The Scotch-Irish
The Grier family are Scotch-Irish. “Scotch-Irish” are American descendants of Ulster Scots people. That means that the family originated in Scotland. Reportedly the name “Grier” is a derivative of “MacGregor”. Thousands of people from the Scottish lowlands and northern England settled in northern Ireland from about 1609 to 1700. Most of those Scots and English were Protestant, primarily Presbyterian. That settlement sowed the seeds of the discord in Northern Ireland that continues today. From about 1717 to 1776 over 200,000 Scotch-Irish moved to the American colonies. Many of these Scotch-Irish, including my Grier ancestors, settled in Pennsylvania. Many other Scotch-Irish immigrants moved into central and western Pennsylvania, then south through the Shenandoah Valley into western Virginia. Some continued moving south into the western Carolinas, while others went west into what is now Tennessee and Kentucky. Many of the white people who live in Appalachia today are descendants of the Scotch-Irish.
Early Griers of Bucks County
My ancestor Matthew Grier (1714 – 1792) and his brother John (1712 – 1784) were early settlers of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, north of Philadelphia. In 1733 Matthew Grier married Jane Caldwell, and in about 1737 John married Jane’s sister Agnes. Matthew and Jane had five children that I know of: three girls and two boys. Matthew and his brother John were probably farmers, and lived in a rural area about 8 miles northwest of Doylestown. They worshipped at the Deep Run Presbyterian Church.
In spite of being over 60 when the American Revolution started, Matthew voluntarily enrolled in the Bucks County Militia. He was also elected to the first Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly in 1776 and served two terms. Matthew died in 1792 at the age of 78. He is buried in the Deep Run Presbyterian churchyard.
Matthew Grier Jr was a son of Matthew and Jane (Caldwell) Grier. Matthew Jr was born in 1766. In 1797 he married Sarah Snodgrass. They had four children, two boys and two girls. Matthew died in 1811, when he was 45 years old. Sarah died in 1859 at the age of 90. Matthew and Sarah are both buried in the Deep Run Presbyterian churchyard.
John Grier was a son of Matthew and Sarah (Snodgrass) Grier. John was born in 1798. He married Harriet Hinkle about 1826. John and Harriet had nine children, five boys and four girls. The family lived in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where John was a farmer. Harriet died in 1862 at the age of 61, and John died in 1875 at the age of 77. They are buried in the Doylestown Cemetery in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Lemuel Grier and the Grier School
Lemuel Grier was a son of John and Harriet (Hinkle) Grier. He went into education and bought a small girls’ school in Birmingham, Pennsylvania. Today that school is the Grier School. The story of Lemuel, his wife Sarah, and the school is on another page.