Descendants of Johan Simon Shunk Sr.
Notes
According to the registration of deaths book in the Westmoreland County courthouse, A M. S. Lear, 50 years old who was married and whose occupation was listed as signalman, died of heart trouble. The duration was listed as 27 days.
He was buried in West Fairfield Presbyterian Cemetery on Aug. 2, 1902.
Was the oldest living resident of Bolivar when he passed away.
1880 PA Census: Indiana Co. West Wheatfield Twp. (Series T9, roll 1135)
ed 244, p. 6, lines 43-46, dwelling 43, family 48, 5 June 1880:Benjamin LEAR, 27, Laborer, Pa/Pa/Pa
Margaret A., wife, 26, Keeping House, Pa/Pa/New Jersey
Elverda M., dau, 3;
Frederick S.C., 1, son
Old Mag was not very well liked by other members of Ben's family. It was thought that she was a witch. Mag had healing powers that the others could not understand. Ben's children from his first marriage were not allowed past the kitchen of his new wife's house. This broke the family apart and for the next two generations, the family was not speaking.
Vincent Lear tells of the time she removed warts from his arm by rubbing them with either an onion or a potato (he doesn't know which) and telling him that when he forgot about them, they would disappear. He says that for several days he kept checking to see if they were still there. He finally did forget about them for about a week and when he looked at his arm, the warts were gone.
He told me of time one of Mag's grandson's fell and cut his head. The boy told his friends to get him to his grandmother's house and she would take care of him. Vincent saw her touch the boy's head and then her own and the bleeding stopped.
One of twin sons born to Lydia Winebrenner before she married Jackson (John) Lear. The real father was said to be a red-headed Irishman by the name of Keegan or Coogan. Said to have had his own band.
All information on this family group came from cemetary headstones found at church near Jerome (Maple Springs Church of the Brethern).