last updt 10-5-2000
This page is dedicated to the family of Elizabeth Frances Greer, the
wife of William Avery. Her parents were Waters William Greer and
Sinthia Smith who both lived in Claiborne Parish, La.
======================================================================
/-Robert Greer
/ b --, d 1730
/-Thomas Greer
/ b 1723, d
/
/-Gilbert Dunlap Greer
/ b 1759,d 1832
/ \-Jane Dunlap b 1735
/-Waters William Greer
/ b 1796, Ga, d ----, Claiborne Parish, La
/ \-Frances Marbury
/
Elizabeth Emily Greer
m. William Avery
child=Alvie Lorenza Dow Avery
======================================================================
ROBERT GREER (my gggggg g-f)
------------------------ ---------------------
b b
m
d 1730
THOMAS GREER (my ggggg g-f) Jane Dunlap (my ggggg g-m)
------------------------ -----------------------
b abt 1723 in Maryland b about 1735 in Ireland
m Dec 10, 1750
d 1793 Columbia Cty, Ga d Greene Cty, Ga
Their Children were:
Robert Greer b 1755
William Greer b 1754
-----> Gilbert Dunlap Greer b 1775
Thomas Greer b 1760
John D Greer b 1761
Agnes Greer b 1758
GILBERT DUNLAP GREER (my gggg g-f) FRANCES MARBURY (my gggg g-m)
------------------------- -----------------------
b about 1759 b
m 1785
d 1832 d
Their children were:
Leonard Forsyth Greer b 28 Dec 1786, Greene Cty d 1870
Gilbert Dunlap Greer b 1788
William Greer b 1790
Thomas Greer b 1792
Francis Marbury Greer b 12 Feb 1794
-----> Waters W Greer b 1796
The War of 1812 service record index shows that Gilbert D Greer served in
Wooton's Det., Georgia Mil. Captain and also shows a Gilbert D Greer serving
in 2nd Regiment (Jenkins') Georgia Vols & Mil as a private.
AVERY Family Data
WATERS WILLIAM GREER (my ggg g-f) SINTHIA SMITH (my ggg g-m)
---------------------------------- -------------------------------------
b 1796 Greene Cty, Ga /b abt 1806 (Georgia)
m Ga
d ---- Claiborne Par, La /d (Claiborne Parish)
----Children----
James M Greer b abt 1829
William S (orT) Greer b abt 1831
Analiza b abt 1834
Missouri C b abt 1836
Permelia J. b abt 1838
Erastus W. b abt 1840
John S. T. b abt 1842
Lucinda C. b abt 1843
In an e-mail I received from Ben Avery of Jonesboro, La on Oct 3, 2000, he
said that he had been reading his Aunt Cynthia's scrapbook. In it she
is writing about William M Avery and she states..."he married Frances
Elizabeth Greer of Meriwether County, Ga. She was born in 1828 and her
father's name was Wm Greer, a Methodist preacher. He died in 1861 at the
age of 84, his wife was Cynthia Smith, they both died in Claiborne
Parish. the greer family moved from Ga. in a caravan of 108 souls in
1848 to Columbia Co., Ark"
The above story gives some good information but it is factually flawed in
a couple of places. First, Waters was born in 1796 so if he died in 1861,
he would have been about age 65, not 84.
Second, Waters and his family shows up in the 1850 census of Ga so he could
not have come to La-Ark in 1848. In addition, Francis Marbury Greer also
shows up in the Aug-1850 census of Ga but shows in in Claiborne Parish, La
buying some real estate in the winter-spring of 1851. Thus, both of them
probably came to La-Ark together in the fall of 1850.
