1. Mr.¹ Grear birth date unknown.

The name of Greer, Grier, or Grear is generally believed to be of Scotch origin and to have been derived from the baptismal name of Gregory. Some writers, however, while agreeing that it was first used as a baptismal name, maintain that it was originally taken from the Dutch Greijr. Of these theories, the first seems more probable. The name is found in ancient English and early American records in the various forms of Crier, Criere, Crear, Creare, Creere, Creer, Crere, Grere, Greere, Griere, Greare, Greear, Gryer, Grear, Grier, Greer, and others. Greer is the most popular spelling, with Grier and Grear also more frequently found than the other variants. Families of this name were found at early dates in the Irish Counties of Tyrone, Antrim, Armagh, Londonderry, and Cork, as well as in the Scotch Counties of Dumfries, Northumberland, and Cumberland. The families were, for the most part, of the landed aristocracy of Great Britain. I have not yet identified John R. Grear's parents or their ancestors. The first dates and places that I have reliable information on are for John R. & Nancy Grear's son James William, who was born in Newton County, Missouri in 1857.

Mr. Grear had the following child:

+ 2 i. John R. Grear Or² Greear was born before 1838.

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