TOPE FAMILY PAGE

Levi Tope Rediscovered

Chapter 7, page 63

Mary Catherine Tope    

    20 Mary Catherine Tope (Levi³, George², John¹) was bom 18 November 1847 in Richland Twp., Alien County, Ohio.¹ She died on 11 September 1903,² in Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio, at the home of her son, Oscar, on Blaine Street in an area known unofficially as Keartown. This name came about when Catherine Kear, Robert Kear's mother, owned and sold a section of land in northwestern Van Wert, which was added to the Town of Van Wert and is known as Catherine Kear's Addition, Mary Catherine married Robert Thomas Kear, son of  Thomas Reed Kear and Catherine Frysinger, on 11 October 1868 in Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio.3

    Robert was bom 17 November 1849 in Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio,^₄

and died of Bright's disease on 7 November 1881 in Van Wert, Van Wert County, Ohio.⁵ Robert was not a member of any church, but while on his deathbed, made a profession of conversion.⁶ He was for a number of years and up to his death a member of the fire company, and served as its Secretary.⁷

After the death of Robert, Mary wove rugs on a loom in her home to support her family.⁸

Mary and Robert are buried in the Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio,⁹ although he was first buried in the old cemetery on West Main Street.

Mary Catherine and Robert Kear had five children:

+40 i. Olive Pearl⁵ Kear, bom 17 October 1869 in Van Wert, Van Wert

County, Ohio.

+41 ii. Elsie Leora Kear, bom 11 April 1871 in Van Wert, Van Wert County,

Ohio.

+42 iii. Eva Louella Kear, bom 19 May 1873 in Van Wert, Van Wert County,

Ohio.

+43 iv. Ernest William Kear, bom 15 March 1875 in Van Wert, Van Wert

County, Ohio.

Supplemental information:

    Prior to Bright's Disease taking his life, the Kear family lived with Robert's father-in-law, Levi Tope, in Willshire Township [note 10]. Because of inability to support the family, or lack of living space, only three children were with the family.
Robert worked in the stave factory in Van Wert. He also enlisted on 24 September 1874 in the Van Wert Fire Department No. 1 [Note 11], and served as the company's secretary in 1878 [note 12]. He resigned from the department on 3 April 1889.
(Photo of Oscar Kear with first fire engine )

Notes:

1. Age calculated from tombstone, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.
2. Record of Deaths, Probate Court, Van Wert County, Ohio, Vol. 2, p.1o4.
3. Marriage Records, Probate Court, Van Wert County, Ohio, Bk. 3, p395.
4. Tombstone, Woodland Cemetery, Van Wert County, Ohio.
5. Obituary, Van Wert Times, Friday, October 11, 1881.
6. Obituary.
7. Certificate for Robert T. Kear in the Van Wert Fire Department Museum, donated by Oscar M. Kear.
8. Record of Deaths, Probate Court, Van Wert County, Ohio, Vol. 2, p. 104.  Her occcupation was noted as a weaver, and her son, Oscar in a conversation with Donald L. Kear, said she had a loom in her home.
9. Cemetery, Inscriptions, Van Wert, Ohio (Van Wert Chaper Ohio Genealogical Society, February 1986), Vol. III, p. 133.
10. 1890 Van Wert County, Ohio, Census, 4 June 1890, Microfilm, Reel No. 1074, Frame No. 445.
11. Enlistment Certificate (The company's hand-engine and Robert's enlistment certificate are part of the Fire Department historical display).
12. Death Records, Probate Court, Van Wert County, Ohio, Vol. 2, p. 104.

Updated Wednesday, 12-Sep-07 09:50:23 PDT  
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