John Cears Kear Family
A History of the Cears/Kear family
Thomas Reed Kear
While researching
the Kear family history a copy of a lengthy unpublished paper written
by Wiley McDonald
Kear was received from Mary
MacDonald Ritch,
a grandaughter of Wiley. Wiley prepared the paper in 1931, 35
years
after his son entered the U.S. Naval Academy. He had
started his research when the Navy required him in 1896, as a condition
to his son's entering the academy, to identify any member of his
family, or ancestors who had been in military service.
In
conducting the
search, Wiley found extensive data on the Frysinger and Romig families,
but little about the Kear family. It seems
appropriate, however, to include his findings as historical background,
and the following excerpt is quoted verbatim from his papers:
"Thomas
Reed Kear
- Father of Wiley McDonald Kear was born in Anne
Arundel County, Maryland
April 27, 1806. He was a son of John Kear
and Mary (Reed) Kear, his
ancestry being English and Scotch (sic). His father, John KEAR was a
private in
Captain Holt's company, Eighth Regiment, Virginia Militia, War of
1812-1815. His Mother, Mary (Reed) Kear
was a native of Maryland and had two brothers that built one of the
First Brick Blocks in Baltimore and known as 'REED's Block.'
It was
near or connected with the Pier of the Chesepeak [sic] Ship Yards,
which were owned by the same brothers, and all destroyed all
[sic] sometime after 1818.
"The REED family were amongst the early settlers of Maryland and engaged as Merchants and Ship Building and owned and with own ships carried the bricks used in building their large Block and other buildings from Wales where other members of the family were engaged in mining and Brick Making. some of them locating in Pennsylvania were engaged in Coal Mining and later in Oil and Gas."
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 - 2008 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.