Individual Details
William Harrison Greer
(January 29, 1847 - May 1, 1904)
"According to family traditioin (Aunt Edith) "Harrison (Greer) was a mountain farmer and a cabinet maker or cooper. He fought for about 6 weeks in the Civil War (Harrison would have been only fourteen when the war began) where he caught the measles. He eventually died from TB which Grandma (Martha) always said was caused by not being treated for the measles. Harrison and Martha were very poor from what Daddy (George Thomas) always said." There is an all-wood (no metal hoops) 1/2 peck measuring container at Aunt Ruth's which is said to have been made by Harrison.
"According to family tradition, Harrison was in the North Carolina Home Guard at the beginning of the Civil War but was transferred to the regular army (CSA) when a Union prisoner he was guarding escaped. The prisoner was a personal friend of his and Harrison, a crack shot, shot the top out of the cherry tree as the prisoner escaped. Harrison's participation in the war in the Home Guard cannot be confirmed by official North Carolina records but the records for the Home Guard are not very complete. Harrison may have served only in an irregular troup leaving no formal record of service. Neither William Harrison nor his widow applied for a Confederate pension, to which Martha would certainly have been eligible under the Act o 1901 had Harrison seen regular service (unless she owned property exceeding the statutory limit). There is a service record for Tennessee enlistment which shows a Wm Harrison Greer who served as a private in Co. B, Greer's Tennessee Cavalry (photostat attached [in book]. The only records found (rosters are lacking) were P. O. W. records which show that he was captured at Paris, Tennessee on 4 February 1863 and sent to City Point, James River, Virginia where he was paroled.
"According to Aunt Edith, "Grandma Greer (Martha) was a tiny woman about 5' 2," 95 to 100 pounds, and smoked a clay pipe. She was very neat and always wore two petticoats. One had pockets on it in which she carried her tobacco and money. The money was in a leather pouch with a drawsstring. She wore a size 5 shoe but could have probably worn a 4 if she could have found that size. She didn't like to stay at Tom's (George Thomas') house because his children had the 'big head' because of too much 'learning' (most having gone to college). She especially didn't think girls should go to college. She was very polite and, as she put it, had 'good manners.' Some of her rules were that you didn't sit down until your elders were seated and you didn't join in the conversation when she was talking nor leave the room until she excused you. The youngest (Edith) was served last at the table and you didn't start to eat until she had eaten her first bite. Ladies didn't talk business, politics, or pray in public. She could play a guitar and a Jew's harp and, I think, the organ."
"The ages of his children suggest that Harrison was probably married about 1869/70. No record of this marriage could be found in Wilkes County where Martha Marina Church is said to have been born but the marriage register there is lacking for 1869. The marriage also might have taken place in Watauga County where all records for this period have been lost. In the 1880 census Harrison was living in Stony Fork Township, Watauga County, near his father Jordan and his brother Maston.
"Harrison and his family are not listed in the Soundex Index to the 1900 census of North Carolina but the censuses were often incomplete in the mountain counties." (OUR GREER FAMILY HISTORY, 1983, by Thomas H. Greer, 335 Miramontes Avenue, Half Moon Bay, California 94019, pages 4 and 7.)
"According to family tradition, Harrison was in the North Carolina Home Guard at the beginning of the Civil War but was transferred to the regular army (CSA) when a Union prisoner he was guarding escaped. The prisoner was a personal friend of his and Harrison, a crack shot, shot the top out of the cherry tree as the prisoner escaped. Harrison's participation in the war in the Home Guard cannot be confirmed by official North Carolina records but the records for the Home Guard are not very complete. Harrison may have served only in an irregular troup leaving no formal record of service. Neither William Harrison nor his widow applied for a Confederate pension, to which Martha would certainly have been eligible under the Act o 1901 had Harrison seen regular service (unless she owned property exceeding the statutory limit). There is a service record for Tennessee enlistment which shows a Wm Harrison Greer who served as a private in Co. B, Greer's Tennessee Cavalry (photostat attached [in book]. The only records found (rosters are lacking) were P. O. W. records which show that he was captured at Paris, Tennessee on 4 February 1863 and sent to City Point, James River, Virginia where he was paroled.
"According to Aunt Edith, "Grandma Greer (Martha) was a tiny woman about 5' 2," 95 to 100 pounds, and smoked a clay pipe. She was very neat and always wore two petticoats. One had pockets on it in which she carried her tobacco and money. The money was in a leather pouch with a drawsstring. She wore a size 5 shoe but could have probably worn a 4 if she could have found that size. She didn't like to stay at Tom's (George Thomas') house because his children had the 'big head' because of too much 'learning' (most having gone to college). She especially didn't think girls should go to college. She was very polite and, as she put it, had 'good manners.' Some of her rules were that you didn't sit down until your elders were seated and you didn't join in the conversation when she was talking nor leave the room until she excused you. The youngest (Edith) was served last at the table and you didn't start to eat until she had eaten her first bite. Ladies didn't talk business, politics, or pray in public. She could play a guitar and a Jew's harp and, I think, the organ."
"The ages of his children suggest that Harrison was probably married about 1869/70. No record of this marriage could be found in Wilkes County where Martha Marina Church is said to have been born but the marriage register there is lacking for 1869. The marriage also might have taken place in Watauga County where all records for this period have been lost. In the 1880 census Harrison was living in Stony Fork Township, Watauga County, near his father Jordan and his brother Maston.
"Harrison and his family are not listed in the Soundex Index to the 1900 census of North Carolina but the censuses were often incomplete in the mountain counties." (OUR GREER FAMILY HISTORY, 1983, by Thomas H. Greer, 335 Miramontes Avenue, Half Moon Bay, California 94019, pages 4 and 7.)
Events
| Birth | January 29, 1847 | Watauga County, North Carolina | |||
| Marriage | Abt, 1868 | Martha Marina Church | |||
| Death | May 1, 1904 | Fleetwood, Ashe County, North Carolina | |||
| Burial | Fleetwood, Ashe County, North Carolina |
Families
| Spouse | Martha Marina Church (1846 - 1935) |
| Child | Jane Greer (1869 - ) |
| Child | William F. "Will" Greer (1870 - 1937) |
| Child | Rufus G. Greer (1872 - 1944) |
| Child | Julia Ann Greer (1874 - ) |
| Child | George Thomas Greer (1875 - 1952) |
| Child | Zana Emeline Greer (1878 - 1961) |
| Child | Venie (or Geny) Greer (1879 - ) |
| Child | Nelia Greer (1880 - 1946) |
| Child | Virtie Greer (1882 - ) |
| Father | Jordon Greer (1818 - 1896) |
| Mother | Nancy E. "Eller" Laws (1826 - 1880) |
| Sibling | Martha Greer (1843 - ) |
| Sibling | Mary Greer (1845 - ) |
| Sibling | Maston Greer (1855 - 1925) |