Thomas B. Fearer (Pine Creek, Ogle County)

Thomas Jenipher Fearer (1823-1910), was born January 15, 1823 in Garrett Co., Maryland. When he was 14 years old he moved west with his parent’s family and lived for a few years in Bureau County, Illinois. In those early days Grand Detour, Ogle County was one of the principal trading points of the immediate neighborhood. This encouraged his family to leave Bureau County and move to a farm in Ogle County. Mr. Fearer was united in marriage February 6, 1849 to Margaret Dick, a resident of Pine Creek Township. They were married for more than fifty years until Mrs. Fearer died on May 16, 1902. They had nine children but five died in childhood. The four children that survived were: Mrs. Ellen A. Boswell, Mrs. Blanche Strong, Mrs. Jeanine Trueblood, and W.P. Fearer. In 1903, Mr. Fearer left the farm in Ogle County and moved to Oregon, Illinois where he lived on North 4th Street. However, Mr. Fearer heart was centered in the old farm home so he enjoyed driving out there nearly everyday until stricken with a severe cold. He was unable to get rid of the cold, heart trouble followed, which terminated in a stroke of paralysis. He died on January 15,1910 in Oregon, Ogle Co., Illinois. For more than 65 years he was a faithful member of the Mt. Zion United Brethren Church in Pine Creek. He was buried in the family plot in the cemetery adjoining Mt. Zion Church by the side of his wife and five children. His funeral was largely attended by neighbors and friend who always held him in high regard. Mr. Fearer lived next to a gentleman named George W. Young. Mr. Young came to Oregon Township from Washington Co., Maryland in 1843. He taught school in the winter when he was not helping on the farm.

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