MINERVA A. GREER

She was born in Wayne county, Indiana, December 29, 1829. She is the daughter of Reuben and Mary (Harris) Willits. Her parents both died in the spring of 1834, of milk sickness; the mother dying in the evening and the father the following morning. Mrs. Greer came to Mercer county, Illinois, in 1836, with her uncle, Thomas Moore, who settled in New Boston township.

The subject of our sketch was married April 15, 1847, to Thomas Greer, a farmer. There were fourteen children born to them: Reuben H., James M., Mary J., Thomas F., Alice A., John E., Samuel I., Arthur, Lewis W., Albert C., Ella F., Dora E., Robert F., and a daughter who died when an infant and before she was named. Three of the other children are dead: Arthur, Dora E., and Lewis. Thomas Greer, the husband of our immediate subject, was born June 10, 1818, in the state of Ohio.

He removed to Mercer county, Illinois, as early as 1836, and settled in Abington township, where he resided until his death. He devoted his time to farming and stock raising, and by industry and economy accumulated a large amount of property. Since the death of the husband and father, the property has been divided among the heirs, Mrs. Greer retaining the homestead, which consists of 200 acres of land under a good state of cultivation with good buildings and all the necessary improvements to a complete country home. Seven of the children are married and all living within a radius of two and a half miles of the old homestead. Mrs. Greer is a Seventh Day Adventist.

 

History of Mercer & Henderson Counties

 

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Illinois Ancestors

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