When We Were Greers XXXI

By Glenn N. Holliman

The Parents and Grandparents of James Grierson, our Maryland Ancestor


Below is the parish church at Glencairn, north of Dunscore and Dumfries, Scotland, and located not far from Cape Noch.  Numerous Griersons and Maxwells are buried here. Our interest in the Scottish place of worship results because one of my generation's 10th great grandfathers was the clergy here in the late 1500s and early 1600s.  His name was The Rev. John Browne and  his wife's name was Sara Hope. John Browne held an M.A. and was the first pastor at the parish after the Protestant Reformation, hence he could be married.

Bear in mind, Elizabeth I is on the throne of England, and Mary, Queen of the Scots, had been deposed by her nobles due to her erratic love life and Roman Catholic beliefs.  In 1603, the year before my generation's
9th great grandparents were born, Elizabeth died and James VI of Scotland became James I of England.

 In 1604, John and Sara Browne had a daughter, Mary Browne, who in 1625 had a short marriage to Thomas Greer .  However, Thomas died young, and in 1625, Mary married for a second time, in this case to a cousin of her first husband.

Photos for this series taken June 2011.


This new husband, who is my generation's 9th great grandfather, had the wonderful name of Sir James of the Rock.  James was born 1604 at Cape Noch, one of the family homes.    He married the widow Mary Browne in 1626 and a year later James Grier, who would immigrate to Maryland, entered this life.  Sir James inherited the family estate, including Lag Castle from his brother, John who died without an heir in 1638. 


It remains a puzzle how James of Maryland became an indentured servant when he appears to be the first born of a well-to-do family?  Is our primary source incorrect, and was our James a Covenator, that is one who wished to worship as a radical Presbyterian?  Was he captured and transported to the New World for his transgressions as were other Griersons in the area?

Above the church sign at Glencairn, a village a few miles north of the Maxwell home and a few miles west of Cape Noch, a home of the extensive Grierson family and our great grandfathers.


More in later posts on this fascinating time in history....

When We Were Greers, Part II

by Glenn N. Holliman

Actually, We Were MacGregors, Griers, Griersons and More!

Scotland today is part of the United Kingdom, which includes Northern Ireland, Wales and England. The rising of King James VI of Scotland in 1603 to the throne of England bound the two nations together after centuries of strife and warfare. Scotland had been determined to maintain its independence, and England wanted no restless and fierce neighbor at its northern door.

Our Greer ancestry in Scotland begins officially with Hugh II, a King of Dalriada, a long disappeared chiefdom, probably in the lowlands not far from the Roman Emperor Hadrian's wall. In the 7th century A.D., England was being invaded by Angles, Saxons and Jutes, and were in no condition to threaten their northern Celtic kin known as Picts.

This was 33 generations ago, and probably half of North America, Australia and the U.K. are descended from this line of Scots. An interesting one was Hugh IV or 'the Poisonous', who died in 822. Quaint name. The centuries rolled by and the MacGregor named emerged, and they were 'Sirs' and 'Thanes'. They seemed to rule and be ruled in Dumfrieshire, a county across the Solway Firth from Carlisle in Scotland.

The main market town was Dumfries, still a minor port city leading to the Irish Sea. Besides the home of some of our ancestors, Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet, and James Barrie, the writer of Peter Pan, hailed from the community. Our last Scottish ancestor was Sir James Grier Sr, b. 1604 at Cape Noch, Dumfrieshire. He married in 1626 to a Mary Brown, daughter of a Presbyterian pastor (She was from Glencairn). They would be my generation's 9th great grandparents. James Sr. died in 1666 at the place of his birth, Cape Noch, Thornhill, north of Dumfries.

Above to the right, the Dumfries and Galloway Family History near the town centre.

The couple did have a child named James Greer in 1627, born also at Cape Noch. This James is the first American, having caught a ship in 1677. He sailed to the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland and started a new life in the new world at the rather ancient age of fifty.

Below the Dumfries and Galloway Archives is located in the Burns House (yes, Robert) on Burns Street. Here are then two places to check out for family history on your next trip to Scotland. Easier yet, check them out on the Internet.

The Internet is swarming with Greer and McGregor sites. Two to check would be the Greer Genealogical Website and the Greer Family of Watagua County, North Carolina. Just Google Greer and you will be busy for days. I have posted our Greer lineage on the page labeled Family Lineage. Look to the bottom of the page.

Next posting, we will follow James Greer across the Atlantic to Maryland and see how he fares in the New World....