O'Rear Family Sword Information
Dennis O'Rear visited the current owners of the O'Rear Family Sword in 1998
and took some pictures of the sword. Afterward, he contacted some experts
about the sword and sent them the pictures for evaluation. Below is the
message that Dennis posted on the O'Rear mailing list regarding the findings. of
the experts.
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Date Mon, 21 Sep 1998
From "Dennis O'Rear" <denniso@usa.net>
Subject [OREAR-L] O'Rear Family Sword
To OREAR-L@rootsweb.comLooks like the Sword that the Va family has is not an artifact from the original John O'Rea. It's much newer that that, about the time of the Revolutionary War. This fits as there is no information about it in the original wills and no family stories about it.
Well, it would have made a good story. Now we can focus on other matters.
Shown below is the correspondence from the English Civil War group about the photos that I e-mailed to them.
Dennis
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Hi Dennis
I do [apologize] for the delay. I have put the photos to a few people who know about these things and they have all come to the same conclusion as myself.
1. It is believed that the blade is from the late 18th or early 19th century. The markings, would be not Charles but George. This fits with the blade size and, indeed, the shape.
2. We also believe that the handle has been changed sometime in the late 19th Century. This would also fit with the handle .
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news but, as I stated in my first correspondence the weapon did not look right.
Hope this helps, and if I can help in the future do not hesitate to contact me.
Best Regards
Ian
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Thus it appears the sword is from the Revolutionary war era or possibly a little
later (War of 1812?). At this time, nothing else is known of the sword and
how it came to be owned by the O'Rear family. We are now faced with the
following questions:
-- When was the sword obtained?
-- Was it obtained before the Revolutionary War?
-- Did it come via a commission from King George?
-- If it was received during/after the Revolutionary War, why
does it have the marking of King George?
-- Was it perhaps a battlefield relic or other 'spoils of war'?
-- Was it taken from a prisoner of war?
-- When was the handle changed and why?
There are probably other questions including questions regarding the answers that might be found.
Last Revision: 05/13/2006 23:41:30
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