Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-05-17
Mystery in Death Of Tobias Lear
UnsOlved by Rambler's Research
of lin of
SuchA Further FacsA boutW ellington

You see, conversation English is
niftier and flippier than article Eng
lish.
SO the A. IL. brings me Decatur and
what follows, from the Encyclopedia
Americana, will set you straight on
the time of our trouble with the
North African pirates:
AT the outbreak of the Tripoltan'
War. in command of the schooner En-
terprise, he DECATUR captured the
bomb ketch Mastico, % Dec, 1903 In
this ketch, renamed the Intrepid, he
destroyed the frigate Philadelphia in
the harbor of Tripoli by "A singularly
bold stroke. On Aug. 3, 1904, Decatur
commanded the American gunboats i'm
their attack on the Tripolitan fiotilla.
lie captured two gunbodtS by the most
desperate hand-to-hand fighting. For
the burning of the Philadelphia he was
commissioned captain, and at the
age of % was placed in command of
the frigate Constitution. At the close
, of the war he returned home, having
divided honors with Commodore Pre-
BILE. After the close of the War or
1872 he was placed in command of 4
squadron and sent to the Barhary
States to exact reparation for injuries
and to enforce treaties of peace. His
squadron captured the Algerian frigate
Mashouda and the brig Estedio. On1'
80 June. 1915. he eXacted submission
and peace from the Dey Of Algiers; o.
on Is July the same year from the "
Bey of Tunis. and on August tho
same year from the Bashaw Of
| TripOli.'
| President Madison appointed Tobias, r
| Lear accountant of the War Depart
ment. In The Handlers story of 20
years ago is this: -
"On the morning of October II. 1916,
Lear was found dead in the garden Of
| his home. just west of the Treasury
! Office. The cause for this act was's
| never ascertained, or at least the
! Rambler has not found any record
of it, n
/ l have no doubt that at that time l.
used what might be considered rear
| Sonable industry TO discover some ac-'-
count of Lear's death. In trying to
| make this ramble a passable bit of'E
workmanship ! have gone through
| the file of the National. Intelligencer"''
| of October, 1916. The only mention
of his death is in a paid death notice
in the issue of the Intelligencer Sat
| urday, October u, 1916. Here it is: -.s
| ''Died-In this city yesterday. sud-"
| denly. Col. Tobias Lear, accountant of
the War Department. His private -
| life was exemplary, and he had filled
various public stations under success
sive administrations with deserved
reputation. His loss is deeply lament
ed by his family and friends
! There was no news story of Col
| Lears death. That is not remark =.
able. From the newspaper point ora
view of that time this tragedy was not
a public matter-not news.
4 x < =
THE Lear burial lot is in Congress:
sional Cemetery. and / hand you
| inscriptions taken from four tombs
! there:
| Here lie the remains of Tobias
! Lear. He was early distinguished as
! the Private Secretary and Familiar
! Friend of the Illustrious Washington,
and after having served his country
with Dignity. Zeal and Fidelity in
| many Honorable Stations he died Ac-
| countant of the War Department. J.
October. 1916, aged 81. His Desolate
| Widow and Mourning Son have erected
| this Monument to mark the place of
| his Abode in this City of Silence" 80
| Frances D. Lear. Widow of Col.
Tobias Lear, Born 18th November .
1873; Died Ind December 1856"
Here lie the Remains of Maria
Lear and her Infant Daughter. Her
Memory Depends not upon Inscrip-
lions on Marble: Her Eulogy is in the
] Hearts of Her Friends
| Next 70 the tomb of Tobias Lear is.
that of his son, Benjamin Lincoln
Lear, who was born March IL. 1872.
and died of cholera at Washington
October H. 1882
You see in the old story that on
| the morning of October II, 1916. Lear
was found dead in the garden of his
! home. just west of the Treasury
| Office" That was the best the Ram
/ bier could do at that time. A day or,
! two ago he went to the Recorder of
| Deeds Office and ran through the rec
! ords from the time of Lear's appoint
ment as accountant of the War De
| partment till June 8, 1915, when hs--,
! found "A deed Tobias from
| Jacob Wagner of Georgetown to lots,
| l, and 10. square 142. That square,
is bounded by Eighteenth, Nineteenth,
! r and G streets northwest. Lot No. l.
| is at the southeast corner of the
| square, or at the northwest corner Of
Eighteenth and +. No. adjoins il
on the west and faces + street, and
| Lot No. Is adjoins No. / on the north
and faces Eighteenth street. From
| that the Rambler assumed this was
| his home when he shot himself. From
! the assessment on the lots in Lear'S-
| time 1t is fair to assume that there
was frame house on the corner The
! large old brick house there now. No.
| 1901 + street. was the home for a
| long time of the late Melville Weston
| Fuller, Chief Justice of the United
/ States. After looking at tax records
the Rambler believes that a brick
! house was built on the corner of
| Eighteenth and + between 1870 and r.
| 1850 by the owner of the property
| then. His name is entered on the as
| sessment lists of 1854 and 1864 as s.
| Sprigg. The Washington city direc- :.
| tories of those years do not contain,
| the name. Who S. Sprigg was is for
| the Rambler to find. Chief Justice,
| Fullers house probably the =.
Sprigg house enlarged. We will adj.
journ until next Sunday.