There was a Waters W Greer listed on page 168 for the 1830 census in
Meriwether County, Ga showing:
these would have been born:
Waters W Greer
males 0-5 1 (1825-1830)
20-30 1 (1800-1810)
fem 0-5 1 (1825-1830)
20-30 1 (1800-1810)
slaves fem und 10 1
24-36 1
The 1840 census in Meriwether, County, GA shows the following:
Waters W Greer these would have been born in:
males 0-5 1 (1835-1840)
5-10 2 (1830-1835)
40-50 1 (1790-1800)
Female 0-5 2 (1835-1840)
5-10 1 (1830-1835)
10-15 1 (1825-1830)
30-40 1 (1800-1810)
slaves 5
1 person in agriculture
The 1850 census for Meriwether County, Ga shows
Grier, Watters W 54 M
Sintha A 44 F
James M 21
William S> (T?) 19
Analiza 16 F
Missouri C. 14
Permelia J 12 F
Erastus W. 10
John S. T. 8
Lucinda C. 7
My daughter, Kim O Chance received an e-mail on May 30, 1999 from O.W. Odom
that said:
"I don't know if Waters Greer himself came to Claiborne Parish, La or not,
but much of his family was in Ward 1 of Claiborne Parish in the 1870
census. One listing shows J. M. Greer, age 40, living with C. Greer,
age 65 (his mother?). the ages of the sisters don't exactly jive with
the 1850 census, but ... Also in Ward 1 in 1870 there is a listing for
J.T. (John S.T.?), age 28, with Ciely, age 27 (wife), and W.W. and
J.M. (sons?). In the 1880 census of Ward 1 of Claiborne Parish, J.M.
Greer is listed living with his sisters M.C. and L.C. Greer; J.T. Greer
and family are also listed with additional sons J.L., F.L., and E.S.
and daughter Minnie"
"One of James M. Greer's sisters, I think, married a Beath, and they had
a son "Marb" Beaty, who married Annie Christian, daughter of Ophelia
and Thomas Christian. Some of the family lived near Atlanta, AR, just
across the state line from Claiborne Parish, La."
The specific census records for 1870 show the following:
Ward 1, august 9, 1870 Post office: connie bluff
page 004 of Claiborne Parish
Greer, JM 40 MW Farmer Ga
C 61 FW keeping House Ga
ML 26 FW at home Ga
LC 22 FW at home Ga
Fidder, S 8 FW at home Ark
J 6 MW at home Ark
Smith, S 24 MW Farm Labor Mo
August 16, 1870, Post Office: Lisbon
Greer, JT 28 MW Farmer Ga
C 27 FW House Keeping Ms
WW 3 MW La
JM 1 MW La
There is a grave marker in Ebenezer, La (just east of Jonesboro) that
is the oldest Avery there. It shows WILLIAM M AVERY, born Oct 6,
1810, died Apr 19, 1913. However, the 1860 census in Columbia County,
Arkansas lists this same Wm Avery with a wife of Francis and children
that match ones known to have been his. His age was listed as 35 which
is not in agreement with the tombstone but is in more agreement with the
marriage above of Jonathon and Mary Ann Kelly. I have not yet reconciled
the middle name of "King" with the middle initial "M" on the tombstone nor
have I been able to document any relationship with the earlier Averys.
In the above referenced e-mail from Ben Avery, he stated that he has a
note from Benita Cobb, a granddaughter of Thomas Meridith Avery. In it,
she refers to William Avery as William Meredith Avery. Ben suggested that
the middle name of "King" could have just been a nickname.
The 1850 census shows William Avery age 23 years old and married to
Francis Avery, age 21. 1850 Census, Talbot County, Georgia, Microfilm
Roll #83, Page 511) A son was listed as Alphla, but was probably Alvie
Loranzo Dow Avery, whose age was 2 in that census.
