Preface
The reader should keep several things in mind while reading this book. Genealogy is a never-ending search through history. Although I've spent many hours over several years researching information about the Greiner family, my work will never be complete. There will always be more facts to discover and I will most likely be proven wrong by the discovery of new information in the future. Therefore, this book is subject to change and correction as time progresses.
My primary purpose for this book is to document the family of my great-grandfather, David F. Greiner. With the help of many family members, I have gathered as much information as possible about his descendants. I also attempted to uncover David's ancestors as far back as possible. During that process I learned quite a bit more about other branches of the Greiner family. I tried to fill out each generation as completely as possible; in some cases including children and grandchildren on associated lines. However, my purpose is not to trace each family line. So this work is not a complete history of Martin Greiner's descendants, nor a compilation of all the Greiners of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. That will have to wait for another time. This is primarily a genealogy of David Greiner's ancestors and his descendants. However, I have included some charts of other lines of descent from Martin Greiner.
I would like to gratefully acknowledge the help of many others to complete this work. Several of my father's cousins (eighth generation) helped tremendously by gathering the details about their respective families. Several other researchers of Greiner and allied families have sent me a wealth of information over the years. In particular, Mary Greiner Wheeler from Lebanon, Pennsylvania has graciously provided me with much material on early Greiner lines. I sincerely appreciate everyone's help in putting this book together.
I get a lot of joy from the hobby of genealogy. My wife Margie and I have spent many interesting days in courthouses and libraries searching for new clues to our family connections. Our children, Bobby and Karen, have endured many "scenic" detours to visit cemeteries and family homes. But we have all enjoyed meeting new family members who we didn't know before. I'm sorry it has taken us this long. I wish I would have started earlier in my life so I would have been able to talk with some of the older generation who have since departed this life. I can only hope to pass some of my enthusiasm on to you through the pages of my book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Bob Greiner
January, 2001