Polly's Song & Letter to Her Parents — 22 JAN 1881

[page 1]

	Song Ballad    Such a many ways to heaven
1	I'm going to sing you a funny song.
	I guess it wont be verry long.
	But here it comes both rough and even.
	Like the way which leads to heaven.
	Chorus
	Such a many ways to heaven
	And they are all so contrary
	Such a many ways to heaven I never did see.
	Such a many ways to heaven and they are all so contrary
	Such a many ways to heaven I dont believe.
2
	Some go one way Some another.
	Rich man this way poore man the other
	The one goes a feasting the other has to fast
	Yet they all hope to meet in heaven at last.
	Chorus
3)	The catholic and Protestant on the dodge.
	Each one calls his neighbor a dog
	If we take there words tis plain dear sirs
	They both are two great mungriel curs.
	Chorus
4)	The catholic priest with his rosery beads
	While the Pilgrim tramps with his shoes full of peas
	So they think they follow both peter and Pall
	But Peter recolect wore no shoes at all.
	Chorus

[page 2]

5)	The Prottons church mans a wiser buy
	He goes to heaven a shorter way
	He leaps the gulf thus put to sever us
	By forever crying out good Lord deliver us
	Chorus
	Dissenters next a motly crew they turn there backs
	On the others two a shorter way still they have found
	Than going with the church man
	Round and round
	Chorus
6)	The elect goes off in a special train,
	You cant come in you try in vain,
	All full in side no room for more
7	And those who are in were in before.
	Chorus
	The jumper dances all the way
	While the methodis shouts and says lets pray
	So while one jumps the other says his prayers
8)	Yet they all hope to agree when they get up stairs
	Chorus
	The ranters full of noise and riot
	While the quaker likes to sit verry quiet
	Surely this would make a pretty figure
9)	To chain these two in heaven to gather.
	Chorus
	Come one come all both great and small
	No matter what religion theres room for all
	Baptis and methodis no complaints only

[page 3]

	Dont take in them latter day saints
10)	Chorus
	In one corner stands the pope,
	With stake and fagot axe and rope,
	And clost by then only a little higher,
	Are those they to heaven through fire.
11)	Chorus
	Heres a heap of Priests and nobles,
	Talking over there earthly troubles,
	And as they tell them all you should,
	Just see Peter wink at Pall.
12)	Chorus
	One is sorry another is glad
	One is merry another is sad
	Ask that bishop there why he is grieving
	O since Ive come to heaven Ive lost my liveing
13)	Chorus
	But then I say how can this be
	Surely in heaven they; never agree
	Tthey tell the sinners when he dies
	Tthat as the tree falls so it lies.
14)	Chorus
	So in heaven they all should meet,
	And think there journey all compleat,
	Theyl quarrel there the same as here,
	And disturb all heaven with a precious row.
15)	Chorus

[page 4]

16	But no these ways will never do
	They are all deceived I tell you true
	There is but one way and that is strait
	So find it quick dont be to late
January the 22          Chorus          Polly Greer
dear ma as I have often heard you say that you wished you had this song ballad I thought I would send it to you I found it in a little book of Lum Greers that Sister Will give H for a keep sake he had drawn it of his day book this leaves us all well and getting a long verry well it is quite cold though it does not hurt me as bad as it did at home the wind does not blow here like it does in texas and when it gets cold here it stays cold untill it gets warm I have not had a bad cold this winter nor have I seen a snotty nose child. Mallie & Sue. are going to school they stay at home untill the bell rings and then they go they have 60 schollars in school tell Ellen that it will not belong untill Sue can write her a letter oh ma you cannot emagin how glad I was to here that Joes baby was a boy and that She was doing well I would like so much to see her and the baby tell her to write to me I received a letter from John Page yesterday he sends love to you all well ma as I have but little room I must close for this time H will answer Pas letter in a few days love to all did little Jack get his colt tell him that I want him to love it. I remain you Loveing daughter
Polly

[page 1 — marginal text by H Greer]

Polly gave me this unsealed to mail and after looking over it I thought I would add a few words but will be brief as I expect to write you a letter before long. you say the letter I wrote to Gregory came back. you say what shall I do with it &c. Billy Buster told me that Gregory lived near Calvert and he said

[page 2 — marginal text by H Greer]

that Gregory would pay it. And I thought so to. I guess he never called at the office — as he seldom gets letters. As you are much nearer than I am you do as you think best — probably you have some friend in that section that you could get to attend to it or maby the assessor of the county I had the utmost confidence in Jacob Gregory — and believe He would not hesitate a moment.

[page 3 — marginal text by H Greer]

Remember me to Kit Puss & the children As I shall ever rember the kindness and welcome they allways extended to me at their House. I have a tender feeling for all my relatives and friends in Texas.
Affectionatly	H. G.

