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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox governor
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = William Greene
|name = William Greene Sr.
|image = GovWilliamGreeneRI.jpg
|image = GovWilliamGreeneRI.jpg
|order1 = 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th
|order1 = 23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th
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|governor5 = [[Richard Ward (Governor)|Richard Ward]]
|governor5 = [[Richard Ward (Governor)|Richard Ward]]
|predecessor5 = [[Richard Ward (Governor)|Richard Ward]]
|predecessor5 = [[Richard Ward (Governor)|Richard Ward]]
|successor5 = [[Joseph Whipple, Jr.]]
|successor5 = [[Joseph Whipple Jr.]]
|birth_date = 16 March 1695
|birth_date = 16 March 1695
|birth_place = [[Warwick, Rhode Island|Warwick]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]]
|birth_place = [[Warwick, Rhode Island|Warwick]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]]
|death_date = 22 February 1758
|death_date = {{Death-date and age|23 January 1758|16 March 1695}}
|death_place = [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]]
|death_place = [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|Rhode Island]]
|resting_place = [[Governor Greene Cemetery]], Love Lane, Warwick
|resting_place = [[Governor Greene Cemetery]], Love Lane, Warwick
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}}
}}


'''William Greene''' (16 March 1695 - 22 February 1758) was a governor of the [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations]]. He was a clerk of the county court in [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], deputy from [[Warwick, Rhode Island|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.''' (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, Rhode Island|Providence]], deputy from [[Warwick, Rhode Island|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.


== Ancestry ==
== Ancestry ==


William Greene was the son of Samuel and Mary (Gorton) Greene, and grandson of [[John Greene, Jr.|John Greene]] of Warwick, who had spent most of his long life as a public servant, including 10 years as the Deputy Governor of the colony.{{sfn|Austin|1887|p=88}} His great grandfather, also named [[John Greene (settler)|John Greene]], had come from [[Salisbury, Wiltshire]], England, was a surgeon, and an early settler of [[Warwick, Rhode Island|Warwick]] in the [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|colony of Rhode Island]].{{sfn|Austin|1887|p=88}} 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, Rhode Island|Providence]] and Warwick.{{sfn|Austin|1887|pp=302-305}}
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.{{sfn|Austin|1887|p=88}} His great-grandfather, also named [[John Greene (settler)|John Greene Sr.]], had come from [[Salisbury, Wiltshire]], England, was a surgeon, and an early settler of [[Warwick, Rhode Island|Warwick]] in the [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|colony of Rhode Island]].{{sfn|Austin|1887|p=88}} 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, Rhode Island|Providence]] and Warwick.{{sfn|Austin|1887|pp=302–305}}


== Career ==
== Career ==
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[[File:One Dollar State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.jpg|left|thumb|The use of paper money was a contentious issue during Greene's administrations. This bill was used after the Revolution.]]
[[File:One Dollar State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.jpg|left|thumb|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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|pp=1068-1071}} He was the clerk of the county court in Providence and speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly in 1734 and 1739.<ref>{{cite web|title=Governor of Rhode Island |url=http://www.nndb.com/gov/948/000051795/|publisher=NNDB| accessdate=2011-03-30}}</ref> In 1728 he was appointed, along with John Mumford of Newport, to survey the boundary line between the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1068}} When Governor [[John Wanton]] died in 1740, [[Richard Ward (Governor)|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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|pp=1068-1069}} 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, Rhode Island|Portsmouth]] are located.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1069}}
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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|pp=1068-1071}} He was the clerk of the county court in Providence and speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly in 1734 and 1739.{{sfn|Governor of Rhode Island}} In 1728 he was appointed, along with John Mumford of Newport, to survey the boundary line between the Rhode Island and Connecticut colonies.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1068}} When Governor [[John Wanton]] died in 1740, [[Richard Ward (Governor)|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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|pp=1068-1069}} 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, Rhode Island|Portsmouth]] are located.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1069}}


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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1069}} When England declared war against France on 31 March 1744, the colony manned forts and reinforced them with guns and ammunition.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1070}} 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."{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1070}} 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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1070}}
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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1069}} When England declared war against France on 31 March 1744, the colony manned forts and reinforced them with guns and ammunition.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1070}} 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."{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1070}} 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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1070}}


During Greene's third term, the colony had divided into two hostile camps.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1071}} The leaders of the two divisions were both future governors, [[Samuel Ward (American statesman)|Samuel Ward]] and [[Stephen Hopkins (politician)|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 in February 1758.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1071}}
During Greene's third term, the colony had divided into two hostile camps.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1071}} The leaders of the two divisions were both future governors, [[Samuel Ward (American statesman)|Samuel Ward]] and [[Stephen Hopkins (politician)|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.{{sfn|Bicknell|1920|p=1071}} He was buried in the [[Governor Greene Cemetery]] in Warwick.


