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Robert Grier- Author, Scientist,
Teacher, Farmer, Butts Countian
By Dale Whiten
During most of the 1800s
and the early part of the 20th
Century, a familiar sight in
practically every Southern
household was a copy of the
“Grier’s Almanac” hanging
from a peg by the fireplace
for convenient reference.
“For the States of North
Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, Florida, Alabama,
Mississippi, Tennessee,
Louisiana, Texas and Arkan
sas.”
That was (and is) the
inscription on the cover of the
almanac, and by the advice
and predictions of its creator
and publisher, Robert Grier,
farmers throughout these
states have relied on Grier’s
Almanac for planting their
gardens and crops and
directing other work on their
farms and plantations.
The words and wisdom of
Grier, native Georgian, have
reached millions of readers
for 170 years, making his
almanac the most famous in
• News from •
• your •
• Pharmacist •
• •
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victims.
National studies by leading
medical researchers show
that controlling weight, reg
ular exercise, eating foods
low in saturated fat and
cholesterol, abstaining from
cigarette smoking and peri
odic medical checkups are
ways to take precautions
against being a victim of
heart disease.
Heart and blood vessel
diseases are responsible for
more than 54 per cent of all
deaths in the nation—making
it the number one health
problem. However, the fu
ture appears brighter since
the cardiovascular death
rate among persons below
age 65 has declined about 15
per cent since 1950.
We always look on the
bright side—why not try our
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serve you with a smile.
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JACKSON. GA.
HINTS FOR THE HOME:
For a bee sting a paste of
baking soda on the bite will
greatly reduce the pain.
\ Gene's Barber & Styling Salon
133 E. Third Street, Jackson, Ga.
1
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JzL I
GRIER HOUSE This picture of the Robert Grier house in the Stark Community was
taken in 1959 when the house was still inhabited. Though it has been listed on the National
Register of Historic places, the house today is in an extreme state of disrepair.
the South and the second
oldest in the country.
It has even been said that,
in the old days, a copy of
Grier’s Almanac was used to
swear witnesses to tell the
truth, in the absence of a
Bible.
Though he was a resident
of Butts County the latter
part of his life, Grier was
born in Columbia County,
Georgia in 1780.
Of Scottish ancestry,
Grier’s grandparents left
Scotland during the reign of
Mary and went to Northern
Ireland. Then they emi
grated to America before the
American Revolution and
settled in Pennsylvania.
Around 1773, the Griers came
to Georgia and settled in the
area near Augusta where
Robert Grier was born.
Grier attended school at
Union Academy in Greens
boro, Georgia and was an
exceptionally intelligent stu
dent, excelling particularly
in mathematics and the
sciences.
In the mid-1820s Grier
married his first cousin
Elizabeth and they had one
child--a son, Algernon Sid
ney.
Sometimes between 1827
and 1830, Robert and Eliza
beth Grier moved to Butts
County, which had been
formed in 1825 from portions
of Henry and Monroe
Counties, making the Griers
one of the first families to
settle in the new county.
It is speculated the Grier
family may have moved to
Butts County hoping the
sulphur water at Indian
Springs would benefit their
son who had poor health.
The house Grier built in
Butts County is in the Stark
Community, six miles north
of Jackson. Though it is in
ruins, the house is still
standing, making it one of the
oldest houses in Georgia
around 145 years old.
The house was a big
rambling farm house sur
rounded by 1400 acres of
orchards, crops and forest.
The plantation also had its
slave quarters and at one
time Grier owned more than
100 slaves.
In fact, Grier specified in
his will that his wife receive
“my Negro man Sam and
Negro woman Ann and her
child Mary and a Negro girl
named Leif.” He also
stipulated that his wife
receive an annuity of SIOO a
year and left the bulk of his
property to his son.
A short distance from the
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1977
house is a large boulder on
which, it was said, Grier
would lie on clear nights and
study the stars.
However, his relatives
have maintained this “tale”
is not true and that being an
expert mathematician, Grier
would make his predictions
on sunrise and sunset by
mathematical calculations.
Grier was once offered the
chair of mathematics at the
University of Georgia, but he
turned it down.
When the first Grier
Almanac appeared in 1807, it
was called the “The Georgia
and South Carolina Alman
ack” and was published in
Augusta. A copy of the 1807
edition is part of the Derenne
Collection and is kept at the
University of Georgia.