Date of letter

The year of this letter is not given. However, judging from the internal evidence of this letter, it seems to have been 1881, thus written from Round Valley, AZ. The reasons for this determination are too complex to list here and are discussed in a future article about the mysterious first husband of Polly's sister Josie.

Polly Ann Lane

(1 MAY 1849 – 28 NOV 1882)

Matilda Susan Wilson

(4 AUG 1819 – 21 NOV 1888)

Lum Greer

His identity is unknown. Because Lum was usually a nickname for Columbus (sometimes Absalom), two candidates come to mind: 1) James Columbus Greer (24 FEB 1865 – 20 JUL 1937), son of Dixon Hamlin Greer, and 2) Christopher Columbus Greer (4 MAR 1832 – 8 FEB 1854), twin of H Greer. Since the reference is to a "keepsake", Dixon's son seems too young at the time of this letter. Thus, H's twin is more likely to have been the Lum in question. If so, then he apparently joined the LDS shortly before his tragic death.

Willmirth Margaret Greer

(18 NOV 1824 – 31 MAR 1902) Polly had no sister Willmirth. This was H's sister — and a reasonable candidate for the caretaker of Lum's day book, given his identity proposed above.

Americus Vespucius Greer

(4 MAR 1832 – 3 MAY 1896) For an unknown reason, he was known as "H" most of his life.

Melvina Clay Greer

(2 SEP 1867 – 30 JUN 1934)

Susan Virginia Greer

(25 JUL 1869 – 23 FEB 1961)

Martha Ellen Lane

(NOV 1864 – 31 DEC 1903) She was Polly's baby sister.

Josephine Augusta Lane

(23 JAN 1861 – 9 NOV 1925) She was Polly's next-to-youngest sister.

William D Collie

(10 OCT 1880 – after 1917)

John Page

His identity is unknown, but he evidently knew the Lanes that lived in Bosque Co, TX.

James Addison Lane

(4 OCT 1814 – 14 MAR 1883)   He was the patriarch of the Lane migration to Texas.

John H Claybrook

(abt 1871 – aft 1910) He was the youngest surviving child of Chris Claybrook & Margaret Lane.

marginal text

In pioneer times, scrimping on paper (and many other things) was commonplace because paper was sometimes difficult to obtain. But even when stationery was plentiful, adding another sheet of paper to a letter could drastically raise the cost of the mailing. So people often added information to a letter by writing along the margins of the paper.

Jacob Gregory

His identity is unknown. The content of the letter suggests a history in Washington Co, TX, that involved some business affair with the Greers. The 11 JUN 1880 census of Burleson Co, TX (immediately south of Robertson Co of which Calvert is the seat) listed a Jacob C Gregory, aged 68, boarding at the home of James C McClain. Since this was the only Jacob Gregory in the 1880 census for all of Texas, he was likely the man in question.

William S Buster

(2 JAN 1833 – 28 FEB 1895) When he was 3 his family left in Pulaski Co, KY, for Washington Co, TX, where he spent the rest of his life. There on 3 DEC 1844, his father William Woods Buster sold Nathaniel Hunt Greer 271 acres along Mill Creek. Being less than a year apart in age, Billy Buster and A V Greer formed a friendship that became lifelong. Although normally a farmer, Billy was a policeman in Brenham around the time this letter was written. His eldest brother Claudius twice served as Chief Justice of Washington Co.

Calvert

After the Civil War, Calvert became a thriving cotton center across the Brazos from Port Sullivan, where the Greers were living when they began their 1855 migration to Utah. Port Sullivan dwindled and eventually became a ghost town as commerce went by rail instead of river. For many years Calvert was the railhead for the gulf coast and was notorious for saloons and shootouts. It had the world's largest cotton gin for nearly a century and by 1900 was the 4th largest city in Texas with a population of 15,000. However, by the end of the twentieth century it had shrunk to a tenth that size.

Christopher Richard Claybrook

(25 JAN 1831 – 19 NOV 1883) He was the husband of Polly's sister, Margaret Ann Lane. Kit was a common nickname for Christopher.

Sarah Ann McKissick

(OCT 1840 – after JUN 1900) She was Chris Claybrook's 3rd and last wife.

Margaret Ann Lane's children

When this letter was written, Polly's sister Margaret (13 OCT 1840 – 21 MAR 1873) was long dead, as was her last child Charles A Claybrook (8 JAN 1873 – 13 NOV 1873). Her first child William Claybrook was born in 1861/1862 according to the 1870 census for Bosque Co, TX. What became of him is unknown. Her second child was Matilda A (Mattie) Claybrook (about 1863 – after 1878) who wed J N Childress according to a Bosque Co license dated 25 DEC 1878. In 1881 her three other children were still living with their father Chris Claybrook. The youngest was Jack (mentioned above). The other two were James T (Jim) Claybrook (5 AUG 1867 – 16 JUN 1945) and Joseph Edwin (Jody) Claybrook (29 AUG 1869 – 12 MAY 1940).