The Greer Way West, the web page of the Nathaniel Hunt Greer Family Organization — This page was last updated on February 9, 2006.

Our European Roots

Articles under this heading depict our ancestors' role in European history. As far as the editor can ascertain, all who were born to the name of Greer, derive from the Griersons of Lag in the Scottish Lowlands.

Most of this material provides biographical information, but some presents geographical information to provide an orientation to the times and places relevant to our ancestry.

Many of these articles, spanning centuries, relate our traditional descent from royal houses throughout the European continent — from such figures as Robert the Bruce of Scotland, William the Conqueror of England, Alfred the Great of England, Rogenwald of Norway, Henry I of Germany, Saint Vladimir of Russia, Basil I of Byzantium, and Charlemagne of France. Some of these articles treat of our less-reliable, legendary descent from such sources as King Arthur; Cormac MacArt; Old King Cole; Constantine, Emperor of Rome; and Gregor, eponymous patriarch of Clan Gregor.

For several centuries, the Grierson clan was a formidable element in the history of the Borders earldom of Nithsdale, particularly the area around Dumfries. As political and financial fortunes changed, the family first acquired and then lost many properties. The three estates which figured most prominently in the ancestry of Nathaniel Hunt Greer were the Tower of Lag, the ancient seat of the Grierson clan; Rockhall, often the principal residence of the Laird of Lag; and Capenoch which came into the possession of the cadet through whom our family eventually descended. Map of the Dumfries area

The Source of Greer

Clan Gregor and the Greers