He was born on 25 July 1823, to Nathan Spare and Ann Johnson (7, 8). He was 38 years old when he was enlisted (4, 10 [26 in 1850]). He was born in Upper Providence, Pennsylvania (4, 10).
He married (1) Matilda Bitting on 22 December 1847 (7, 8). They had five children (7, 8):
In 1850, he was living in Perkiomen Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (10). He was living with his wife Matilda and daughter Wilhelmina (10). He was a day laborer (10).
Matilda Spare died on 15 July 1859 (7).
On 24 July 1860, he married Elizabeth B Shade, in Trappe, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (7). They had no children (7).
He was a stonemason when he was enlisted (4).
He was 5 feet 5-1/2 inches tall, and had a dark complexion, grey eyes, and dark hair (4).
He was enlisted and mustered into service on 22 October 1861 (1, 4). He was enlisted for three years, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Captain Keyser (4). He served as a private in company G (1).
He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg (5).
He died of apoplexy [?], in camp near Beverly Ford, Virginia, on 8 August 1863 (1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8). He was buried at the National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia, block 2 section E row 10 grave 80 (1, 7, 8).
On 9 September 1863, his widow, Elizabeth B Spear, applied successfully for a pension (6, 9).
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster) (John Spear)
2 consolidated morning report, 91st PA, 10 August 1863 (John Spear)
3 company G, register of deaths (John Spear)
4 company G, descriptive roll, #70 (John Speer [sic])
5 Pennsylvania Memorial, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (John Spear)
6 pension index, by name (John Spear)
7 'John Spare', on Arlington Cemetery site (viewed April 2007) (John Spare, aka John Spear)
8 'Scott/Cauffman family database', a gedcom available on RootsWeb WorldConnect, contact Wendy Scott (viewed April 2007) [other gedcoms are also available] (John Spare)
9 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company G (John Spear)
10 1850 US census, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Perkiomen Township, microfilm series M432, film 799, page 46 (John Spare)
| line | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Dwellings visited | 193 | ||
| Families visited | 215 | ||
| Name | John Spare | Matilda Spare | Wilamina Do |
| Age | 26 | 26 | 6/12 |
| Sex | M | F | F |
| Color | |||
| Occupation of males over 15 years | Day laborer | ||
| Real estate owned | |||
| Birthplace | Do [sc. Pennsylvania] | Do | Do |
| Married within year | |||
| Attended school within year | |||
| Over 20 & can't read/write | |||
| Deaf, dumb, blind, etc. |