Francis Avery was born Francis Elizabeth Greer in Meriweather County,
Georgia in 1828. They must have been married in Georgia. In the
1850's, the Greers moved to Claiborne Parish, La and Wm and Francis
moved to southern Arkansas just across the state line. The 1860 census
of Columbia County, Ark (Microfilm roll #39, page 61) shows:
NAME AGE SEX PLACE OF BIRTH
Avery, William 35 M Georgia
Francis 30 F Georgia
Lorenza 13 M Georgia
James 10 M Georgia
Waters 6 M Georgia
Marshal 4 M Georgia
Synthia 3 F Arkansas
John 3/12 M Arkansas
For more on that line, see
AVERY Family Data
The following is some data that I accumulated on the brother of Waters
William Greer, namely Francis Marbury Greer:
FRANCIS MARBURY GREER (my ggg g-f) PERMELIA EMILY GAAR (my ggg g-m)
---------------------------------- -------------------------------------
b 2-12-1794 Greene Cty, Ga /b 10-6-1804
m 12-16-1824 Morgan County, Ga
d 2-27-1885 Claiborne Par, La /d 9-23-1893
(both are buried Lisbon Methodist Cemetary, Lisbon, Claiborne Par, La. That
cemetery is on the main road in Lisbon, immediately west of the church)
----children----
Wm Greer GA b Feb 23, 1828
Sarah "Sallie" Elizabeth
GA abt 1830
Lucy F Ga March 7, 1830
James F Greer Ga b Apr 29
Joel L Greer Ga b March 31, 1836
John Wesly GreerGa b March 1, 1837
Walter LafayetteGa 11- 9-1838-1860 La
Russell Wynn Ga 11-30-1843-1900 La
Stephanie Garza of Longview, Tx (ShaeTaTa@aol.com) told me that Sarah
"Sallie" was her gg g-m. She said "my g-gm always called her Sallie
Elizabeth and I was told by a professional genealogist that Sallie is
a nickname for Sarah. Sarah and John W Beach had 10 children that I'm
aware of. George, Q.L., Emily E., Francis M (Frank), Lucia, Sarah,
Russel W., Benjamin "Bennie", Hattie Etta (my grandmother), and Isiah...
We have a yearly reunion in Gallatin, Texas every May."
A book listing the pensioners from the war of 1812 includes an entry for:
Francis Marbury Greer married to Permelia Emily (Gaar)
WC-34317, SC-25210 m 20 Dec 1824 sd 27 Feb 1885 Claiborne
Parish, La wd aobut 1893, serv Capt John j Colbert's
Co GA Mil, Lived Claiborne Parish, La
The 1830 census for Merriweather County, Ga, Roll 19, page 168 shows:
Francis M Greer males 0-5 1
5-10 2
30-40 1
females 0-5 1
20-30 1
50-60 1
(apparently, the mother of one of the Greers must have been
living with them at that time)
Slaves listed on the 1830 census for the Greer's showed:
males und 10 3
10-24 2
females und 10 1
24-36 2
James Greer was also listed on page 168 and Gilbert was listed on p 199.
The 1840 census for Merriweather County, Ga, Roll #46, page 114 shows:
Francis M Greer males under 5 2
5-10 1
10-15 2
40-50 1
fems 5-10 2
30-40 1
there were no slaves listed
In addition, Alfred Greer was listed on page 114, Gilbert Greer on p 98,
Waters Greer on page 98 and John Greer on p 115.
The 1850 census in the 59th Division, County of Merriweather taken on
Oct 12, 1850, page 377 shows:
RE
Francis M Greer 56 m farmer 3925 Ga
Pemilia E 47 f Ga
James F 23 m farmer Ga
Joel L 15 m Ga
John W 14 m Ga
Watters L 11 m Ga
Russel W 6 m Ga
Also listed on p 377 was Wm G Greer (age 21), Gilbert (age 62) and Alfred
Greer (age 28).
MOVE TO LOUISIANA
Apparently, Francis Marbury Greer left Georgia and moved to Louisiana
between the above census taken on Oct 12, 1850 and March, 1851. On
March 17, 1851, John D Bruce appointed a person to have the power of
attorney to convey 818 acres of land to Francis Marbury Greer in
Claiborne Parish, La which he purchased for $3.00 per acre.
The 1860 census for Claiborne Parish, La taken on July 17, 1860, 8th ward
page 610, P.O. Lisbon shows:
RE val oth val
F M Greer 64 m farmer 8000 25000 Ga
P Greer 53 f Ga
J L Greer 25 f farm labor Ga
J W Greer 23 m Ga
W L Greer 20 m Ga
R W Greer 16 m Ga
L Greer 20 f Ga
My primary interest in this line is the marriage of Francis Elizabeth
Greer to William Avery. More information on that line is at
Be patient, you are in a 
You can reach me by e-mail at:
marvin@meocpa.com..Baton Rouge, La
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