William Greene Sr. (16 March 1695 – 23 January 1758) was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a clerk of the county court in Providence, deputy from Warwick, speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and then deputy governor from 1740 to 1743. He became governor for the first time in 1743 and served four separate terms for a total of 11 years, and died while in office during his final term.
William Greene was the son of Samuel Greene (1671–1720) and Mary Gorton Greene (1673–1732), and grandson of John Greene Jr. of Warwick, who had spent most of his long life as a public servant, including 10 years as the Deputy Governor of the colony.[1] His great-grandfather, also named John Greene Sr., had come from Salisbury, Wiltshire, England, was a surgeon, and an early settler of Warwick in the colony of Rhode Island.[1] His great-grandfather on his mother's side was Samuel Gorton, the founder of Warwick, and for a very short period the governor of the two towns of Providence and Warwick.[2]
Careeredit
The use of paper money was a contentious issue during Greene's administrations. This bill was used after the Revolution.
Greene was made a freeman of the colony in 1718, and at the age of 32 was elected a deputy from Warwick in 1727, which office he held for five years.[3] He was the clerk of the county court in Providence and speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly in 1734 and 1739.[4] In 1728 he was appointed, along with John Mumford of Newport, to survey the boundary line between the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies.[5] When Governor John Wanton died in 1740, Richard Ward became the governor, and Greene became the new Deputy Governor, which office he held until his own election to governor in May 1743.[6] This was one of the rare cases when a Rhode Island governor did not come from the island of Aquidneck where the towns of Newport and Portsmouth are located.[7]
One of the important issues of Greene's first term in office concerned the boundary lines of the colony. Several geographic boundaries were adjusted, and the towns of Barrington, Warren and Bristol were added under Bristol county, and the towns of Tiverton and Little Compton were added to the towns on Aquidneck island in Newport County. Another major issue facing the colony was the war against France and Spain, for which the colony was expected to share in the defense of the Crown.[7] When England declared war against France on 31 March 1744, the colony manned forts and reinforced them with guns and ammunition.[8] Commodore Warren, with the aid of Rhode Island forces, laid siege to Louisbourg in Nova Scotia, which surrendered in June, surprising Europeans that the "strongest fortress of North America had capitulated to American farmers, machanics [sic], and fishermen."[8] The colony also had a few war sloops at its disposal along with 15 privateers and was successful in capturing 20 ships and sending them to Newport.[8]
During Greene's third term, the colony had divided into two hostile camps.[9] The leaders of the two divisions were both future governors, Samuel Ward and Stephen Hopkins, with Greene siding with the Ward camp. Some of the divisive issues concerned war versus peace, paper money versus hard currency, and Providence versus Newport interests. Elections went back and forth between the two opposing sides, and amid the discord, Greene died while in office on 23 January 1758.[9] He was buried in the Governor Greene Cemetery in Warwick.
William Greene married his second cousin, Catharine Greene, the daughter of Benjamin and Susanna (Holden) Greene, a granddaughter of Randall Holden, and a great granddaughter of the first John Greene Sr.[10] The couple had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood.[11] Their son, William Greene Jr. became the second governor after Rhode Island became a state.[12]
Bicknell, Thomas Williams (1920). The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Vol. 3. New York: The American Historical Society. pp. 1068–1071.
Turner, Henry Edward (1877). Greenes of Warwick in Colonial History. Newport, Rhode Island: Davis & Pitman, Steam Printers. p. 65. william greene governor RI.
Online sources
"Governor of Rhode Island". NNDB. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
"William Greene (1695-1758)". Rhode Island Historical Society. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
william, greene, colonial, governor, william, greene, march, 1695, january, 1758, governor, colony, rhode, island, providence, plantations, clerk, county, court, providence, deputy, from, warwick, speaker, rhode, island, assembly, then, deputy, governor, from,. William Greene Sr 16 March 1695 23 January 1758 was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations He was a clerk of the county court in Providence deputy from Warwick speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly and then deputy governor from 1740 to 1743 He became governor for the first time in 1743 and served four separate terms for a total of 11 years and died while in office during his final term William Greene Sr 23rd 25th 27th and 29th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsIn office 1743 1745Preceded byRichard WardSucceeded byGideon WantonIn office 1746 1747Preceded byGideon WantonSucceeded byGideon WantonIn office 1748 1755Preceded byGideon WantonSucceeded byStephen HopkinsIn office 1757 1758Preceded byStephen HopkinsSucceeded byStephen Hopkins26th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsIn office 1740 1743GovernorRichard WardPreceded byRichard WardSucceeded byJoseph Whipple Jr Personal detailsBorn16 March 1695Warwick Rhode IslandDied23 January 1758 1758 01 24 aged 