Greer Cemetery

HISTORY OF GREER CEMETERY (AA)

SAN AUGUSTINE COUNTY: SAN AUGUSTINE, TEXAS

By Marjorie Hunt Bluford

GREER CEMETERY is an African American Cemetery located approximately eight miles northwest of San Augustine, Texas. The cemetery is located on FM 711 in San Augustine County. 

Directions from San Augustine: 

Travel on US Highway 96 north, turn left on FM 711 and travel approximately 6.5 miles. After traveling approximately 6.5 miles on FM 711, begin looking to the right of the road until you see a sign directly to the left of the gate that leads into the cemetery. The sign sits directly above the hurricane fence and reads “GREER CEMETERY.” The hurricane fenced cemetery sits on a hill and five acres of land, which includes a host of pin oak and hickory trees.

 The African American “GREER CEMETERY” is believed to have gotten its name from an early settler “John Alexander Greer.” John Alexander Greer, who was of Caucasian descent, was a lieutenant governor and legislator born in Tennessee on July 18, 1802 and later moved to Kentucky. Records from “THE HANDBOOK OF TEXAS ONLINE” indicate that John A. Greer moved from Kentucky to Texas in 1830. Greer was a senator representing San Augustine in the Texas Congress from 1837 through 1845, serving in all but the First Congress. Greer died in San Augustine, Texas in 1855. He was buried on his farm, in northwest San Augustine County, about forty five feet east of the present day African American “GREER CEMETERY.” In 1929, John Alexander Greer’s remains were exhumed from his farm in San Augustine County and reinterred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas. There is a belief, but no known records, that a few slaves may have been buried outside the African American “GREER CEMETERY” south of John A. Greer’s grave. The graves are believed to have been there sometime before 1870. Accurate records, if any, were not kept by owners of slaves before 1870.  

Bowling Greer, an African American male, was born in or about 1815 in Tennessee according to the U.S. Federal Census of 1870. It is believed that, although there is no known record, Bowling Greer may have settled in San Augustine County as a slave with the John Alexander Greer Family back in the 1830’s. If this be the case, Bowling Greer may have taken his slave owner’s surname. 

There are no records stating that Bowling Greer actually lived in San Augustine County before 1870, but there is a belief he may have lived there. During the United States Federal Census of 1870, it states that Bowling Greer was living in San Augustine with his wife Martha and all of their children. The Census of 1870 indicates that Bowling’s children were all born in Texas between 1850 and 1858. 

In 1925, Ed Kennon deeded five acres of land to the African American “GREER CEMETERY” according to the County of San Augustine appraisal district. The land was to be used for burials of African Americans or Colored people only. The acreage is about forty five feet west of where John A. Greer was buried. The sum of $125.00 was hand paid in cash to Ed Kennon by W.M. Jones. The 5 acres are part of the J.J. Hennis Survey and part of the John A. Greer survey. According to some death records and beliefs of unknown records, many people were buried on the premises of GREER CEMETERY before the land was deeded in 1925.  

After researching death records, talking to descendants of ancestors, and other people, it is believed that there are approximately 400 or more people interred in “GREER CEMETERY.”. Some of the graves are unidentifiable because they have no markers. A few of the graves have markers but the inscriptions on the markers cannot be read. As you travel around in the cemetery, several headstones indicate that people served in the military. According to records, the oldest known grave in the African American “GREER CEMETERY” is believed to be that of Jane Greer who died in 1884. The oldest person buried in the cemetery, according to the headstone, is believed to be that of Joe Greer born in 1814 and died in 1928. Although records do not show or indicate that Bowling Greer and his wife Martha were buried in “GREER CEMETERY,” there is a belief they may be buried there. 

“GREER CEMETERY” has many people that are still being buried in it today. All families in this cemetery are buried as close to each other as possible. Each family surname has its own section of the cemetery to be buried, but there is no particular section of the cemetery reserved for anyone to be buried. If there is not enough space for family members to be buried close to their immediate family members, they will be buried in a new section of the cemetery. 

Information gathered for the history of “GREER CEMETERY,” including births and deaths may differ if more than one source of information was used. However, if there is a difference, records recorded on paper with the County of San Augustine and funeral homes will be used as the official record used to identify graves. 

Each year on the last Sunday in July, relatives of the Greer Community gather for an annual pre-emption homecoming. Cemetery funds are collected and used for the upkeep of the African American GREER CEMETERY. All individual families are asked to pay a certain amount of money. The money collected for the cemetery has its own separate account. 

After doing much research on the family history of the African American “GREER CEMETERY”, written records indicate that all of the people buried in this cemetery, except a small few, are linked to Bowling Greer and his wife, Martha. The surnames Greer, Holman, Jones, and Tanner have the largest number of people buried in “GREER CEMETERY.”

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