Charles Gilbert Mears (1888-1946)
Charles Gilbert Mears, the son of Gilbert O. and Rebecca Mears, was born on 6 September 1888 in Hampton, Virginia. He attended the College of William and Mary but graduated from the University of Louisville probably in the late 1920s. In 1910 Mears lived at home with his family at 131 Queen Street in Hampton about a block from St. John’s Cemetery. He worked as a reporter for the Newport News Times-Herald and covered the Christian case in 1912. It is unknown how long he worked for the newspaper. On 17 September 1914, Mears married Marie Burke. By June 1917, Mears resided in and worked for the City of Newport News as a clerk for the Board of Health. In 1930 Mears was a minister at a Baptist church in Louisville, Kentucky. The Mears returned to Newport News by 1935 where Charles was employed as a clerk at the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company. He died on 5 March 1946 and was survived by his wife Marie (1887-1959). The couple had no children. Charles Mears is buried in St. John’s Cemetery in Hampton.
