William Fears (1746 - 1835)

Born 16 Feb 1746 in Colony of Virginia

Ancestors

Husband of Frances (Sadler) Fears — married about 1771 in Prince Edward County, Colony of Virginia [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 13 May 1835 at age 89 in Jasper County, Georgia, United States

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Biography

Soldier William Fears served with Prince Edward County Militia, Virginia Militia during the American Revolution.

William Fears is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A038616.

William Fears was part of a Southern Pioneer Family.

William was born about 1746 in Virginia to parents James Fears and Kesiah Unknown Some internet trees say she was Kesiah Whitney. The problem with the Whitney surname is that there were no Whitney's in the area where the Fears lived and no Whitneys listed as members of their church.

William Fears is listed on the 1830 census living in Jasper County, Georgia. ^[1]

On 19 December 1810 in Charlotte County, Virginia, William Fears is listed on the marriage record of his daughter Frances Fears and her husband Archer Chaffin. ^[2]

William Fears died in 1835 and is buried in the Fears Family Cemetery in Jasper County, Georgia. ^[3]

Ages of the William Fears Children and wife Frances Sadler as written by son Samuel Ballard Fears. There is no child listed by the name Sarah Ann Fears born about 1796. She is on other lists of the children of William Fears and Frances Sadler but with no sources found for her.

1. James Fears Born April 28th 1772
2. William Fears Born January 13th 1774
3. Mary Fears Born November 20th 1775
4. Elizabeth Fears Born December 18th 1777
5. Rebeckah Fears Born November 7th 1779
6. Ezekiel Fears Born September 30th 1781
7. Thomas Fears Born October 25th 1783
8. Frances Fears Born November 5 1786
9. Zachariah Fears Born July 3 1789
10. Samuel Baker Fears Born October 13th 1791
11. Robert Fears Born August 21 1793
12. Nancy Fears Born October 20 1799

Children/Spouses listed in DAR Records

1. REBECCA MILLS [1] BARTHOLOMEW ROBERTS
2. EZEKIEL [1] ALCEY STRINGFELLOW
3. JAMES [1] MARY ANTHONY PORTER
4. WILLIAM [1] MARY GRIFFIN
5. SAMUEL [1] MARY BALLARD
6. ZACHARIAH [1] ELIZABETH MATTHEWS

Reference Note

Bartlett Roberts and Rebecca M. Fears, daughter of William Fears, filed their marriage bond in Charlotte County, Virginia on December 22, 1800.^[4]

Research Notes

There has been controversy about who William Fears married and the mother of his thirteen children. For many years his wife was listed as Ann Bulger and this was accepted by the DAR. Then, about 1998, the DAR stopped taking new members using William Fears and Ann Bulger as ancestors due to problems with verification. About 2000 it had been researched by a number of people and sorted out to the following results. There was no William Fears/Ann Bulger marriage. There was an Ann Fears who married a Daniel Bulger in Georgia and it is believed that this somehow became confused with William Fears. It was also determined that this William Fears did not die in 1821 as previously thought. His son, William, died in 1821 in Greene County, Georgia. William, Revolutionary Patriot, died in 1835 in Jasper County Georgia. It is now accepted that William Fears, Revolutionary Patriot, married Frances Sadler in Virginia (no marriage record found) and they were the parents of the thirteen children. This is more logical since one of the grandsons is named William Sadler Fears and the Sadler name extends to a number of his descendants.

Sources

1. ↑ "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPL-LC7 : 11 August 2017), William Fears, Jasper, Georgia, United States; citing 362, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 18; FHL microfilm 7,038.
2. ↑ "Virginia, County Marriage Records, 1771-1989," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:669P-XKZQ : 28 June 2022), Wm Fears in entry for Archer Chaffin, 19 Dec 1810; citing Marriage, Charlotte, Virginia, United States, Circuit court clerk offices, Virginia.
3. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images Find A Grave: Memorial #32582013 memorial page for William Fears Jr. (16 Feb 1746–13 May 1835), citing Fears Cemetery, Monticello, Jasper County, Georgia, USA ; Maintained by BeNotForgot (contributor 46974545) .
4. ↑ Charlotte County Marriage Bonds, 1765-1815, p. 297; Library of Virginia, Richmond, VA

• "Jasper COUNTY GA Bible Records William Fears Family" Files http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/jasper/bibles/fears.txt. Accessed 16 May. 2024.