James Greene, Sr.

Notes:

James was the great-grandfather of General Nathanael Greene, second in command to General George Washington during the Revolution. General Nathanael Greene's birthplace was the Greene homestead at Potowomut, Warwick, RI. Sometimes referred to as James Greene "of Potowomut," he was made freeman of Warwick and Providence Plantations in 1647. He served as Town Clerk in 1661, and was described as "as excellent penman of the old English text" ("The Greenes of Rhode Island," p. 64). Under Rhode Island's first charter, he served as Commissioner, or member of the General Assembly. Under the second charter (1663), he served as Deputy Assistant for ten years, until about 1675. His house, along with all in Warwick except one, was burned down by Indians in the Spring of 1675/76 during King Philip's War. Being warned in advance, he had fled to Portsmouth where his father-in-law, John Anthony, lived. It was some time after this, about 1684, that he located at Potowomut, where he built a house by a river which provided power for a forge which was used by his sons and grandsons to do iron work, such as making anchors. (See "The Greenes of Rhode island," p. 64)

James married Deliverance Potter Abt 1658. Deliverance (daughter of Robert Potter and Isabel Unknown) was born 1637; died 1664. [Group Sheet]

1. James Greene, Jr. was born 1 Jun 1659; died 12 Mar 1711/12, Warwick, Kent Co., RI; was buried , Historical Cemetery 66, Surgeon Greene Lot, West Shore Rd., Warwick, RI.
2. Mary Greene was born 28 Sep 1660.
3. Elisha Greene was born 17 Mar 1662/63.
4. Sarah Greene was born 27 Aug 1664; died 1716.

James married Elizabeth Anthony 3 Aug 1665, Warwick, RI. Elizabeth (daughter of John Anthony and Susannah Potter) was born Abt 1646, Portsmouth, RI; died Aft Mar 1697/98. [Group Sheet]

1. Peter Greene was born 25 Aug 1666; died 1708.
2. Elizabeth Greene was born 17 Oct 1668.
3. John Greene was born 1 Feb 1669/70.
4. Jabez Greene was born 17 May 1673; died 1 Oct 1741.
5. David Greene was born 24 Jun 1677, Warwick, RI; died Abt 29 Jan 1761, Jamestown, RI.
6. Thomas Greene was born 11 Nov 1682.
7. John Greene was born 30 Sep 1685.
8. Susanna Greene was born 24 May 1688, Warwick, RI; died 1748.

Notes:

He is referred to as Dr. John Greene; John Greene, Surgeon; and John Greene, Sr.

The following information is extracted and paraphrased from the book "The Greenes of Rhode Island," compiled by Louise Brownell Clarke and published in 1903, available at the RI Historical Library and elsewhere:

This John Greene, an English surgeon who became the first professional medical man in Providence Plantations, was the founder of a family which has become as prominent as any in the history of our state. It gave to the Colony two Governors (both named William Greene); to the Army of the Revolution, Major-General Nathanael Greene; to the United States forces in the Civil War, Major-General George Sears Greene . . . and many others (pp. 43 & 44). These notable Greene descendants were also descendants of our ancestor Samuell Gorton (p. 45).

John Greene, Sr. was born at his father's estate, Bowridge Hill, at Gillingham, County Dorset, England in 1597 or 1598 (the above book gives his year of birth as c. 1590). He later moved to Salisbury, Wiltshire (p. 52), and in 1619 was married there at St. Thomas Church to Joan (or Joanne) Tattershall (or Tatarsole). Their marriage is recorded in the church register, as are the baptisms of all their children (p. 54). The family resided at Salisbury for about 16 years. It is not known exactly what prompted Dr. Greene and his wife to leave their homeland, but we do know that they sailed from Hampton (or Southampton), England, with their six children, on 6 April 1635 on the ship "James." After a voyage of 58 days (p. 55), they arrived in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, on 3 June 1635. They first settled at Salem along with Roger Williams who, when he learned in 1636 that officials intended to deport him back to England, escaped south to the Narragansett Bay area, beyond the borders of Massachusetts Bay Colony. The climate of religious persecution also led to the ousting of Dr. Greene, who in the spring of 1637 sold his house in Salem and brought his family to Providence, where he was one of the twelve original proprietors.

According to Massachusetts Colonial Records, i, p. 203 (quoted in above book, p. 57), "John Greene of New Providence [was] fined 20 pounds and forbidden this jurisdiction on pain of fine and imprisonment for speaking contemptuously of magistrates Sep 19, 1637." In a letter sent to the Massachusetts Court, he had charged them with usurping the power of Christ over the churches and men's consciences. It was a bold accusation, one that he would not have made had he not believed it to be both true and an egregious offense.

