Greers in Ireland
We went looking for our Greer ancestors in Ireland this morning with only a vague idea of where to go. This evening we come home having touched the ground where Captain Robert Lendrum Greer, his mother Jane, and his four siblings left in 1836 for an unknown home thousands of miles across an angry Atlantic Ocean. Along the way, we were touched by numerous individuals who each added a little bit to the story. The girl at Enniskillen Castle called a friend who worked in the Emigration Center at the Ulster American Folk Park in Omagh. Yes, she'd try and help us, but she didn't hold out much hope.
At the center, 30 miles north of Enniskillen, the research library staff jumped into gear and started pulling dusty books and maps off long-ignored shelves. Ireland in the 1800s, was still run mostly by wealthy landlords who controlled vast amounts of territory, using tenant farmers to do the work. The system was a little like the share-cropping scheme used by former plantation owners in the South after the Civil War to enable them to keep their former slaves still working for nothing. The country was divided into counties, Tyrone being one of those in the north. Then the counties were divided into Baronys. The Greers lived in Clogher Barony. And finally each Barony was divided into Townlands. Their townland was called Mullaghmore and it was owned, along with a dozen other townlands (each containing several thousand acres) by an aristocrat named Montgomery. The whole of his holdings was known as the Montgomery Estates. He lived in a massive stone house in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, looking out on a lake. Since Capt. Robert Greer always said he was born in Fivemiletown, this was adding up.
With that much information in hand, we purchased a detailed map that showed all the old townlands and started narrowing down our search to the specific piece of property, or tried to. We drove down the highway that appeared to bisect Mullaghmore, but there were no signs or indications of what we were looking for. So we stopped at a Presbyterian Church. Turned out the church runs a pre-school and the teacher didn't know anything about what we needed, but she gave us a great piece of advice; knock on the door of any farmhouse, tell them you're looking for family.
That's how we found William and Sylvia Trimble. We knocked on the door, complete strangers, and Sylvia invited us in and put on the kettle for tea. Then she called William who was on a tractor somewhere trimming hedges. Yes, he was on his way. The Trimbles fed us cookies and poured tea while we pored over our maps. Then William dug out his deeds for his farmlands as well as some old maps and photos. Result; we were very close. William insisted on driving us to the old Mullaghmore lands and we jumped in his little Citroen mini van. He showed us the boundaries of the old lands and explained where things might have been. Then he drove us up a very muddy lane to a unique feature of the property, the Mullaghmore standing stone. These are mysterious stones that are found all over Ireland. Many of them are marked with strange symbols and no one knows exactly what they mean. And this one was on the Mullaghmore. Townland.
William also gave us the name of a man he says is a local history expert who may be able to give us a bit more information. We are emailing this expert tonight with the hope that he may be able to add more to the picture.
The Ulster American exhibit gave us a few clues about why the Greers probably left Ireland. Martin Greer, my Great Great Great Grandfather died sometime between 1833 and 1836, the year the family left. His brother, Robert, also died. So the two widows took all their children and headed to America. I think we have to guess that after the men died, it would have been impossible for these women to keep up the rent payments on the land, so the landlord likely pushed them off. Without any hope of a fruitful life without a man, they took the incredibly brave action of moving across the sea for a chance at a better life. A woman in those years didn't have much standing, so that made their action incredibly courageous and daring.
The land they left is beautiful wooded hills filled with grazing sheep and cattle, green in the sunshine between the showers. The woods are full of deer and fox and badger and the sounds of birds. We came upon a hawk sitting on a treetop in our visit. It must have been wrenching to leave all this and strike out for America.
Will there be more to this story? Stay tuned.
At the center, 30 miles north of Enniskillen, the research library staff jumped into gear and started pulling dusty books and maps off long-ignored shelves. Ireland in the 1800s, was still run mostly by wealthy landlords who controlled vast amounts of territory, using tenant farmers to do the work. The system was a little like the share-cropping scheme used by former plantation owners in the South after the Civil War to enable them to keep their former slaves still working for nothing. The country was divided into counties, Tyrone being one of those in the north. Then the counties were divided into Baronys. The Greers lived in Clogher Barony. And finally each Barony was divided into Townlands. Their townland was called Mullaghmore and it was owned, along with a dozen other townlands (each containing several thousand acres) by an aristocrat named Montgomery. The whole of his holdings was known as the Montgomery Estates. He lived in a massive stone house in Fivemiletown, County Tyrone, looking out on a lake. Since Capt. Robert Greer always said he was born in Fivemiletown, this was adding up.
With that much information in hand, we purchased a detailed map that showed all the old townlands and started narrowing down our search to the specific piece of property, or tried to. We drove down the highway that appeared to bisect Mullaghmore, but there were no signs or indications of what we were looking for. So we stopped at a Presbyterian Church. Turned out the church runs a pre-school and the teacher didn't know anything about what we needed, but she gave us a great piece of advice; knock on the door of any farmhouse, tell them you're looking for family.
That's how we found William and Sylvia Trimble. We knocked on the door, complete strangers, and Sylvia invited us in and put on the kettle for tea. Then she called William who was on a tractor somewhere trimming hedges. Yes, he was on his way. The Trimbles fed us cookies and poured tea while we pored over our maps. Then William dug out his deeds for his farmlands as well as some old maps and photos. Result; we were very close. William insisted on driving us to the old Mullaghmore lands and we jumped in his little Citroen mini van. He showed us the boundaries of the old lands and explained where things might have been. Then he drove us up a very muddy lane to a unique feature of the property, the Mullaghmore standing stone. These are mysterious stones that are found all over Ireland. Many of them are marked with strange symbols and no one knows exactly what they mean. And this one was on the Mullaghmore. Townland.
William also gave us the name of a man he says is a local history expert who may be able to give us a bit more information. We are emailing this expert tonight with the hope that he may be able to add more to the picture.
The Ulster American exhibit gave us a few clues about why the Greers probably left Ireland. Martin Greer, my Great Great Great Grandfather died sometime between 1833 and 1836, the year the family left. His brother, Robert, also died. So the two widows took all their children and headed to America. I think we have to guess that after the men died, it would have been impossible for these women to keep up the rent payments on the land, so the landlord likely pushed them off. Without any hope of a fruitful life without a man, they took the incredibly brave action of moving across the sea for a chance at a better life. A woman in those years didn't have much standing, so that made their action incredibly courageous and daring.
The land they left is beautiful wooded hills filled with grazing sheep and cattle, green in the sunshine between the showers. The woods are full of deer and fox and badger and the sounds of birds. We came upon a hawk sitting on a treetop in our visit. It must have been wrenching to leave all this and strike out for America.
Will there be more to this story? Stay tuned.