Lemuel Grier was born in 1830, a son of John and Harriet (Hinkle) Grier. He grew up in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He went into education, becaming the Principal of the Kishacoquillas Seminary, a small religious school near Belleville in west-central Pennsylvania. In 1857, Lemuel married Sarah Boileau.
Lemuel and Sarah (Boileau) Grier
After their marriage, Lemuel bought the Mountain Female Seminary, a small girls’ school in Birmingham, Pennsylvania that had been started four years earlier by the local Presbyterian church. Birmingham is a small village in the Appalachian Mountains of west-central Pennsylvania, about 40 miles from Belleville. At that time, Birmingham was a thriving commercial center for the iron furnaces and mills in the area. Under the direction of Lemuel Grier, the school grew.
Lemuel died in 1887. His son Alvin took over the school. Lemuel’s wife Sarah lived until 1907. Lemuel and Sarah are buried in the Doylestown Cemetery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
The Grier School
The Grier School is still in operation as a boarding school for girls in 5th through 12th grades. The Director is Geoffrey Grier, the fifth generation of Griers to administer the school. Here are two photos that I took when I visited the school on a beautiful fall day a few years ago.
Edgar and Fanny (Crane) Grier
Edgar B. Grier, the oldest child of Lemuel and Sarah (Boileau) Grier, grew up in Birmingham, Pennsylvania, became a doctor and moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey. He married Fanny Crane. Their story is on another page.