David: David appears on the tax list with John Lear, Jr. at about the time he turned 21. Moreover, he appears to have had a daughter named Jemima.

Thomas M.: Thomas also appears on the tax list with John Lear, Jr. at about the time he turned 21. Naming patterns for his children, notably a Jesse, a Levinah and a Fanny, also indicate he was the son of John Lear, Jr. and Jemima. This is the line of William Lear, of Learjet fame.

Frances/Fanny: Fanny is identified in Levina's will as her sister and appears in the tax lists as Frances or Fanny. While it's possible she was a widowed sister-in-law, since Fanny's son is identified as Nathan Melick Lear, I have gone with what Levina said.

  Death Notes:

Both John and Jemima would appear to have been living as of 22 Jan 1809, the date of daughter Lavina Lear's will, which made bequests to them. By 1811, the tax lists show that John had died.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Deed: 1768, Culpeper County, Virginia. ⁵

Dated 15 Sep 1768, Recorded 15 Sep 1768, Bk E:586
Edward Hore and his wife Ann of King George County, Virginia sold 200 acres to John Lear of Culpeper County, Virginia for 70 pounds current Virginia money. The land was located in the Parish of St. Mark's in the County of Culpeper in the little fork of the Rappahannock River upon the north branch thereof. The land was acquired by Edward Hore from Thomas Hopper. Noted in the metes and bounds description was Beverley's line.

[Recorded immediately prior to the above deed at Book E:585 was a lease of the same property for one year to John Lear. The consideration was 5 shillings sterling and the rent was "one peper Corn," if demanded. The apparent purpose of this lease was to make John Lear the possessor in order to satisfy some statutory requirement so that it could be sold to him.]

2. Deed: 1774, Culpeper County, Virginia. ¹

Dated 15 Feb 1774, Recorded 21 Feb 1774, Bk G:132
John Lear Jun. and Jemima his wife of Culpeper County, Virginia, sold the 200 acres in the Little Fork area that he purchased from Edward Hore in 1768, to Gavin Lawson of Culpeper County, Virginia. Sale price was 200 pounds current money Virginia. Signed by John (his mark) Lear Jun and Jemima (her mark) Lear. Witnesses: John Blackwell, James Slaughter, Joseph Seavill and George Hamilton.

3. Military Service: 1780-1784, Virginia. ⁶

John Lear (Jr.) enlisted in the 2nd Virginia Regiment of the Continental Line on 7 Jan 1780, and was certified by his commander, Col. Christian Febriger, to have served until the end of the war, thus qualifying him for a Revolutionary War Bounty Warrant.

4. Estate Sale: 1785, Culpeper County, Virginia. ⁷

In the Account of Sale of the Estate of Christopher Hoomes, Dec'd, dated 11 Mar 1785, John Lear is listed among the purchasers.

5. Tax List: 1786-1812, Culpeper County, Virginia. ^{4 8}

[Although the tax lists begin in 1782, it was not until 1786 that John Lear, Jr. began appearing on them.]

1786, Benjamin Gaines Gent List: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 1 Black <16, 5 horses, 9 cattle

1787, Daniel Brown District: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 4 horses, 8 cattle

1788 (no Lear listing)

1789, Aaron Lane District: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 3 horses
[Note that David Lear also makes his appearance on this tax list, suggesting he was a son of John Lear, Jr. and had recently turned 21. Per his tombstone, he was born 1767, which is a good fit.]

1790, Aaron Lane District: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 2 horses
[Note that James Lear, son of James, begins to be taxed this year, but in the Daniel Brown District. James appears in the Daniel Brown District through the 1804 tax list.]

1791, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+

1792, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 2 horses
[David Lear also appeared on this tax list.]

1793, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 3 horses

1794, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear Senr, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 2 horses
[Does the "Senr" designation indicate John Jr. had a son named John? Query. No son John ever appears on the tax lists. Perhaps the "Senr" designation was only meant to indicate that he was older than Thomas M. Lear, who was listed on the same tax list on the same day, suggesting he was another son of John Lear, Jr. who had recently turned 21. Family records show he was born in 1769.]

1795, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 horse
[Thomas M. Lear also appears on this tax list, but not thereafter.]

1796, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 1 horse

1797, District of Aaron Lane: John Lier, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+

1798, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 2 horses
[David Lear reappears with this tax list.]

1799, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+,
[David Lear also appears on this tax list.]

1800, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 1 Black <16, 1 horse
[David Lear also appears on this tax list.]

1801, District of Aaron Lane: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 1 Black <16, 1 horse
[David Lear also appears on this tax list.]

1802, District of William Burt: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 1 Black 16+, 1 Black <16, 1 horse
[David Lear also appears on this tax list.]

1803 (no listing for John or David, although James continues to be listed in the District of Daniel Brown)

1804, District of William Burt: John Lear, 1 White tithe, 2 Blacks 16+, 4 horses
[David Lear also appears on this tax list and James was still listed in the District of Daniel Brown.]

1805-1810 (records missing)

1811, District of Charles Triplett: Jno Lear's Est, no tithe, 1 Black 16+, 1 horse
[The only other Lear listed was Frances Lear, with 1 White tithe (probably son Nathan) and 2 horses. James and David had by then moved to Garrard County, Kentucky. Frances would appear to be John Lear, Jr. and Jemima's daughter, Fanny.]

1812, District of Charles Triplett: Jno Lear's Est, no tithe, 1 Black 16+
[This is the last appearance for the Estate of John Lear, Dec'd. However, Frances Lear appears on this tax list and continues to be listed in 1813 (as Fanny) and 1814 (as Francis). In 1815 and 1816, there are no Lears listed, but in 1817 Nathan M. Lear, Fanny's son, begins regular appearances.]

John married Jemima.^{1 2} (Jemima died after 1809 ⁹.)