Happy 150th Birthday, Orpha!

History of the John Harris & Orpha Elzetta Greer Family Organization

by Sylvia Clegg

To honor Harris and Orpha this year on their anniversary, I invited all of their descendants (I tried my best to reach as many of them as I could) to gather at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City on March 18th. At that meeting, I gave the following history of the family organization and projects associated with it:

29 March 1980-2005 The family organization for the descendants of John Harris & Orpha Elzetta Nicoll Greer was officially created on March 29, 1980. This was significant because it was on that date in 1885 that John Harris and Orpha were married in St Johns, Arizona. (It is also Orpha's birthday!) Each of the children were invited to have a representative at this meeting. Those in attendance were: Vermelle B. Cowley,  Florence Greer Crosby, Carma Crosby, Blanche Greer,  John Harris Greer, Leland C. Greer, Geneva Greer, Louise B. Hancock,  Cathleen G. Taylor, and Evelyn Whiting. These reunions were held every other year (odd years) and each sibling (or one of their descendants) took turns being in charge.

Some of the siblings in 1967 (from left to right): Kate, Margaret, Leland, Flossie, and Jim

1991 The Greer Family and a Look into the Past by Errol G. Brown (Myrtle's son) printed for 1992 the Greer Family Reunion--this book has been digitized and can be read online using this link:  

https://familysearch.org/search/catalog/1277293availability=Family%20History%20Library

2001 The Greer Trail by Laurie Jo Greer Rhoton (Leland's daughter)

2002 -2008 Greer Newsletter written and published biennially (every other year) by Laurie Jo Greer Rhoton (Leland's daughter) 

2013  The family blog greerfamilyconnection.blogspot.com was created by Barbara Ballantyne (Kate's granddaughter-in-law) as a place for the family to gather virtually when gathering together in person became too prohibitive.

18 March 2017  Greer cousins met at the Salt Lake Family History Library in the new Discovery Center for a high-tech, interactive family history experience.

Those in attendance (from left to right): Bill & Karen Gillespie (Myrtle), Craig Parker Crosby (Flossie),
Sylvia Crosby Clegg (Flossie), Laurie Jo Greer Rhoton (Leland), and Richard & Barbara Ballantyne (Kate).

Greetings to those who were not able to be with us but expressed the desire and appreciated the contact: LaBina Yorgensen (Bina); Dennis Tayrien & Jacque Tayrien Stapley (Nathan); Elaine Short, who recently celebrated her 88th birthday (in Kingman with her daughter Teri Short); Evelyn Whiting, who has been in the hospital in St. George under the watchful care of her granddaughter Rachel Bates (Tom); JD & Ada Greer in San Antonio (John); Billy Parks (Lillian); and Milton Greer (Nathan).

I enjoyed gathering with some of my Greer cousins! I am thankful to be a part of the wonderful family that has come from the marriage of John Harris and Orpha Elzetta Nicoll Greer. I really appreciate this blog where our ancestors come to life and their descendants connect! Please help with this blog by contributing photos and stories from your branches of the family. I love you all.