George Lear
Aged 60
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
In office
December 7, 1875 – February 26, 1879
GovernorJohn F. Hartranft
Preceded bySamuel E. Dimmick
Succeeded byHenry Wilbur Palmer
Personal details
BornFebruary 16, 1818
Warwick Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
DiedMay 23, 1884 (aged 66)
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
SpouseSydney White
Children3
ProfessionAttorney, banker

George Lear (February 16, 1818 – May 23, 1884) was a prominent Doylestown, Pennsylvania lawyer and banker, who served as state attorney general.

Life and career

Share of the Doylestown National Bank, issued 5. December 1865, signed by George Lear

Lear was the son of Robert Lear, a farmer, and his wife Mary (Meloy) Lear, both from Bucks County. He initially worked as a teacher and store clerk, but also studied law, mostly on his own, and was admitted to Bucks County bar in 1844. He stumped for Polk-Dallas in the 1844 election.[1] He was appointed the county's Deputy Attorney General in 1848, which he stayed at until the position was superseded by an elected District Attorney.[2]

In 1845 Lear married Sydney White. They had three children, Henry, Cordelia and Mary.[3] Henry would become a lawyer.

In 1865, Lear was appointed president of the Doylestown National Bank, which position he kept until his death.[4] His son Henry was his successor.[3]

Lear was a leading participant in the state's 1872–73 constitutional convention. In 1875, he was appointed state attorney general, which he served until 1879.

Lear died at home in 1884,[5] and was buried in the Doylestown cemetery.

References

  1. ↑ Davis 1905a, p. 315.
  2. ↑ Battle 1887, p. 860.
  3. 1 2 Battle 1887, p. 861.
  4. ↑ National Cyclopaedia 1895, p. 172.
  5. ↑ Davis 1905b, p. 385.

Further reading

  • The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. Vol. IV. New York: James T. White and Company. 1895.
  • Battle, J. H., ed. (1887). History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bucks County: A. Warner. p. 861. george lear pennsylvania.
  • Davis, William Watts Hart (1905a). History of Doylestown, Old and New. Intelligencer Print. p. 315. george lear.
  • Davis, William Watts Hart (1905b). History of Bucks County. Vol. III. New York: Lewis Publishing Company.
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