Published for many years
in different locations, the
Grier Almanac was bought
by an Atlanta firm in 1894. It
is still published in Atlanta
and has a current circulation
of around three million.
Through his publication,
the reputation and character
of Grier grew and prospered.
His many friends admired
his tremendous intellectual
capacity and were rather
lavish in their description of
him.
(In Grier) “causality is
beautifully developed. He
loves to know the why and
wherefore of every cause.
This faculty disposes him to
reflect a great deal on the
nature of things-a man of
strong intellectual power...
He remembers with distinct
ness every spot he has been
during his life. He remem
bers dates and chronological
epochs better than most
men...”
Grier also possessed a
sense of humor, however
obscure it might have been.
According to a 1908 edition
of the Butts County Progress,
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Grier was asked about his
prediction of snow on a
certain day. Grier was in
Jackson the date named, it
was not snowing, and one of
his neighbors asked him
about the snow.
His answer was-“It is cold
enough and cloudy enough,
and if it doesn’t snow, I can’t
make it.” But it snowed
before night.
One of Grier’s closest
admirers and relatives was
his famous nephew, Alex
ander Stephens of Georgia
who served as Vice President
of the Confederate States of
America. Stephens was a
frequent visitor to the Grier
home in Butts County.
Before the Confederacy
was formed, Stephens, who
was a member of the U.S.
House of Representatives,
introduced a bill which
resulted in the establishment
of the U.S. Weather Bureau.
It is believed Grier may have
influenced Stephens’ intro
ducing of the bill.
Grier died at his home in
Butts County in 1848, and at
the time of his death, Grier’s
estate was valued at just
under $20,000.
The Grier house, which
was inhabited as recently as
the early 19605, has been
listed on the National Regis
ter of Historic Places by the
U.S. Department of the
Interior.
However, according to
Grier’s nearest surviving
relative in Butts County,
Richard Watkins of Jackson,
the listing is virtually
meaningless in terms of
preserving the house and
property. Watkins is the
great - great - great -
grandson of Grier.
The present owners of the
property on which the Grier
house is located are the
relatives of John Billy Mays,
Sr., formerly of Jackson.
Legislative Report
trom
Bill Jones
Rep. of District 78
The Statewide kindergar
ten programs was a subject
which received considerable
attention by the House of
Representatives this week.
The proposal as contained in
House Bill 607 sought to set
times certain for the phasing
in of a statewide program
calling for the inclusion of
twenty-five per cent of all
five year old children on a
volunteer basis by the fall of
1977 and concluding with 100
percent offerings by 1981.
The measure failed to pass
the House without being
amended with the more
significant adopted amend
ment striking the dates
certain provisions for im
plementation of the program
and exchanging therefor the
language that the program
would be implemented at the
“earliest possible date.”
While all the debate
continues over the merits of
offering the pre-school pro
grams statewide and the
advantages to be derived
therefrom, the three counties
of Butts, Lamar and Pike
comprising the 78th District,
go quietly about the business
of offering daily a pre-school
program for all the five year
old students in this area who
are desirous of attending.
Many bills were debated
and passed out or defeated
during the week. The
following is a synopsis of
House Action on major bills
acted on by it during the
week of February 14 through
' 18.
Monday, February 14
Passed:
HB 91 Requires County
Probate Judges to select new
polling places accessible to
the handicapped or make
suitable modifications at
existing locations to accom
modate disabled voters,
i95-0>
HB 220 Removes the
current of 1 percent ceiling
on municipal ad valorem
taxes to allow cities to set
their own millage rates but
does not repeal provisions in
city charters limiting in
creases. (128-25)
HB 457 Eliminates points
toward license revocation for
speeding violations not ex
ceeding 65 M.P.H. and
provides a graduated asses
sment scale for violators
exceeding the speed limit by
more than 10 miles per hour.
1146-3)
HB 486 Prohibits elected
city and county officials from
holding their position and
serving in the General
Assembly simultaneously.
