Soldier Information
Name: Martin Sears
Alias: Sayers
Place of Birth: Nelson KY Year of Birth: 1841
Occupation: Laborer
Eyes: Dark Hair: Dark Complexion: Dark
Height in Feet: 5 Inches: 6.75
View Ledger
Enlistment Information
Enlistment Date: August 26, 1864
Enlistment Place: Louisville
Enlistment State: KY
Compiled Military Service Record
Document: View
Congressional District: 4
Company: C Regiment(s): 5th USCC
Mustered Where: Louisville, KY
Mustered Out Date:
Rank at Muster Out:
Notes:
Martin Sears was a private in the U.S. Colored Cavalry, 5th Regiment, Company C. He was credited to the 4th Congressional District of Kentucky. He enlisted on Aug. 26 and mustered in on Aug. 30, 1864. On October 2 of the same year, he was wounded in the Battle of Saltville, Virginia, and he died the following day, October 3, 1864 (although documents in the CMSR state he died in December). He was due first and second installments of bounty. On December 31, final statements were furnished.
It is worth noting that Martin’s surname is spelled “Sears” throughout his military documents; however, his surname was more likely to have been “Sayers,” as that was his enslaver’s last name, and it is noted that Alexander Sayers owned him since birth. In addition, Martin’s widow goes by the spelling “Sayers” after Martin died, which is further evidence that they were using the spelling of the enslaver.
Alexander Sayers of Sayers Depot, Nelson County, Ky., applied for compensation for his slave named Martin Sears. Alexander stated he had a valid title to him by virtue of “owning his mother and being born mine.”
Soldier Death Information
Died in war? Yes
Military Death Date: October 3, 1864
Military Death Location: Saltville, Virginia
Military Cause of Death: Killed in action, gunshot wound
Death Date: October 3, 1864
Cause of Death: killed in action, gunshot wound
Soldier Pension Information
No pension card found
Widow Pension Information
Widow Pension Card: Pension Card
Widow Application Date: April 7, 1866
Application No.: 124655 Certificate No.: 81750
Other Family Pension Information
Pension Card Link: View
Application Date: January 23, 1873
Application No.: 207489 Certificate No.:
Pension File Information
Pension File: Pension File
Pensioners: Selona (Lona, Loney) Greathouse
Emma Sears
Pensioner County: Nelson Pensioner State: KY
Number of Pages:123
Pension Notes:
The 123-page pension file includes eyewitness testimony that Martin Sears/Sayers married Selona (Lona/Loney) Greathouse on July 15, 1864, about six weeks before enlisting in the military. After Martin Sears died in the war in October, his widow Lona received a widow’s pension, which commenced on October 4, 1864, at a rate of $8 per month. Lona’s pension application states “there is now no child or children issue of the above named soldier” (page 3 of pension file).
However, Lona Sears died in January 1871, leaving a minor child named Emma Sears. After Lona’s death, there was an application for pension for this minor/helpless child. The majority of the pension file is comprised of affidavits and depositions as to whether Emma was Martin Sears’ daughter, therefore due a minor’s pension.
Freedman’s Bank/Freedmen’s Bureau Information
No Freedman’s Bank information found
No Freedmen’s Bureau Documents found
Family Information
Mother First Name: Polly Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings: Edward
Wife #1 First Name: Selona (Lona, Loney) Maiden Name: Greathouse
Wife #2 First Name: Maiden Name:
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children:
Family Notes:
There is no hard proof of who Martin Sears’ mother is; however, there is a Freedman’s Bureau document about an enslaved woman named Polly Lancaster who had been enslaved by Alexander Sayers for about 15 years. The 1850 Slave Schedule shows that Alexander had one 23-year-old enslaved woman and two enslaved boys, ages 8 and 5. The 8-year-old is the right age to have been Martin. It is possible that the woman in the 1850 Slave Schedule is the same enslaved woman mentioned in the Freedmen’s Bureau record (Polly Lancaster): https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/62309/images/007641763_00486?treeid=182677369&personid=372394550894&usePUB=true&_phsrc=cuu151&_phstart=successSource&pId=3453468
Martin Sears’ widow, Loney, had one child more than a year after Martin Sears was killed in the war. There was a dispute over this child, Emma Sears, being Martin’s child, but it was proved she was not Martin’s. Martin Sears had no children.
Family Tree: View
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1870 Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Profession: Laundress
1870 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1870 Real Estate Value: 0 1870 Personal Estate Value: 0
1870 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1870 Census Notes:
1880 Census
1880 Census Link: View
1880 Profession: Servant
1880 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1880 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1880 Census Notes:
1890 Census
1890 Census information not found
1900 Census
1900 Census Link: View
1900 Profession: Servant
1900 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1900 Own/Rent: Unknown 1900 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1900 Farm/House: Unknown
1900 Census Notes:
1910 Census
1910 Census Link: View
1910 Profession: Servant
1910 Ability to Read? Can read Ability to Write? Can write
1910 Own/Rent: Unknown 1910 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1910 Farm/House: Unknown
1910 Census Notes:
1920 Census
1920 Census information not found
Enslaver Information
Name: Alexander Sayers Location: Sayers Depot, Nelson County, Ky.
Previous Enslaver:
Enslaver Notes:
Alexander Sayers of Sayers Depot, Nelson County, Ky., applied for compensation for his slave named Martin Sears. Alexander stated he had a valid title to him by virtue of “owning his mother and being born mine.”: https://www.fold3.com/image/265214858
1850 Enslaver Census
1850 Census information not found
1860 Enslaver Census
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: 13100 1860 Personal Estate Value: 17180
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 7
1870 Enslaver Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Real Estate Value: 3000 1870 Personal Estate Value: 15000
1880 Enslaver Census
Compensation Information
Compensation Applied? Yes Compensation Received? No