Lear
A family from Bitton, Gloucestershire, a small village between Bristol and Bath, and then a prolific family in Australia, particularly Hobart and Tarraville.

John Lear was born in Bitton about 1776.    
John married Jane Ward on 5 Feb 1797 at Bitton.  Jane's family was probably related to members of the notorious Cock Road Gang.

I am anxious to identify the parents of both John and Jane.

Oldest son William Lear was born in Bitton 25 Nov 1797;
Isaac Lear, was born Bitton 5 April 1809.
 
John died in a coal mine near Bitton in 1811. After that the family was destitute.
William turned to crime. He was transported to Tasmania in Dromedary in 1819; he married Mary Ann Connor in Hobart in 1825;
he died at Eaglehawk,Victoria (Australia) 1 Feb 1872.

Jane married a James Baker, and bore the name Baker when she was transported to Sydney in Morley in 1820. Isaac travelled in Morley with his mother. 
They got transferred to Hobart later, and Jane took the name Lear again.

Isaac was a witness at William's marriage. He married Margaret Maitland in Hobart, 1833. He died in 1868.

Isaac Lear (son of Isaac),  born Hobart in 1842, married Anna Elizabeth Gray in 1871. He was a whaler and mariner, and died at sea in 1890.
See his picture and the report. See a photo of Guiding Star and his other ships, below.

Their children included:
Ethel Maud Lear,  born Hobart 1872; married William Kellaway about 1890 (My grandparents)         See photos of her and her family.
Trucanina Rose Lear, born Hobart 24 May 1879; married Harold Oliphant.

There are many descendants of William, Isaac and their siblings, especially in Tasmania and Victoria

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Email me on bill@kellaway.info



Isaac Lear, Born Hobart 1842, first mate of Guiding Star		 The Story of the loss of Guiding Star
Report in The Mercury
More of this
Photo of ship

Guiding Star
These photos may be seen in the Shipwrights Arms, Battery Point, Hobart
More ship pctures
 Image of ship Ethel
See Isaac Lear's daughter Ethel, named after this ship.