Talk:Allan J. Greer (1854-1905)

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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical

HON. ALLEN J. GREER - Vol II, pg 487-488 Hon. Allen J. Greer, lawyer, legislator, the champion of public education and of public progress and improvement of every form, was one of the honored and dis citizens of Minneapolis, whose worth was acknowledged by all who knew him, the public recognizing the valuable contribution which he made to the substantial development and upbuilding of this section of the state. Mr. Greer was a native son of Pennsylvania, born in Mifflin county, June 14, 1854, his parents being James and Sarah A. (Carson) Greer, who in 1858 removed with their family to Jefferson City, Missouri, where the father was engaged in business at the time of the inauguration of hostilities between the north and the south. His sympathy with the Union, he enlisted in the Federal army in 1861 and died at Helena, Arkansas, in 1862. He was a son of Adam Greer, who came to the new world from the north of Ireland about 1830. Following the death of her husband, Mrs. James Greer returned with her children to their old home in Pennsylvania, and in 1865 removed to Lake City, Minnesota. Alien J. Greer attended the public schools and completed his education by a course in the University of Minnesota, from which he was graduated with honors on the 5th of June, 1879. He then entered upon the study of law and in 1882 was admitted to the bar, opening his law office in Lake City, Minnesota. As the years passed he gained distinction as one of the foremost attorneys of the Northwest. He possessed comprehensive knowledge of the principles of law and was thoroughly accurate In applying these principles to the points in litigation. His arguments were always clear, concise and convincing and his deductions strong and logical. While his law practice constantly developed in volume and importance he nevertheless found time for public service and regarded it as the duty of every individual to assist the public welfare in every possible manner. For a number of years he filled the position of county superintendent of schools in Wabasha county and subsequently was made a member of the State Normal School board, in which connection he labored earnestly and effectively in establishing and promoting the present highly creditable system of Normal schools in Minnesota. He was among the earliest graduates of the State University and was its first alumnus to become a member of the general assembly. For twelve years he served as a legislator, being for four years a member of the house of representatives, while for eight years he was a member of the senate. He gave most thoughtful and earnest consideration to all the vital questions which came up for settlement and labored unceasingly and effectively for the betterment of social, religious and educational conditions in Minnesota. His clearness of vision enabled him readily to comprehend the real value of any proposed legislation and he gave his full strength to the support of or opposition to any measure as he considered it of worth or a detriment to the commonwealth. His position was never an equivocal one and he never hesitated for a moment to stand firmly by his honest convictions. In February, 1882, Mr. Greer was united in marriage to Miss Mary Dorman. He passed away in Monrovia, California, in 1905, at the age of fifty-one years, having removed to that city during the latter part of his days. His interest and activity in the public welfare had made him one of the most valued residents of Minnesota and at his passing the Wabasha Herald wrote of him: "In the death of Alien J. Greer the bar of this district has lost one of its bright lights, the county one of its foremost and most progressive, and the state of Minnesota one of its most forceful legislators; he had reached beyond the period of middle life and was in his fifty-first year and had not reached nearly to the zenith of his power, was one of nature's big, broad men, broad by stature, broad of intellect and broad in his grasp of public questions and policies. He was big-souled, large-hearted, generous, genial, courteous American gentleman. The community weeps not in his death but in the terrible affliction that clouded the mind of a brilliant self-made man, who seemed to have the promise of an old age, hallowed by memories of a manhood devoted to the best in American effort. To the good woman who made sacrifices for him during the years of his illness that the world can never know, the heart of the community goes out in sympathy, and shares with the devoted wife the sorrow that is the community's as well as hers, and Wabasha county weeps with her-she does not weep alone."