Fact or Fiction? A Revolutionary War soldier talked to a boy, who became a Civil War soldier

"There will be stories, and only some of them will be true." DUANE F. MOSIER

These words my Dad spoke after his diagnosis with lung cancer. They were words of wisdom he passed on to me and his grandchildren. In my The Challenge: Tokyo Rose I proved that a story he told about testifying at the Tokyo Rose Trial was true. Here is another story my Dad said when he was a young boy living in Weaverville, Trinity County, California there was and old “codger” as he called him who was hard of hearing. The old man told him that when he was a kid, like my Dad, he didn’t pay old folks stories much mind either. The old fella said he had talked to a man who served in the Revolutionary War. When my Dad told this story at work with a bunch of scientists, they said he was full of crap. That’s impossible. So I decided to see if Dad was right, or “full of crap.” He only knew the last name of the old man was “JONES.” He wasn’t hard to find on the 1830 census. He is listed as a gold miner, age 89. When my Dad arrived in Weaverville in 1833, my Dad would have been 7 or 8 and the old guy about 92. So that part of the story fits.

The codger was Monroe JONES and according to his obituary in the Sacramento Bee, 4th of February 1939 he was the last of the Trinity County Civil War Veterans. My Dad’s childhood friend Ruth Goodyear Dowdakin describes him as having one of those very long ear trumpets so he could hear. They may seem crude but they are said to have been remarkably effective. So we learn here that Monroe was just 3 months shy of his 99th birthday when he died and that he left a daughter and eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren! It makes me wonder how many of them had ever listened to his stories.

The 1930 census told me that Monroe was born in Illinois. And sure enough I found Monroe JONES living with his parents in the 1850 Henry County, Illinois census as 6 year old, listed as Charles, with parents Milo and Mary JONES. In 1860 he is listed as, Monroe, 16, with parents Milo and Mary JONES. But in the same census for Henry County in 1850 where the JONES family is on page 23, I then found a Geo Spear, Pauper, age 96 born in Pennsylvania on page 40. He is living with a James Bacchus. He is the only 90+ year old male in the county.

So I went looking for a George SPEAR and found one on the 1800 Federal census in Amwell, Washington County, Pennsylvania age 26-44 so birth about 1756-1774. Furthermore I find in Pennsylvania Archives, Fifth Series, Volume III : Harrisburg Publishing Company, State Printer, 1906 pg 134: George Spear, Rev War Corporal 9 Sep 1778 with Continental Line Captain Jacob Bower’s Company Of Sixth Pennsylvania Regiment Commanded By Lieutenant Colonel Josiah Harmar, Esq. There are George SPEAR land transactions in Illinois as early as 1826.

The point is, that even the most outlandish stories can be true. A Revolutionary War Corporal born about 1754 when he was about 96 spoke with a young lad Monroe JONES about 6-8 years old. Then Monroe grew up to serve in the Civil War and he talked to my Dad about 1933-39 when my Dad was 8-13. So I am going to believe that my Dad talked to a Civil War Veteran who talked to a Revolutionary War Veteran.

And any way you cut it that’s one helluva story! Thanks Dad. Sadly I am unable to locate a grave for George Spear and as a Pauper he may have been buried in an unmarked grave—perhaps never claiming the pension to which he was entitled. May this stand as a memorial to your service. How many patriots lie in unmarked graves?

Kelly Wheaton © 2023 – All RIghts Reserved