William Spear

b. 1758, Somerset, Maryland • d. 1859, Jefferson, Alabama

Rank: Ensign / Private

Service: Capt. Samuel Mosby's Co. (Col. Joseph Williams); Capt. Henry Speer's Co. (Col. Joseph Phillips); Capt. David Humphries' Co. (Col. James Martin) — North Carolina Militia 

State: North Carolina 

SAR Patriot #: P-294773

Spouse: Mildred "Milly" EstepService 

William Speer first entered the service as a young draftee in the Surry County Militia, though his captain allowed him to stay home on his initial call-up after his father patriotically provided a critical packhorse to the army. He later volunteered on the front lines as an Ensign in the company commanded by his own brother, Captain Henry Speer, braving the volatility of the North Carolina backcountry. Stepping forward a third time as a volunteer private under Colonel James Martin, Speer marched to the coast where his unit received the monumental news of Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown. He went on to become an extreme centenarian, passing away at the remarkable age of 101, and is officially recognized as both an NSSAR and DAR Patriot Ancestor (A107994).