When We Were Greers XVIII

by Glenn N. Holliman

Jesse Greer, Sr's. Great Awakening
Gordon A. Wood in his epic Empire of Liberty (see below) describes in vibrant terms the Second Great Awakening, an evangelical Protestant religious revival that swept the American frontier and rural areas of the new country in the early 1800s.

The radical expansion of religious fervor 'transformed the entire religious culture of American and laid the foundations for the development of an evangelical religious world of competing denominations unique to Christendom.'  There were few trained clergy to minister to the yearnings of religiously 'under fed' men and women.  The Baptists and the Methodists became effective in reaching out extravagantly and emotionally to persons offering solace, reassurance and God's forgiveness of sins. 

The Cane Ridge, Kentucky summer revival in which 15,000 to 20,000 persons gathered for several weeks in 1801 is the most famous and perhaps earliest of revivals that were reproduced thousands of times, even to this generation in parts of America.

Heat, noise, confusion, and exhortations of preaching by a dozen ministers at the same time led to an 'intoxication' of the spirits, with holy dances, shouting, and the 'jerks'.  Critics have said more souls were made in the evening shadows of the camp revival than were saved.  Be that as it may, Cane Ridge immediately 'became the symbol of the promises and extravagance of the new kind of Evangelical Protestantism spreading through out the west.'

                            Above an 1819 Methodist camp meeting. In the middle 1850s in  Sutherland, North Carolina, Isaac and Caroline Greer Wilson would convert to Methodist as a result of a revival of this type in the Western North Carolina mountains.  Caroline Greer Wilson is a grand daughter of Jesse Greer, Sr.  Engraving reproduction for educational purposes only.


No doubt, the new religion offered a steadying influence to a rough and often physically violent society. Whether tucked in the hollows of Watauga County, North Carolina, the blue grass of Kentucky or in the Tennessee Valley, church communities stood for morality (although perhaps thought excessive in the 21st Century such as 'not wearing extravagant clothing or working on Sunday'.  Excessive alcohol consumption was a major problem in early 19th Century America with subsequent child and spouse abuse.  Later church denominations would bring to the Southwest academies, seminaries and colleges, all to the good for an ill-educated, often socially and culturally isolated peoples.

Jesse Greer, Sr. (1778 - 1869) responded to this religious call, but he did not rush to 'redemption' as his own words so indicate.  In another article I have posted the 'testimony' of Jesse Greer Sr. as copied by Jesse's son, Jesse Greer, Jr. (1806 - 1892), my 3rd great grandfather.

When We Were Greers, Part XVII

by Glenn N. Holliman

Mary 'Polly' Morris (1787 - 1880), The Ancestress of the Family!

This was an amazing prolific family.  By the time Polly Greer (my generation's 4th great grandmother) died, she gave birth to 17 children who in turn produced 100 grandchildren, 250 great grandchildren and as many as 300 great great grandchildren by the time of her death!


One of her great grandson's, The Rev. William A. Wilson, has left us with a list of the 17 children and their date of birth.   Mary was born September 17, 1787, the summer the U.S. Constitution was written in Philadelphia, a year and a half before George Washington became the first President.  She died February 29, 1880 with the 19th President, Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House.

At the age of 13 1/2 Polly married Jesse Greer Sr. on January 17, 1800.  The babies came often until she was 43 years of age.  Imagine, 30 years, usually pregnant!

Fannie Greer - Jan. 24, 1801 (The President of the U.S. was John Adams)
Benjamin Greer - Nov. 9, 1802 (The President of the U.S. was Thomas Jefferson)
Joshua Greer - Dec. 18, 1803
Nancy Greer - Feb. 21, 1805
Jesse Greer, Jr - Dec. 16, 1806 (this is my generation's 3rd great grandfather)
Polly Greer - June 9, 1808
Sallie Greer - Nov 4, 1810 (The President of the U.S. was James Madison)
Jennie Greer - Oct. 8, 1812
Betsy Greer - Nov. 17, 1814 (The White House was burned by the British)
Joseph Greer - Dec. 13, 1815 (The War of 1812 ended)
Andrew Greer - April 14, 1818 (The President of the U.S. was James Monroe)
Synthia Greer - Oct. 1, 1819
Franklin Greer - Feb. 22, 1822
Isaac Greer - Oct. 14, 1823
William Greer Greer - Jan. 1825
James Y. Greer - August 14, 1827 (The President of the U.S. was John Q. Adams)
Elvira Greer - Feb. 16, 1830 (The President of the U.S. was Andrew Jackson)

Below in the 1950s are two of Jesse and Polly Greer's thousands of descendants: Bascomb Osborne and his daughter, Gladys Osborne Adema.

When We Were Greers XVI

by Glenn N. Holliman

Jesse Greer Sr. Elopes with his Child Bride, Mary Morris!


This is a stunning story of a 13 1/2 year old girl, Mary Morris, who grew up on the Yadkin River near Wilkesboro, North Carolina, disobeyed her father, my generation's 5th great grandfather, Henry Morris, and ran off with 22 year old Jesse Greer, Sr!  Jesse had grown up along the South Fork of the New River in what became Ashe County, North Carolina.  Jesse lived on one side of what is now the Blue Ridge Parkway, and Mary on the east side.

This event happened in 1801.  If it had happened in the 21st century, young Jesse would have been charged with statutory rape, kidnapping and who knows what else.  After 10 to 15 years in the state penitentiary, branded a pedophile, he would have spent the rest of his life on the sexual predators list!

Fortunately for our DNA, Jesse and Mary had very successful marriage.  Their great grandson (and brother of Frances Wilson Osborne), The Rev. William A. Wilson, in the 1940s recorded the story which had passed along as family oral history.  From p. 109 - 110 of Neighbor to Neighbor, I quote verbatim the story as I cannot improve on this tale written by my 2nd great uncle!


"Polly Morris's father objected to the marriage on the grounds that Polly was too young.  However, Morris allowed Greer and his daughter to talk matters over and during the time allotted they planned an elopement.

Old man Morris (Henry Morris whose wife was named Mary also) was good enough to ferry young Greer to the Western bank of the Yadkin.  Polly Morris appeared little disappointed and went about her work cheerfully.  Later in the afternoon, as planned, Polly Morris went down to the river bank and young Greer, carrying his gun in one hand, waded the river on stilts and when he reached the bank where she stood he took her on his back and waded back to the safe side.  They walked some distance to the home of an acquaintance of Greer's and told them they were hurrying to Ashe County where they would get married.

They crossed the Blue Ridge at Gap Creek which was only four miles from the Greer home at Old Fields.  Elijah Calloway was magistrate at Old Fields and Jesse Greer and Polly Morris were married by him. Calloway, as had Benjamin Greer, Jesse Greer's Sr's father, had married a Wilcoxson, daughter of John and Sarah Wilcoxson.  So Callway was his uncle.  Sarah Wilcoxson was before her marriage, Sarah Boone, daughter of Squire Boone, father of Daniel Boone."

On the map above, note Baldwin in the center right near the edge of the map, marked in yellow. Near here Jesse and Mary crossed the Blue Ridge from the east, Wilkesboro, North Carolina (off the map). They were married by his uncle in the area marked in yellow under the large 'D', far center edge of map. Just to the south west of Baldwin, at Todd on the Ashe and Watauga County line, Jesse and Mary are buried together at the Howell Cemetery. To get your bearings, note Boone, North Carolina in center, toward the bottom of the map.  Again in yellow. 

This young couple had 17 children, one being Jesse Jr., my generation's third great grandfather. Benjamin Greer had 15 children.  Greers live all over North Carolina, East Tennessee and Kentucky to this day!