== Family ==
== Family ==
[[File:Mrs. William Greene (Catherine Greene) - John Smibert.jpg|thumb|Catharine Greene, portrait by [[John Smibert]]]]

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 (settler)|John Greene]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Second Governor William Greene |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OXctAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA65&lpg=PA65&dq=william+greene+governor+RI&source=bl&ots=CVuojTJYBu&sig=po4ItGA9vnQuihm7tIaT8SjGocU&hl=en&ei=25CTTbOyKouO0QGi7IDNBw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CDoQ6AEwBTgK#v=onepage&q=william%20greene%20governor%20RI&f=false| accessdate=2011-03-30}}</ref> The couple had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood.<ref>{{cite web| title=William Greene (1695-1758) |url=http://www.rihs.org/mssinv/mss1118.htm|publisher=Rhode Island Historical Society|accessdate=2011-03-30}}</ref> Their son, [[William Greene (governor)|William Greene, Jr.]] became the second governor after Rhode Island became a state.
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 (settler)|John Greene Sr.]]{{sfn|Turner|1877|p=17}} The couple had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood.{{sfn|RI Historical Society}} Their son, [[William Greene (governor)|William Greene Jr.]] became the second governor after Rhode Island became a state.{{sfn|Turner|1877|p=18}}


== Ancestry ==
== Ancestry ==


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|1= 1. [[William Greene (colonial governor)|William Greene]] (1695 - 1758)
|1= 1. William Greene Sr. (1695 - 1758)
|2= 2. Samuel Greene (1671 - 1720)
|2= 2. Samuel Greene (1671 - 1720)
|3= 3. Mary Gorton (1673 - 1732)
|3= 3. Mary Gorton (1673 - 1732)
|4= 4. [[John Greene, Jr.]] (1620 - 1708)
|4= 4. [[John Greene Jr.]] (1620 - 1708)
|5= 5. Ann Almy (1627 - 1709)
|5= 5. Ann Almy (1627 - 1709)
|6= 6. Benjamin Gorton (died 1699)
|6= 6. Benjamin Gorton (died 1699)
|7= 7. Sarah Carder (died 1724)
|7= 7. Sarah Carder (died 1724)
|8= 8. [[John Greene (settler)|John Greene]] (1597 - 1658)
|8= 8. [[John Greene (settler)|John Greene Sr.]] (1597 - 1658)
|9= 9. Joan Tattersall
|9= 9. Joan Tattersall
|10= 10. William Almy (1601 - 1676)
|10= 10. William Almy (1601 - 1676)
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|27= 27. Mary (died 1647)
|27= 27. Mary (died 1647)


}}
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==See also==
==See also==


{{Portal|Rhode Island}}
{{Portal|New England|Rhode Island|biography}}
* [[List of colonial governors of Rhode Island]]
* [[List of colonial governors of Rhode Island]]
* [[List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island]]
* [[List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island]]
* [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations]]
* [[Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations]]
{{Clear}}


==References==
==References==


{{Reflist}}
{{reflist}}


===Bibliography===
===Bibliography===


{{Cite book|title=Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island |last=Austin |first=John Osborne |isbn=978-0-8063-0006-1 |year=1887 |pages=88–89,302–305|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=LA7ntaS11ocC&dq=governor+%22samuel+cranston%22+rhode+island&q=abbott%2C+daniel+235#v=onepage&q=abbott%2C%20daniel%20235&f=false}}
*{{Cite book|last=Austin |first=John Osborne | author-link = John Osborne Austin | title=Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island|place=Albany, New York |publisher=J. Munsell's Sons|isbn=978-0-8063-0006-1 |year=1887 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LA7ntaS11ocC&q=abbott%2C+daniel+235}}
*{{cite book|last=Bicknell |first=Thomas Williams |title=The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |year=1920 |volume=3 |publisher=The American Historical Society |place=New York |pages=1068–1071 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TF0EAAAAYAAJ&q=Greene }}
*{{cite book|last=Turner |first=Henry Edward |title=Greenes of Warwick in Colonial History |place=Newport, Rhode Island |publisher=Davis & Pitman, Steam Printers |year=1877 |url=https://archive.org/details/greenesofwarwick00turniala|page=[https://archive.org/details/greenesofwarwick00turniala/page/65 65] |quote=william greene governor RI. }}


