John Alexander Greer

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = John Alexander Greer

| image = File:John Alexander Greer.JPG

| order = 2nd

| office = Lieutenant Governor of Texas

| term_start = December 21, 1847

| term_end = December 22, 1851

| governor = George Tyler Wood
Peter Hansborough Bell

| predecessor = Albert Clinton Horton

| successor = James W. Henderson

| office2 = 12th Secretary of Treasury of the
{{nowrap|Republic of Texas}}

| term_start2 = July 1845

| term_end2 = 1846

| president2 = Anson Jones

| predecessor2= William Beck Ochiltree

| successor2 = Office abolished

| office3 = President pro tempore of the
{{nowrap|Republic of Texas Senate}}

| term_start3 = November 1, 1841

| term_end3 = June 28, 1845

| predecessor3=Anson Jones

| successor3 =Legislature abolished

| office4 = Republic of Texas Senator
from San Augustine

| term_start4 = April 9, 1838

| term_end4 = June 28, 1845

| predecessor4= Henry William Augustine

| successor4 = Legislature abolished

| birth_date = {{birth date|1802|7|18}}

| birth_place = Shelbyville, Tennessee, U.S.

| death_date = {{death date and age|1855|7|4|1802|7|18}}

| death_place = San Augustine, Texas, U.S.

| resting_place= Greer Cemetery, Ironosa, Texas, U.S.
or Texas State Cemetery,
Austin, Texas, U.S.

| party = Democratic

| spouse = {{marriage|Adeline Minerva Orten|1836|1843|end=died}}

}}

John Alexander Greer (July 18, 1802 – July 4, 1855) was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of Texas from 1847 to 1851 under Governors George T. Wood and Peter H. Bell. He was also the twelfth and final Secretary of Treasury of the Republic of Texas during Anson Jones' presidency. Greer County, Oklahoma, once claimed by Texas, is named in his honor.

Biography

Greer was born at Shelbyville, Tennessee, on July 18, 1802{{cite web|url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/greer-john-alexander|title=Greer, John Alexander (1802–1855)|last=Hyman|first=Carolyn|date=January 1, 1995|access-date=February 1, 2024|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association}} to Thomas and Catherine Rebecca (née Harman) Greer.{{cite web|url=http://www.countygenweb.com/txsanaugustine/cemeteries/greer_cemetery.htm|title=Greer Cemetery|website=CountyGenWeb|access-date=May 14, 2024}} He lived in Kentucky before moving to Texas in 1830. On May 18, 1836, Greer married Adeline Minerva Orten. She died on August 26, 1843, in San Augustine, Texas.{{cite web|url=https://cemetery.tspb.texas.gov/pub/user_form.asp?pers_id=14|title=Adeline Minerva Greer|access-date=February 1, 2024|website=Texas State Cemetery}}

He represented San Augustine as a senator in the Congress of the Republic of Texas from 1838 to 1845, from the second to the ninth Congress. He was the president pro tempore of the Senate from 1841 to 1845.{{cite web|url=https://lrl.texas.gov/scanned/members/bios/Bio_Directory_Texas_Convs_Congresses_1832-1845.pdf|title=Biographical Directory of the Texan Conventions and Congresses 1832–1845|publisher=Legislative Reference Library of Texas|date=1941}} He was made the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas in 1842.{{cite news|last=Craddock|first=Van|url=https://www.news-journal.com/opinion/columnists/van_craddock/craddock-the-curious-case-of-greer-county/article_b353d83a-1007-5e3f-ac11-c30c4179580b.html|title=Craddock: The curious case of Greer County|newspaper=Longview News-Journal|access-date=May 14, 2024|date=July 26, 2015}} Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas, appointed him as secretary of the treasury in July 1845. After Texas was annexed into the United States, Greer became the second Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1847. Greer attained the rank of Deputy Grand High Priest in the Grand Royal Arch Chapter of the state in 1851. The same year, while serving as Lieutenant Governor, he challenged Peter H. Bell for the governorship in 1851. He was the president of an Austin convention to formally organize the Democratic party in Texas in January 1854. He died on July 4, 1855, after falling ill while campaigning for the governorship against the incumbent, Elisha M. Pease, four months before the election.

Burial

John A. Greer was originally buried at his farm, located nine miles northwest of San Augustine. The area is in the community of Ironosa.{{cite web|last=Bowman|first=Bob|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/DEPARTMENTS/Guest_Columnists/East_Texas_all_things_historical/WrongGrave1BB1101.htm|title=John Alexander Greer: The Wrong Grave|website=Texas Escapes|access-date=May 14, 2024}} He was buried in the Greer Cemetery, about 45 feet to the east from the chain link fence of the present African American Greer Cemetery.

According to the late Bob Bowman of Lufkin, the Texas Centennial Commission went to Jack Greer, grandson of John Alexander Greer's brother, in 1929 to speak to him about moving Greer's grave. After informing the men about his desire for Greer to remain in San Augustine County, the men later returned with a court order to exhume John Alexander Greer's grave. The men believed that Greer was buried in one of two graves but were unsure which one was correct. Jack Greer walked to one of the graves and told them "This is the one". He had pointed them to a well-known reprobate of San Augustine who happened to be buried nearby.{{cite news|last=Bowman|first=Bob|url=https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/eastex/opinion/article/Wrong-person-buried-in-hero-s-grave-9475506.php|title=Wrong person buried in hero's grave|newspaper=Houston Chronicle|date=December 25, 2012|access-date=May 14, 2024}}{{cite web|last=Bowman|first=Bob|url=https://www.sfasu.edu/heritagecenter/2149.asp|title=The Wrong Grave|publisher=Stephen F. Austin State University|date=June 2011|accessdate=June 19, 2024}}

John Alexander Greer was reinterred in 1929 at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, where his body might lie in the cemetery's Republic Hill (Section 2), Row S, No. 8.

Legacy

John A. Greer is the namesake of Greer County, Oklahoma, established 5 years after his death in February 1860 as Greer County, Texas.{{cite book | url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ | title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States | publisher=Govt. Print. Off. | author=Gannett, Henry | year=1905 | pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n143 144]}} Greer County was disputed between Texas and what is now Oklahoma. It was eventually decided to lie in the Territory of Oklahoma by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case, United States v. State of Texas {{ussc|162|1|1896}}.