Important Family Dates for February

Here are some dates that are significant to the family in February:

10: Harris was born on this date in 1866 in Kimball, Bosque, Texas, the sixth of the twelve children born to Thomas Lacy and Catherine Ellen Camp Greer. He spent his early childhood in Kimball until about the age of twelve when the family bought the ranch in Arizona.

13: Harris and Orpha's thirteenth child, Leland, was born on this date in 1908 at their Grandmother Nicoll's home in St. Johns.

16: Orpha's mother, Sabina Ann Adams, was born on this date in 1837 in Perth, Drummond Township, Lanark, Ontario, Canada, the fourth child born to Arza and Sabina Clark Adams. Her parents had joined the Church about two years prior to her birth and moved to New York to join the Saints a few months after she was born.

17: Orpha's parents, Alexander Nicoll and Sabina Ann Adams, were married on this date in 1854 in American Fork, Utah. They were later sealed in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City on September 25, 1957, by Brigham Young and witnessed by G.A. Smith and W.W. Phelps.

18: The first child born to Harris and Orpha was Myrtle, born on this date in 1886 in Concho.

Important Family Dates for January

Here are the dates that are significant to the family in January:

1 (or 18?): Margaret Elzetta Greer Nichols Hayden (Marguerite) died on this date in either 1988 or 1989 at the age of 91 in Scottsdale, Arizona. ***There is some confusion about her death date and neither her death certificate nor her burial information have been located. If anyone has any records that could clear this up, please e-mail barbaraballantyne@hotmail.com.***

3: John Harris, Jr., died on this date in 1967 at the age of 79 in Mesa, Arizona. He is buried in St. Johns.

12: Thomas Lacy married Nellie Martha Thomas on this date in 1918 in St. Johns. They had six children together--Marvine, Evelyn, Jerold, Philip, Franklin, and Shirley.

Important Family Dates for December

December is the month of love for the Greer family. Four of Harris' and Orpha's children were married in St. Johns this month:

24: John Harris, Jr., married Mary Ellen Heap in 1908
26: Lillian married Gordon Parks in 1916
      Ray married Laura Wright in 1933
27: Florence married George Crosby in 1922

Important Family Dates for November

Here are some dates that are important to the family in November:

15: Harris' mother, Catherine Ellen Camp Greer, died on this date in 1929 at the age of 92 at her home in Holbrook following a short illness. [Harris had died three years before.] She is buried in St. Johns beside her beloved husband Thomas Lacy Greer.

23: James Alexander Greer (the 9th child of Orpha and Harris) died on this date in 1978 at the age of 78 in Springerville, Arizona. He is buried in St. Johns as well.

25: Harris' parents, Thomas Lacy Greer and Catherine Ellen Camp, were married on this date in 1855 in Salt Lake City, Utah, after a brief courtship.

30: Nathan Edward Greer [child #12] married Blanche Hamblin on this date in 1927 in Gallup, New Mexico. They had two children, Davena and Sherman.

Happy Birthday, Grandma Greer!

 

 

October 17th marks the 180th birthday of Harris' mother, Catherine Ellen Camp Greer. We celebrate her life with the following poem written to honor her 85th birthday and read at a celebration hosted by her Relief Society sisters in Holbrook:

Grandma Greer, we're so glad you're here

With your sweet face so full of cheer.

Though your cheeks are furrowed with lines of care

Still there is a rare beauty there.

For more beautiful than youth

Are the furrows of kindness, wisdom, and truth.

Our thoughts are like pen and ink

And write on our faces what we do and think.

So if we keep out thoughts kind, sweet, and true,

We will grow old and beautiful just like you.