George Wesley PEARCE

My third great grandfather, George Wesley PEARCE, was born in January of 1843 in Wake County, NC. He was the fifth child of John PEARCE and Martha WILLIAMS. 

He had eleven siblings, per the 1850 US Census: James T., Marcellus Ervin, John Wesley, Angeline, Sarah Tyson, Vandelia, Sylvanus Talmadge, Joseph Moncher, Roxana, Berry, and Charlie. The family was living in the New Light area of northern Wake County, NC.

George served with Company D of the 23rd Reg in North Carolina during the Civil War. 

When he was 23, George married Miss Elizabeth Caroline PERRY,daughter of William PERRY and Delia HARRISON. The date was February 14, 1866, in the 2nd year of the US Civil War. 

Marriage Bond George Pearce and Caroline Perry

They married in Wake County, NC and had the following children:

1. Dillithea (Dilley) PEARCE was born married, and died in Wake County, NC. She was born 08 Apr 1867 and died 01 Apr 1947 at the age of 79. She married John W. Henry ALLEN on 11 Oct 1896.
2. John William PEARCE was born in 1868 in Wake County and died 13 Jun 1941 in Franklin County, NC. He married Tish CARTER sometime between 1891–1921 and then Geneva BRIDGES on 05 Feb 1891.
3. George Wesley PEARCE also lived, married, and died in Wake County, NC. He was born 18 May 1870 and died 03 Aug 1951. He first married Wiley CHAMPION on 12 Dec 1901 in Wake County, and then Clovenia WILKES on 22 Sep 1909.
4. Martha Hawkins PEARCE (my 2nd great grandmother) followed several of her siblings and spent her life in Wake County, NC. She was born 10 Sep 1872 and died 30 Nov 1953 at the age of 82. She married Allen H. RAY on 03 Dec 1885.
5. Annie Elizabeth PEARCE was born 10 Feb 1876 in Wake County and died 04 May 1950 in Franklin County, NC. She married Champion Newton ALLEN on 19 Nov 1893 in Wake County.
6. Joseph PEARCE was born 24 Oct 1877 and died 05 Nov 1949. He married Lilla CHAMPION on 14 Oct 1901. All occurred in Wake County, NC.

George and family appears on the 1850 census in New Light, Wake County. On the 1860 census, the family was recorded in the Northwestern District of Wake County.  This was probably still the New Light area. 

Oddly, in 1880, George and family appear on the census in Johnston County living in the Neuse River area. I suppose they moved south to Johnston County for work. However, by 1900, they had returned home to the New Light area of Wake County. 

George died in 1916 in Wake County and is buried on the Allen O'Neal Farm on Purnell Road, near New Light next to wife Elizabeth.