''Online sources''
{{cite book|last=Bicknell |first=Thomas Williams |title=The History of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations |year=1920 |volume=3 |publisher=The American Historical Society |place=New York |pages=1068–1071 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=TF0EAAAAYAAJ&q=Greene&source=gbs_word_cloud_r&cad=5#v=snippet&q=Greene&f=false |accessdate=2011-03-30}}

*{{cite web | publisher = NNDB | title = Governor of Rhode Island | url = http://www.nndb.com/gov/948/000051795/ | access-date = 30 March 2011 | ref = {{sfnRef|Governor of Rhode Island}} }}
*{{cite web | publisher = Rhode Island Historical Society | title = William Greene (1695-1758) | url=http://www.rihs.org/mssinv/mss1118.htm | access-date = 30 March 2011 | ref = {{sfnRef|RI Historical Society}} }}


==External links==
==External links==

*[http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=40 Chronological list of Rhode Island leaders]
*[http://www.quahog.org/factsfolklore/index.php?id=40 Chronological list of Rhode Island leaders]
*{{Find a Grave|17712345}}
*[http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17712345 Grave of Governor William Greene]


{{Colonial Governors of Rhode Island}}
{{Colonial Governors of Rhode Island}}
{{Colonial Deputy Governors of Rhode Island}}
{{Colonial Deputy Governors of Rhode Island}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2011}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME =Greene, William
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION =Rhode Island colonial governor
| DATE OF BIRTH =16 March 1695
| PLACE OF BIRTH =Warwick, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
| DATE OF DEATH =22 February 1758
| PLACE OF DEATH =Providence, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, William}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, William}}
[[Category:1695 births]]
[[Category:1695 births]]
[[Category:1758 deaths]]
[[Category:1758 deaths]]
[[Category:American colonial people]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:Colonial governors of Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Colonial governors of Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Governors of Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Politicians from Newport, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:People from Newport, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Greene family of Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Rhode Island colonial people]]

Latest revision as of 01:48, 15 August 2024

William Greene Sr.
23rd, 25th, 27th, and 29th Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office
1743–1745
Preceded byRichard Ward
Succeeded byGideon Wanton
In office
1746–1747
Preceded byGideon Wanton
Succeeded byGideon Wanton
In office
1748–1755
Preceded byGideon Wanton
Succeeded byStephen Hopkins
In office
1757–1758
Preceded byStephen Hopkins
Succeeded byStephen Hopkins
26th Deputy Governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
In office
1740–1743
GovernorRichard Ward
Preceded byRichard Ward
Succeeded byJoseph Whipple Jr.
Personal details
Born16 March 1695
Warwick, Rhode Island
Died23 January 1758 (1758-01-24) (aged 62)
Providence, Rhode Island
Resting placeGovernor Greene Cemetery, Love Lane, Warwick
SpouseCatharine Greene
OccupationClerk of Providence County Court, Speaker of Rhode Island Assembly, Deputy Governor, Governor

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.

Ancestry

[edit]

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]

Career

[edit]
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]
Catharine Greene, portrait by John Smibert

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]

Ancestry

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Austin 1887, p. 88.
  2. ^ Austin 1887, pp. 302–305.
  3. ^ Bicknell 1920, pp. 1068–1071.
  4. ^ Governor of Rhode Island.
  5. ^ Bicknell 1920, p. 1068.
  6. ^ Bicknell 1920, pp. 1068–1069.
  7. ^ a b Bicknell 1920, p. 1069.
  8. ^ a b c Bicknell 1920, p. 1070.
  9. ^ a b Bicknell 1920, p. 1071.
  10. ^ Turner 1877, p. 17.
  11. ^ RI Historical Society.
  12. ^ 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 & Pitman, Steam Printers. p. 65. william greene governor RI.

Online sources

[edit]