62 Providence Rhode IslandResting placeGovernor Greene Cemetery Love Lane WarwickSpouseCatharine GreeneOccupationClerk of Providence County Court Speaker of Rhode Island Assembly Deputy Governor Governor Contents 1 Ancestry 2 Career 3 Family 4 Ancestry 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Bibliography 7 External linksAncestry editWilliam Greene was the son of Samuel Greene 1671 1720 and Mary Gorton Greene 1673 1732 and grandson of John Greene Jr of Warwick who had spent most of his long life as a public servant including 10 years as the Deputy Governor of the colony 1 His great grandfather also named John Greene Sr had come from Salisbury Wiltshire England was a surgeon and an early settler of Warwick in the colony of Rhode Island 1 His great grandfather on his mother s side was Samuel Gorton the founder of Warwick and for a very short period the governor of the two towns of Providence and Warwick 2 Career edit nbsp The use of paper money was a contentious issue during Greene s administrations This bill was used after the Revolution Greene was made a freeman of the colony in 1718 and at the age of 32 was elected a deputy from Warwick in 1727 which office he held for five years 3 He was the clerk of the county court in Providence and speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly in 1734 and 1739 4 In 1728 he was appointed along with John Mumford of Newport to survey the boundary line between the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies 5 When Governor John Wanton died in 1740 Richard Ward became the governor and Greene became the new Deputy Governor which office he held until his own election to governor in May 1743 6 This was one of the rare cases when a Rhode Island governor did not come from the island of Aquidneck where the towns of Newport and Portsmouth are located 7 One of the important issues of Greene s first term in office concerned the boundary lines of the colony Several geographic boundaries were adjusted and the towns of Barrington Warren and Bristol were added under Bristol county and the towns of Tiverton and Little Compton were added to the towns on Aquidneck island in Newport County Another major issue facing the colony was the war against France and Spain for which the colony was expected to share in the defense of the Crown 7 When England declared war against France on 31 March 1744 the colony manned forts and reinforced them with guns and ammunition 8 Commodore Warren with the aid of Rhode Island forces laid siege to Louisbourg in Nova Scotia which surrendered in June surprising Europeans that the strongest fortress of North America had capitulated to American farmers machanics sic and fishermen 8 The colony also had a few war sloops at its disposal along with 15 privateers and was successful in capturing 20 ships and sending them to Newport 8 During Greene s third term the colony had divided into two hostile camps 9 The leaders of the two divisions were both future governors Samuel Ward and Stephen Hopkins with Greene siding with the Ward camp Some of the divisive issues concerned war versus peace paper money versus hard currency and Providence versus Newport interests Elections went back and forth between the two opposing sides and amid the discord Greene died while in office on 23 January 1758 9 He was buried in the Governor Greene Cemetery in Warwick Family edit nbsp Catharine Greene portrait by John SmibertWilliam Greene married his second cousin Catharine Greene the daughter of Benjamin and Susanna Holden Greene a granddaughter of Randall Holden and a great granddaughter of the first John Greene Sr 10 The couple had six children five of whom survived to adulthood 11 Their son William Greene Jr became the second governor after Rhode Island became a state 12 Ancestry editAncestors of William Greene colonial governor 16 Richard Greene c 1560 before 1617 8 John Greene Sr 1597 1658 17 Mary Hooker c 1564 c 1625 4 John Greene Jr 1620 1708 9 Joan Tattersall2 Samuel Greene 1671 1720 20 Christopher Almy10 William Almy 1601 1676 21 Clarke5 Ann Almy 1627 1709 11 Audry Barlow 1603 after 1676 1 William Greene Sr 1695 1758 24 Thomas Gorton died 1611 12 Samuel Gorton 1593 c 1677 25 Anne born c 1555 6 Benjamin Gorton died 1699 26 John Mayplet born 1581 13 Mary Mayplet27 Mary died 1647 3 Mary Gorton 1673 1732 14 Richard Carder died c 1676 7 Sarah Carder died 1724 15 Mary died 1691 See also edit nbsp New England portal nbsp Rhode Island portal nbsp biography portalList of colonial governors of Rhode Island List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsReferences edit a b Austin 1887 p 88 Austin 1887 pp 302 305 Bicknell 1920 pp 1068 1071 Governor of Rhode Island Bicknell 1920 p 1068 Bicknell 1920 pp 1068 1069 a b Bicknell 1920 p 1069 a b c Bicknell 1920 p 1070 a b Bicknell 1920 p 1071 Turner 1877 p 17 RI Historical Society Turner 1877 p 18 Bibliography edit Austin John Osborne 1887 Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island Albany New York J Munsell s Sons ISBN 978 0 8063 0006 1 Bicknell Thomas Williams 1920 The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations Vol 3 New York The American Historical Society pp 1068 1071 Turner Henry Edward 1877 Greenes of Warwick in Colonial History Newport Rhode Island Davis amp Pitman Steam Printers p 65 william greene governor RI Online sources Governor of Rhode Island NNDB Retrieved 30 March 2011 William Greene 1695 1758 Rhode Island Historical Society Retrieved 30 March 2011 External links editChronological list of Rhode Island leaders William Greene at Find a Grave Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Greene colonial governor amp oldid 1163322083, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
