John A. Spears was Richard White's father's father's mother's brother.

John A. Spears was enrolled in Company E of the 50th Georgia Infantry Regiment in Thomasville, Georgia, as a private, on 22 August 1862.  He was hospitalized at the General Hospital, Farmville, Virginia, for pneumonia from 31 August to 5 November 1862, and at General Hospital Camp Winder, Virginia, from 16 to 27 November 1862.   From at least November 1864 to February 1865 he was detailed for duty at the Division Provost Guard.  He surrendered with the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox on 9 April 1865.

In the mid-1880s John A. Spears served as legal guardian for his nephew (my half great uncle) James H. Carter for his portion of his inheritance from his paternal grandfather Herring Carter... a half share of a grist mill and 100 acres of land on Tired Creek.  This estate was probated in Thomas County, Georgia, and involved a contested will.

It is believed that John A. Spears' father, Allen Spears, was born in Florida, and presence of large numbers of sea shells set in concrete on many of the graves in the Spears "plot" in the Old Thomasville Cemetery may indicate some particular continuing connection with the Florida coast.  Since John A Spears was the only male child of Allen Spears who survived the Civil War, he may have had to do with the placement of those seashells.  The particular shells that were used were very large specimens of the Brown Cockle.  The significance of this particular shell, if any, is unknown.  There were several other graves in the Old Thomasville Cemetery with the same shells placed over them in a similar way.  Whether this might indicate some relationship to the persons buried there is also unknown, but might be worth investigation... particularly since it might be a hint at the unknown location of my great grandmother Sarah Spears/Carter/Norton/White's grave.

Source: Shells of the Florida Coast: A Shell Pamphlet for Amateurs, Drawings and Descriptions by Francis Wyly Hall Pass-A-Grille Beach, Florida, reprinted 1944 (this is a book acquired by my mother, many years ago...)