Americus Vespucius Greer (TAYLOR FAMILY)

AMERICUS VESPUCIUS GREER

March 4, 1832- May 3, 1896

(Story taken from sources on familysearch, including a handwritten document from Americus himself)

He is my 3rd great grandfather through my Nana's mother.

(Nana's great-grandfather)

I've always love history, and ever since my grandma introduced me to "Gone with the Wind," I've had a fascination with the Civil War.  When I got into learning about my ancestors I really wanted to find a Civil War vet- but since most of my ancestors are pioneer Mormons who went west before the Civil War broke out, I didn't think I had any.  Until I came across Americus Vespucius Greer.  His name alone marks him as an interesting figure, and I really enjoyed reading about this Confederate soldier, Texas Ranger, Mormon Pioneer.

He was born 15 minutes after his twin brother, who was named Christopher Columbus Greer, in Alabama in 1832.  I guess his parents were into famous explorers as those are quite the names!  Both twins weighed over 9 lbs (huge! and no drugs- his poor mom)  The family moved to Texas when he was 5 and settled in Washington County.  They had a hard time farming in Texas, where luxuries were scarce and they had to work hard.  Besides the parents and 8 children, they had other cousins and relatives including five "coloreds" living with them. 

Besides helping on the farm, Americus worked as a store clerk and by 18 he was working as a Ranger scout for Captain James Cross.  The family moved around Texas and eventually put up a nice house and a sawmill, and his father became a representative for the county under Sam Houston.  Tragedy struck when his twin brother, Christopher Columbus, became ill with pneumonia following a hunting trip and died in February 1854.  It was a terrible ordeal for Americus to lose his twin brother at the age of 21.

The family was baptized in August of 1854 by Mormon missionaries after hearing them preach and in 1855 his parents sold their land and belongings to buy oxen and a wagon to join the Saints in Salt Lake.  The trek was very difficult, and his father, Nathaniel Hunt Greer, died on the trail in Nebraska territory.  They also lost his little brother Ira along the way, along with a cousin.  Nearly one third of the company died of Asiatic cholera on the trail.  After cholera came measles.  In his memoirs, Americus writes that he had a priesthood blessing around this time and was promised that he "would reach the valley, that the destroyer would not hinder me, and I would be the means of bringing many to the knowledge of the truth."  They arrived in the Salt Lake Valley, but some, including Americus, returned to Texas a year later in 1856- the reasons are not clear.  

Despite his belief in the Union cause, when war broke out Americus enlisted in January 1862 in company H of Young's Regiment of Texas Infantry.  In 1863 he made captain, and resigned in February 1864, after having served as far as Virginia.  I don't know yet which battles he fought in, but hope to find that out.  

In February of 1865 he married Polly Lane.  Goods were scarce and times were hard after the war, so her wedding dress had to be made from a window curtain.  I just love that detail- it's so Scarlett O'Hara!  They continued to farm in Texas and had four children there before following their family out West in 1877.  They visited Utah, but ended up in northern Arizona with his brother Tom's family.  He helped found a small community there named Amity.  His beloved Polly had two more children there, and then passed away at the age of only 33.

Americus with two of his children and his sister-in-law and nephew.

Below is Americus, Polly, and their six children.

Americus lived another 13 years in Arizona with his family and finally passed away at the age of 64, in Provo, Utah.  It is also unclear how he ended up in Provo.  At some point early on he went by the nickname 'H,' and it stuck with him for the rest of his life.  H was beloved by all who knew him and more than just family came to call him "Uncle H." His concern for right living and his attention to others was widely known. So highly was "Uncle H" esteemed, that upon his death on May 3, 1896, the people of Amity renamed their town "Greer."

His strength of character is demonstrated in a letter he wrote to his brother while serving in the midst of war: 

"I want you to be kind and good to your mother and give heed to the counsel of those who are your superior in age and experience ... go to school when you can, try to learn and make good use of your time when about home ... and to use the figure of the poet, "live so in youth that you blush not in age."

 I visited the Provo Cemetery and enjoyed this beautiful cemetery with its mountain backdrop.  I am proud to call Americus Vespucius Greer my ancestor.  (And also proud to have found my Civil War connection!)