Columbia County PA Archives Biographies.....MEARS, George W. 1843 - living in 1899
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  Author: Biographical Publishing Co.
  
  GEORGE W. MEARS, whose portrait is presented on the opposite page, made an
  enviable record as a soldier in the Civil War, and is at present serving
  efficiently as telegraph operator and agent for the D., I,. & W. R. R. at
  Rupert. He is a son of Alexander and Phoebe (Knouse) Mears, and was born in
  Bloomsburg, Columbia County, January 3, 1843.
  
    Our subject's grandfather, Samuel Mears, was one of the pioneer settlers of
  Roaring-Creek, Columbia County, where he followed the trade of a shoemaker. He
  was united in marriage with Sarah Evans and they reared a family of six
  children, four sons and two daughters, one of whom was Alexander Mears, the
  father of our subject, who was born in the Roaring Creek settlement and reared
  under Quaker influences. Early in life he learned the trades of wagonmaker and
  carpenter, and also served an apprenticeship to the trade of machinist. Although
  he died in the prime of life, at the age of thirty-nine years, he was a man of
  wide experience and considerable mechanical skill. He was employed at the old
  Irondale furnaces at Bloomsburg for many years and also served as a patternmaker
  for some time at the foundry of Lewis, Moss & Co., of Bloomsburg. He also did
  some contracting for the old Catawissa Railroad. He was united in hymeneal bonds
  to Phoebe Knouse, by whom he was the father of three sons, namely: George W., in
  whom the interest of this sketch centers; Alfred M., who was a soldier in the
  Civil War, serving in Company M, H2th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., and met death at
  Petersburg, Va., after two months' service; John B., who was a molder by trade
  and a soldier of the Civil War, belonging originally to Company H, 103d Reg.,
  Pa. Vol. Inf., but later enlisted in another company, he is now a letter carrier
  in Chicago, Ill.
  
    George W. Mears was intellectually equipped for the battles of life in the
  public schools of Bloomsburg and at the breaking out of the war enlisted in
  Companyi A, 6th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., July 4, 1861, and was connected with the
  Army of the Potomac. He enlisted as a private and was later promoted to
  sergeant. He participated in many important battles, always displaying bravery
  and an eagerness to do his full duty. He took part in the battles of
  Dranesville; Grovetown; Second Bull Run; South Mountain; Antietam;
  Fredericksburg; Gettysburg; Rappahannock Station; and Mine Run. At
  Fredericksburg he narrowly escaped death from a minie ball, which, fortunately,
  hit his belt buckle and only slightly injured him. During the battle of
  Gettysburg he and a few of his comrades charged on a log house filled with rebel
  sharpshooters who were playing on the Union lines with deadly effect, and for
  this act of bravery he was awarded a medal by Congress in February, 1897. At
  Mine Run he was struck by a piece of flying shell, which fractured his left arm
  and necessitated its amputation at the shoulder. The surgeons in attendance took
  out so many pieces of the shoulder bone that they gave up all hopes of his
  recovery, but his wonderful constitution and vitality asserted itself and in
  five weeks he was able to return to his home in Bloomsburg. A piece of his
  shoulder bone is now in the Medical Museum at Washington, D. C. After fully
  recovering his health he learned telegraphy and became an operator at Danville,
  where he continued for five years, and then accepted his present position as
  telegraph operator, station agent, and express agent for the D., L. & W. R. R.
  at Rupert. He performs his duties in a satisfactory manner and has the respect
  of all with whom he is acquainted, both in business and social relations. He is
  of a genial disposition, and is a pleasant conversationalist, and his friends
  delight in hearing him relate war reminiscences.
  
    On June 9, 1870, our subject was united in marriage with Mary A. Appleman, a
  daughter of Mathias Appleman, a retired farmer and resident of Bloomsburg. This
  marriage has been productive of seven children: Wellington E., deceased; Elmer
  A., a car inspector on the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad at Rupert; H. Reber,
  who assists his father at the depot; Othello, who died at the age of eleven
  years; Ulysses Grant; George W., Jr., deceased; and Mathias K. He is past
  sergeant of Union Veteran's Legion, No. 32, of Bloomsburg; and was formerly a
  member of the G. A. R. Politicaly he is a firm supporter of the principles of
  the Republican party which party nominated him for the State Legislature in 1890.
  
  
  Additional Comments:
  Extracted from:
  
  Book of Biographies of the Seventeenth Congressional District
  Published by 
  Biographical Publishing Company of Chicago, Ill. and Buffalo, NY (1899)
  
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