Grier, George M. - Maj.

George M. Grier

The ancestors of the Grier family were of Scotch origin, fled to the north of Ireland during the persecution of the Presbyterians in Scotland, and the grandfather of Maj. Grier, a Presbyterian minister, is supposed to be the progenitor of the family in Orange County, and who is known to have resided and preached in Wilmington, Del. His son was Rev. Thomas Grier, a well-known Presbyterian clergyman of Lancaster, Pa., who settled as pastor at Westtown, Orange Co., in 1808, where he preached for many years, and about 1836 died in his pulpit at Cold Spring, Putnam Co., N.Y.

The children of Rev. Thomas Grier were William; Maj. George M.; Smith, was a merchant in Chambersburg, Pa., where he died about 1870; Hon. Thomas Evans, a merchant at Pittston, Pa., has been several terms a representative in the State Legislature; Washington Decatur, was a physician, and died in Kentucky; Jane, was the wife of John Wallace, of Milford, Pa.; and John D. Grier, of Chambersburg, Pa., a merchant, and connected with the Pennsylvania Railroad.

Maj. George M., son of Rev. Thomas Grier, was born in Lancaster County, Pa., Sept. 27, 1802, and was therefore six years of age when his parents settled in Orange County. His early education was received under the careful instruction of his father. At the age of eighteen he began the study of law with Hon. I.R. Van Duzer, a prominent lawyer of Goshen, was admitted to practice as an attorney at the October term of the Supreme Court in 1826, and was associated until 1834 with Mr. Van Duzer in law practice.

He was appointed surrogate of Orange County by Governor William H. Seward, Feb. 7, 1840, and creditably discharged the duties of that office for several years. Being related to the Seward family by marriage, he was made one of the executors of the late Samuel S. Seward’s will, and had the principal charge of the estate.

He was appointed major in the old State militia by Maj.-Gen. Gilbert O. Fowler, of Newburgh, by which title he was familiarly known to the people of Goshen. He had a fondness for agricultural pursuits, and spent considerable time in the management of his farm, which lay just outside the limits of the village. He was, from its organization, a director of the Goshen National Bank, a trustee and member of the Presbyterian Church at Goshen, and for, nearly forty years officiated as clerk of the board of trustees.

Maj. Grier was a liberal, public-spirited citizen, and highly respected for his integrity and frankness in all the business relations of life. He was prominently identified with local and State politics, and was chosen to fill many places of trust and responsibility at home. He was chosen a delegate to the Pittsburg Convention that placed Gen. Fremont in nomination for the Presidency of the United States in 1856, and he was also chosen one of the Presidential electors of New York at the November election in 1860. Maj. Grier died Dec. 20, 1878. His wife was Frances, daughter of Freegift and Elizabeth (Sweezy) Tuthill, of Goshen, whom he married Aug. 7, 1833. She was born Jan. 16, 1804, and died Feb. 7, 1860. Her mother, Elizabeth Sweezy, was a niece of the late Judge Samuel S. Seward, and cousin of Hon. William H. Seward. Her father, Freegift Tuthill (for many years a merchant in Goshen), was son of Joshua and grandson of Freegift Tuthill, who was born on Long Island, Aug. 8, 1698, married Abigail Goldsmith, who bore him three sons and one daughter, and removed to Orange County about the year 1733 with his family. In the history of Cornwall and Blooming-Grove, members of the Tuthill family are mentioned as taking an active part in the public affairs of the towns as early as 1765-67.

The last-named Freegift Tuthill was a son of John, and grandson of John Tuthill, who was born July 16, 1635, and is supposed to have been the progenitor of the family on Long Island from England.

The surviving children of Maj. Grier are George and Thomas E., merchants in Goshen, and two daughters, Mary and Frances.