from The Harrodsburg Herald, Mercer County, Kentucky

Friday, February 21, 1913

Professor W. P. Sears

The Soldier Who Saw Jackson Fall Seeks the Shade Beyond the River

Professor W. P. Sears, who was a resident of this county for many years, died at Tyrone last Friday.  Mr. Sears was an old Confederate soldier, a native of Virginia, and served under Lee and Jackson throughout the war.  He lost an arm at Chancellorsville and was among the first to reach Stonewall Jackson after he fell in that battle.  After the war he studied music.  He possessed a very rich baritone voice and became a successful teacher, and secured a number of classes at different points in the county, one of them being at the Salvisa Baptist Church.  This school proved to be a very interesting one in several respects, for it was there he met and afterward married Miss Susie Penny, one of the loveliest young women of that community.  After his marriage, Professor Sears, as he was known, continued to teach music for some years, abandoning it later for the mercantile business which he conducted at Salvisa until the death of his first wife.  His second wife survives him.  He was a man of very considerable native ability, a good kindly heart, and a keen sense of humor which made him quite companionable.  The writer remembers how much he enjoyed a manufactured “yarn” to the effect that he had said “he helped to build the natural bridge of Virginia,” circulated by some of his fun-loving companions.  He saw a ludicrous side of things as quickly and enjoyed them as much as any one you could find in a day’s journey.