John Cears Kear Family
A History of the John Cears/Kear family
Migration to Iowa
While Van Wert, Ohio, was
the first major stopping place of the Kear families, it was not the
final one. Mary Ann (Kear)
PRING, Amelia (Kear) BAYLOR and William KEAR moved further
west. Little is known, yet, about the circumstances of
Amelia’s and William’s moves. However,
through a descendant of Mary Ann, the movement to Iowa is somewhat well
documented.
In 1972, Grace Crane, a
great granddaughter of Mary Ann KEAR
and Richard PRING, wrote a
history of the Johnson family. For many years Grace had
taken notes while talking with her grandfather, Benjamin
Thompson J0HNSON. She then translated the notes
into a 125 page, single-spaced, typewritten history.
Grace CRANE died in 1978
without having
completed her history. However, because of the significance to this
Kear history, the following excerpts
from her Introduction and Foreword are quoted:
INTRODUCTION
(By Grace Johnson CRANE)
1972
"For
a long time I
have been
talking about putting down on paper an account of what information I
have about my families past. . . , I am
starting an account that will include family trees as far as I have
been able to get them, and stories and information that I have gathered
from letters and written accounts -- also memories of my
own before my time. My father was Frank
Leroy Johnson . . ."
FOREWORD
"The
arrival in
Iowa of most of
the characters who will figure in the beginning of this story happened
only about ten years after the
territory was opened up for settlement. In 1835 when a few
trappers and adventurers roamed in this area, it was still a part of
the Wisconsin Territory, There were settlements along the Mississippi,
but Indians claimed the land west of the River.
"In 1843, a small band of
soldiers were sent
to the forks of the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers, to build a fort,
looking forward to the
subsequent treaties with the Indians so that the land could be opened
up for settlers. Under the treaty the Indians were to leave
October 11, 1845 and already there were many claimants waiting for
land, although the country was not yet surveyed. The
soldiers,
however, left the Fort immediately after October 1845."
Copyright
Information on this site related to the Kear family is from The John Cears Kear Family compiled, written and edited by Donald L. Kear, copyright © 1984. Copyright © 2000 - 2006 by Donald L. Kear. All rights reserved. Portions of the pages on this site may be reproduced for nonprofit use only. Credit shall be given to the source.