Columbia County PA Archives Biographies.....PEALER, Samuel Jason 1833 - 
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  SAMUEL JASON PEALER, a civil engineer and surveyor of good repute, who resides
  at Asbury, Fishing Creek township, Columbia County, Pa., is a veteran of the
  Civil War, in which he served with great credit to himself and to his family,
  who justly look at his record with pride. He is a man of tried business ability,
  and stands high in his community. He is a son of Samuel and Mary (Sheidy)
  Pealer, and was born January 18, 1833. Our subject is of English and German
  descent, and the family name was originally spelled in two ways, Peale and
  Beale, but later it was altered to Pealer and Bealer.
  
    Paul Pealer, the grandfather of our subject, was a resident of Berks County
  and a soldier of the Revolutionary War, serving in the Continental Army until
  the close of that struggle. He then returned to his home in Berks County, where
  he lived until his demise.
  
    Samuel Pealer, the father of our subject, was born in Reading, Pa., in 1787,
  and early in life settled in Columbia County, where he bought a large tract of
  land. Having previously learned the trade of a millwright, he erected a mill on
  his property, which was located near Jonestown, and there followed that line of
  work in connection with farming for many years. Several years prior to his death
  he leased his farm to his eldest son and then purchased a small property in
  Fishing Creek township, where his wife died. While making a visit to his
  daughter in Iowa he passed away, in 1854, at the age of sixty-eight years. In
  politics he was originally a Democrat, then a supporter of Henry Clay-and the
  Whig party, and finally a Republican. He was joined in marriage to Mary Sheidy
  of Luzerne County, Pa., and they became the parents of the following children:
  Paul, Peter, David, Levi, George, Mary, Catherine, Barbara, Elizabeth, Sevilla,
  Margaret, and Samuel Jason, the subject of this review. Paul Pealer had four
  sons, as follows: Isaac K., who enlisted in 1861 in the 1st N. Y. Dragoons, and
  was killed instantly by a bullet which struck him in the forehead at the battle
  of Cold Harbor; S. L., who also served in the 1st N. Y. Dragoons and was shot in
  the head at Winchester; Frank A., who was in Company E, 209th Reg., Pa. Vol.
  Inf., and was wounded in the thigh at Bermuda Hundred; and S. F., who was
  orderly sergeant of Company A, 198th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf. Peter, second son of
  Samuel and Mary Pealer, was a resident of Fishing Creek township. His son,
  Oscar, served in Company F, 209th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., and was taken prisoner at
  Bermuda Hundred, dying of starvation and inhuman treatment in Salisbury Prison,
  N. C. David, third son of Samuel and Mary Pealer, who resides at Wyoming, Iowa,
  was mustered into service July 22, 1861, by Maj. Wood at Lafayette, Ind., in
  Company E, 2Oth Reg., Ind. Vol. Inf., and participated in the following battles:
  Flood Hatter's Inlet, November 2, 1861; the engagement between the Monitor and
  Merrimac, March 8th and 9th, 1862; the Seven Days' battle before Richmond, near
  Fair Oaka, Va., June 19, 1862; Glendale, June 30, 1862; Malvern Hill, July 1,
  1862; Second Battle of Bull Run, August 29 and 30, 1862; Chantilly, September,
  1862; Fredericksburg, December 11, 12 and 13, 1862; Cedars, May 12, 1863;
  Gettysburg, July 2, 3, and 4, 1863; and he then served in the same regiment with
  the Army of the Potomac until the close of the war, coming out at the end with
  but three slight wounds, which he received during his entire service. He served
  with that division of the army from the battle of Petersburg to the surrender of
  Lee's Army, and was mustered out at Arlington Heights in 1865. Levi, fourth son
  of Samuel, lives in Fishing Creek township. George died young. Mary, the widow
  of Jacob Bender, resides in Iowa. Catherine is the wife of Robert McCalmount,
  and resides in Iowa. Barbara died in Iowa. Elizabeth is the wife of John
  Beishline of Fishing Creek township. Sevilla died unmarried. Margaret, deceased,
  was the wife of Peter Eveland of Fishing Creek township.
  
     Samuel J. Pealer was reared on his father's farm and lived with his parents
  until his father's death in 1845, when he moved to Asbury and lived with his
  sister Margaret. He received his education in the common schools of Fishing
  Creek township, at New Columbus Academy, and also took a special course in
  higher mathematics under the private tutorship of Prof. A. L. Johnson of
  Lancaster, Pa. At the age of sixteen years he became a teacher, continuing as
  such for two years, when he took up field work under William Buckalew.
  
    For three years our subject was employed on government work in Minnesota, and
  on July 1, 1863, he was commissioned second lieutenant of a company of emergency
  men under Capt. R. F. Clark. He also did special work at the time of the Rebel
  invasion in 1864 for Maj.-Gen. Cadwallader and Maj.-Gen. Couch, also under the
  orders of Gen. Albright. He later enlisted in Company E, 209th Reg., Pa. Vol.
  Inf., and was shortly after detailed as recruiting officer, with the rank of
  second lieutenant, serving also as judge-advocate. He recruited three companies
  and was appointed captain of Company A, 74th Reg., Pa. Vol. Inf., which he
  joined at Green Spring Run, Va. He was a man of great popularity in his regiment
  and was subsequently chosen major, receiving twenty-four out of a possible
  twenty-seven votes, and held that rank until the close of the war. Upon
  returning to his home at Asbury Mr. Pealer taught school and, in addition,
  engaged as a surveyor and civil engineer, the latter of which has been his
  occupation up to the present day. He was for a time employed by the Pennsylvania
  Coal Company and has also clone the chief work and engineering for the Salem
  Coal Company. Since 1895 he has been largely engaged in surveying about 80,000
  acres of land in West Virginia, in Pocahontas and Randolph counties. His efforts
  have been attended by good results and he stands among the first business men of
  Asbury. He is a man of honor and integrity and is highly esteemed by all.
  
    On January 18, 1862, our subject was united in marriage with Samantha C.
  Coleman, a daughter of Cornelius Coleman of Asbury, who was born March 19, 1838,
  and they are the parents of eight children: Alice M., the wife of Ezra A.
  Chapman, a resident of Huntington, Luzerne County; Lizzie C., the wife of George
  Vanliew; Stewart, who died in infancy; Woodin; Ella Eva; Robert Samuel; Charles
  Revere; and Blanche Florence S. Mr. Pealer is a Republican in politics and
  actively supports the principles of his party. Socially he is a member of
  Mountain Lodge, No. 264, I. O. O. F., of Orangeville, Pa. In religious
  attachments both he and his wife are faithful members of the Methodist Episcopal
  Church at Asbury, and he is recording steward of the Orangeville charge. For
  eight years he was superintendent of the Sunday School and at the present time
  is assistant superintendent.
  
  
  
  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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