Rachel Spears was the daughter of Jacob Spears 1754-1825 and Elizabeth Kellar of Paris, Bourbon County, KY. She had 5 siblings.

Rachel had 12 children:
Elsa Kellar Johnston 1802-1827,
Robert C. Johnston 1804-1832 (Cholera),
William H. Johnston 1807-1830,
Elvira Johnston 1809-1871,
Nancy Johnston 1811-1871,
Margaret McClanahan Johnston Bass 1813-1885,
Jacob Spears Johnston 1815-1892,
Rebeccah Sarah Johnston 1817-????,
Elizabeth Emily 1819-????,
Noah G. Johnston 1821-1824,
John Thomas Morris Johnston 1823-1874,
Mary Ellen Johnston 1826-1829.


Rachel's father, Jacob, named Bourbon whiskey in 1810. Rev Elijah Craig invented it. He was born on the South Shenandoah River at Brush Bottom Ford, VA along with most of his other 14 siblings, except Noah born 1769 and Regannah born 1765. Regannah was recently discovered in Bourbon County as married to Joshua Owings, who had a cousin in Washington Twp.

Jacob had a tavern at age 15 on the Youghiogheny River at the National Road crossing near two relatives - Peter Rezner (Reasoner), husband of his sister Mary, and Paul Froman, his uncle and wife Elizabeth Hite from Middletown VA who settled below the Mason Dixon line. Mason and Dixon and even George Washington visited the tavern. The deed was found in the Cumberland, MD courthouse. Jacob later sold that land in 1816. That Bedford/Somerset County land was later made part of the National Road/Rt 40.

He moved in the 1780's to Rostraver / Washington Twp Fayette County temporarily where he appears in the tax rolls along with Peter Reasoner. He soon moved to Jefferson County VA / WV in 1787 which later was divided into 30 some counties - one that was named after the Bourbon family. The town of Paris, KY is in Bourbon County. He was making corn whiskey by 1788, 4 years before Jack Daniels in 1792 in TN. His was "Fine Old Kentucky Whiskey" which is stamped on the end of the barrel. I have a picture from the book "Spears Saga" by Joseph F Spears of Fairfax VA. His brother Henry and other relatives in PA were making Rye Whiskey and were part of the Whiskey Rebellion of the 1790's. GW sent Light Henry Lee with 13000 troops to sw PA to put down the rebellion. Most of them camped at Fell's Methodist Church in Washington Twp between the Monongahela and Youghiogheny Ferries. Benjamin Fell made shoes for the shoeless soldiers there and at Valley Forge.

Paul Froman and Elizabeth Hite Froman (Jacob's Uncle and Aunt) have been shown to be the parents of Regina Froman who married Henry Spears/Speers. Elizabeth Hite's father was Jost Hite. So Paul Froman Sr was shown to be the grandfather of Jacob Spears born on the South Shenandoah River at the north end of Massanutten Mountain in 1754. There is a new findagrave page for Jacob Spears who named Bourbon Whiskey in 1810.

Henry Speers sold his land in 1760 on the South Shenandoah River before heading north toward Pennslvania. Adjacent neighbors were Mary Froman Kellar who married Abraham Kellar/Keller and Magdolina Froman Overall who married an Overall. Witnesses were two sons of Jost Hite whose names appears on the land sale document.

- Tom Speers, family historian