Burnet County, TX - Bios: James W. Greer, 1830-1906

June 21, 2000



Submitted by: jm

 ************************************************

 Copyright. All rights reserved.

 http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm

 ************************************************ 



 GREER, James W. -- (1830 -1906) and wife, Amanda Stewart (1830-1903) 

 

Source: Vertical File at Herman Brown Free Library, Burnet Texas



James W. Greer was born in Tennessee on May 25, 1830. His father was born in Virginia, 

but his name is not known. James married Amanda Stewart in the late 1840s. Amanda was 

born in Overton County, Tennessee on August 11, 1830. She was the daughter of John 

Gilbert and Margaret Stewart. (More about this family in the Burnet County History, 

Vol II, by Darrell Debo) Margaret Stewart's maiden name was Copeland.



At the time James and Amanda were married, there was a great movement of people to the 

West. James and Amanda are believed to have joined a wagon train which included Amanda's 

parents. Apparently this wagon train went into Illinois, and then down into Arkansas. 

James and Amanda stayed in Illinois for a short time and their first child Emelia was 

born there, in 1850. Soon after Emelia was born they traveled down into Arkansas also. 

Their second daughter Margaret was born there in 1851. They were in the Gabriel Mills 

community in north Williamson County by early 1851, acquired land and started farming.



The Indians were a constant problem for them. The women would wash their clothes in the 

North Gabriel River with a gun by their sides and the men would take their weapons to the 

fields with them. It is a tribute to their hardy pioneer spirit that James and Amanda 

did survive the hardships of their teip and the early days at Gabriel Mills. But survive 

they did, and raised a large family while doing it.



In 1869, James bought some land from his father-in-law, John Gilbert Stewart, in the 

Mahomet community in Burnet County and moved his family there. They remained there for 

the rest of their lives. Amanda died in 1903, at age 73. James died in 1906, at age 76. 

They are buried in the Mahomet Cemetery.



[See Lineages page on the Burnet County Genealogy Web Page for descendants]