(108-45)
HB 562 Sets a mandatory 2
to 20 years prison sentence
for 2nd offense burglary
convictions and 5 to 20 years
for 3rd convictions. (131-17)
Defeated:
HB 516 Would have
authorized local govern
ments to call for a
referendum to allow the
department of revenue to tax
sale of alcohol in private
clubs. (85-85)
HB 530 Would have
changed current misde
meanor penalty for fur
nishing persons under 21
years of age with firearms to
a felony. (50-93)
Tuesday, February 15
Passed:
HB 64 Enables certain
members of the public school
retirement system to claim
prior service credit for
service between the years
1945 and 1970. (146-1)
HB 95 Extends existing law
prohibiting odometer tam
pering to include provisions
against import and sale of
vehicles with falsified
odometers. (110-0)
HB 214 Provides that
teachers retirement benefits
be awarded to a member’s
surviving spouse if no
beneficiary is named. If no
spouse is alive benefits are
awarded to the estate. (102-0)
HB 501 Clarifies the state
ethics commissions investi
gatory powers and directs
the commission to monitor
exclusively campaign and
financial disclosure viola
tions. (154-0)
HB 502 Tightens controls
aimed at preventing pay
ment abuses by medicaid
medicare providers and
creates a special board to
One Man's Family
One Man's Family
Protects Their Valuables
By putting important papers, jewelry and other val
uables into a safe deposit box. this family knows
they are protected from fire, theft or loss. For
pennies a day. you too can enjoy this peace of mind.
See us soon about a rental. Sizes to suit every need.
IjoiNTDSH
* STATE BANK *
MenjberFDlC
oversee medical assistance
reimbursement. (170-0)
Wednesday. February 16
Passed:
HB 183 Restricts direct
competition against vending
facilities operated by the
blind in state buildings.
(98-0)
HB 607 Establishes a state
funded kindergarten pro
gram but contains no
provision for implementation
dates. (159-3)
HB 596 Requires successful
completion of an entrance
exam before admission to a
peace officers training
course. (97-3)
HB 452 Calls for use of
blind and deaf sign language
interpreters in administra
tive and judical hearing if
necessary'. (150-0)
HB 572 Spells out duties of
investigators appointed by
the Dougherty County-
District Attorney. (153-0)
HB 792 Game and fish code
replacing regulations
suspended by the courts.
(106-1)
Defeated:
HB 585 Would have created
a board to regulate licensing
and bidding by utility
contractors. (72-87)
Thursday. February 17
Passed:
HB 152 Provides a felony
penalty for theft of public
documents. (153-0)
HB 157 Allows holders of
drivers licenses signed by-
Jimmy Carter to keep them
as souvenirs after expiration.
(146-0)
HB 209 Raises monthly
public school system retire
ment benefits to 56.00
multiplied by number of
years creditable service.
(95-0)
HB 317 Allows persons
losing their drivers license
for accumulated points to
obtain limited drivers li
censes if driving is necessary
for their livelihood. (163-1)
HB 543 Includes mobile
homes as goods and property
for tenants subject to distress
warrant proceedings. (94-0)
HB 630 Provides that
Marta bonds be authorized
security for public deposits.
(149-0)
HB 751 Changes the offense
of commercial gambling
from an aggravated misde
meanor to a felony punish
able by l to 5 years or a
$20,000 fine. (109-1)
HB 546 Requires water
conserving toilets be in
stalled in future building
construction. (96-53)
Defeated:
HB 581 Would have allowed
an individual acting on
behalf of an insurance
company to discuss con
tractual claims with a policy
holder within 15 days after
the claimants injury. (18-143)
Friday, February 18
HR 137 Proposed constitu
tional amendment requiring
local referendum in local
districts affected by school
system consolidation. (143-2)
HB 261 Allows the court to
fix child support at a later
date for fathers not subject to
jurisdiction at time of
divorce. <96-4>
HB 503 Removes the
Attorney General from the
State Properties Commission
(95-0)
HB 339 Sets minimum age
for County Tax Assessors at
21 and maximum age at 72.
(99-0)
If anyone has any com
ments. suggestions, or ques
tions which I may be of help
with concerning items of
interest pending before the
Georgia House of Repre
sentatives, I would be
pleased to hear from you. I
can be reached at home by
phone at 404-775-5240 or at my
office at 404-775-3879. During
the session. I can be reached
in Atlanta at 1-800-282-5800.
My mailing address in
Jackson is P.O. Box 3933.
Jackson. Georgia 30233.1 can
also receive mail during the
session at the Georgia House
of Representatives, Georgia
State Capitol. Atlanta, Geor
gia 30334.