Edgar B. Grier was born in Birmingham, Pennsylvania in 1858, the son of Lemuel and Sarah (Boileau) Grier. He attended the Birmingham schools. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1882. He then attended Princeton University for a year, but had to drop out in the spring of 1880 when he came down with typhoid fever. By that fall he had recovered sufficiently that he was able to attend the University of Pennsylvania. He studied medicine there, and graduated in 1883 with a Doctor of Medicine degree. He practiced medicine in Altoona, Pennsylvania under the guidance of an experienced doctor. In 1885 Dr. Grier moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey to practice medicine with his uncle, Dr. Joseph Grier, who was the mayor of Elizabeth.
Dr. Edgar B. Grier
In October 1890 Dr. Grier married Fanny Crane, daughter of Dr. Job S. Crane and Helen (Watkins) Crane. Their marriage was an elaborate affair.
Fanny (Crane) Grier in her Wedding Dress
Some of the Wedding Presents for Fanny and Edgar Grier
The photo above shows some of Fanny and Edgar’s wedding gifts. The gifts have tags on them, presumably. indicating who gave the gifts to the couple. There are three other similar photos showing additional gifts.
On their honeymoon Edgar and Fanny traveled to Washington, DC, Mount Vernon, and Newport News. They presumably made the trip by train.
During the 1890s Edgar and Fanny Grier collected antique American furniture. At that time most collectors of antique furniture sought out English and European antiques. The Griers were able to buy some very nice pieces from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries for relatively little money. Some of their furniture is still in the family, including the grandfather clock shown in the photo below.
Edgar and Fanny Grier had one child, a son, Edgar B. Grier Jr. He was born in April, 1894.
In 1908 Dr. Grier had a large house built for his family at 400 Westminster Avenue in Elizabeth, New Jersey. It is pictured in the photo below.
Like most affluent people of their era, the Griers typically had two or three women living with them who worked as maids or cooks. This is shown by the federal census records for the family.
The Griers were members of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth.
Dr. Edgar B. Grier
Dr. Grier served on the Elizabeth Board of Education for many years, and served as the president of that board for a time. He was also a member of the board’s milk committee. In that role he investigated the dairies that were supplying raw milk to the people of Elizabeth. Dr. Grier led the fight for the sanitation of raw milk. He also stressed the need for vaccination at a time when it was being neglected.
Dr. Edgar B. Grier died of heart disease in Elizabeth, NJ on April 1, 1923. He was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Elizabeth.
His widow, Fanny Grier, died in October, 1931 in Elizabeth.
Edgar and Isabel Grier
Edgar B. Grier Jr. was the only child of Dr. Edgar and Fanny Grier. Edgar Grier Jr. married Isabel Brown in 1917. Click the button to go to the page with their story.