The right mode of baptism was one of the issues of contention in Massachusetts, where there was no allowance for different beliefs; but in Providence there was freedom of worship. So, here John Greene was baptized by Roger Williams, and was one of the twelve founding members of the First Baptist Church in America. John was also one of the first six settlers to receive home lots, which fronted on Towne Street (now Main Street) facing the cove (now the river) and extending back to Hope Street (p. 59).

Some time after Dr. Greene came to Rhode Island, his first wife Joan died. She was the mother of all his children. He then remarried to Ailsce (Alice or Elsie) Daniels, a widow of Providence.

The first land purchase by an English settler in the Warwick area was made by (Dr.) John Greene, Sr., to whom was deeded on 1 Oct 1642 the tract of land called Occupasuetuxet, by Miantonomi, chief Sachem of the Narragansetts. He moved there in 1642 or 1643 with his new wife and family. His farm came to be known as "Greene's Hold." In addition, John was one of a group of twelve men, including our ancestors Richard Waterman and Samuell Gorton, who purchased "Old Warwick" -- just south of Greene's land -- from the Indians. Known as the Shawomut Purchase, this area deeded to the settlers was about four miles wide and twenty miles inland, extending from the bay to the present-day Connecticut border. Shawomut, an Indian name meaning "a spring," was the original name of Warwick.

Connecticut and Massachusetts officials at various times tried to exert their control over the Rhode Island territory. Massachusetts Bay officials used rivalries among Indian tribes as leverage to stake their own claim to the prime coastal farmlands of Rhode Island, particularly the Shawomut area. Although the Indian Sachem had sold the settlers the land, with a fair written contract to prove it, there was a small group of unfriendly Indians on Warwick Neck who refused to leave and continually harassed the settlers. Massachusetts saw their opportunity and in 1643 sent a posse of armed men from Boston to arrest the settlers, even firing on a house where the English flag was displayed in an appeal to a higher law. The women and children fled in terror to the woods, while some of the men were bound and taken prisoner to Boston. Sadly, two of the wives died, probably from the trauma of fright and exposure to the elements (p. 55). The two who died were Isabel, wife of Robert Potter, and Ailsce, wife of Dr. John Greene.

The leaders of Shawomut, seeing the need for authority from the mother country as a defense against the neighboring colonies, appealed to England for their right to exist. The Earl of Warwick signed the Patent of Providence Plantations on 14 March 1643/44, and so the town was officially named Warwick in his honor.

Official records show that John held numerous leadership positions in the Colony and in the town:
8 Aug 1647 - Member of the first Town Council of Warwick, RI
26 Feb 1648 - Commissioner (Representative of Warwick to the General Assembly)
7 May 1649 - Magistrate in Court of Trials, Warwick, RI
4 June 1649 - Assistant
2 July 1649 - Member of Town Council
26 Oct 1650 - Commissioner
8 May 1655 - Commissioner
6 Oct 1656 - Commissioner
9 Aug 1657 - Commissioner

John made a trip back to London around 1644, where he married his third wife, Phillipa (it was always spelled "Phillip" -- a common name for both males and females at the time; it may have been pronounced as "Phillippe"). Her maiden name is not known. They returned to Warwick in 1646. After a full life, he died in January 1659, and is buried on the family farm in Conimicut, Old Warwick. His wife "Phillip" died in 1687, at about 87 years old.

John is the great-great-grandfather of General Nathanael Greene.

The RI Cemetery Database has his year of birth as 1585.

For more interesting information on the Greenes, see "Warwick's Villages & Historic Places," by Don D'Amato, at the City of Warwick web site:

http://www.warwickri.gov/heritage/damatoshistory/apponaug4.htm

Dr. married Joan TATTERSHALL 4 Nov 1619, St. Thomas Church, Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Joan was born Abt 1598, England; died Between 1638 and 1639. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

One online genealogy identifies her parents as Richard (b.1572) & Margaret (Fox, b.1576) Tattershall. No documentation is provided.

Notes:

The church record gives her maiden name as "Tatersole."

Notes:

Richard was appointed executor of his father's will in 1608.

Richard — Mary HOOKER. Mary (daughter of John HOOKER) was born Abt 1567. [Group Sheet]

Notes:

Mary was the grandniece of Archbishop Grindal of Canterbury (see "History of Exeter, England" at the Astor Library, New York City, cited in "The Greenes of Rhode Island" compiled by Louise Brownell Clarke, Knickerbocker Press, 1903).

Notes:

John was Chamberlain of the City of Exeter, England, in the mid-1500s. He also was a member of the Irish Parliament in 1568, and represented Exeter in the English Parliament in 1571.