George Greer – Kingfisher County, Oklahoma

Homesteading patent issued to George Greer under William H. Taft's presidency.

Government Land Office

Quick Facts

Significance:

Oklahoma Black Homesteader

Place of Birth:

Tennessee

Date of Birth:

1845

George Greer was born in Tennessee and married Sylvia Greer. Together, they filed an application for a homestead in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma.

The land, a mixture of prairie and farmland, was over 160 acres in size which was valued at $1.25 an acre. The land was located in the Northwest quarter of Section 14, in Township 19 of Range 8, in Kingfisher County.

The Greer family made several improvements to the land including building a home, stables, a well, and built a fence for over 30-acres of the property. The Greer family also cultivated 40-acres of the land and raised four crops.

Several witnesses, including Ewing Scott, J. Osborne, Joseph Patterson, and John Wilson, all from Hennessey, Oklahoma, confirmed the accuracy of Greer’s claims. Final approval of Greer’s application was approved in 1894 with the land patent issued to George Greer Sr.

Following the death of George Greer Sr., his son, George Greer Jr. attempted to gain ownership of the property and filed an application with the General Land Office of Oklahoma. There was some confusion when George Greer Jr. filed his application because the paperwork for the original homestead referred to his father as ‘George Gray.’ This made it difficult for Greer Jr. to acquire ownership of the property until a correction to the original documents were made.

Eventually ownership of Greer Sr.’s property was transferred to his son George Greer Jr. and his wife Sally in 1904. They lived on the homestead for several decades until George Greer Jr.’s death on May 23, 1946.