John Greene (settler)
Encyclopedia
John Greene was an early settler of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
, and a co-founder of the town of Warwick
in the colony. Sailing from England with his family in 1635, he first settled in Salem
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, but had difficulty with the Puritan
authority, and soon followed Roger Williams
to Providence
, becoming one of the original proprietors of that town. In 1643 he joined Samuel Gorton
and nine others in purchasing land that would become the town of Warwick
. Difficulties with Massachusetts ensued, until he accompanied Gorton on a trip to England where they secured royal recognition of their town.
Once Warwick became safe from external threats, Greene became active in its government, serving on the town council, being Deputy to the General Court of the colony, and serving as magistrate of the General Court of Trials. He died in the last days of 1658, being survived by his wife and six grown children, and becoming the ancestor of many prominent citizens.
, Dorset
, England, and was the son of Richard Greene, whose father was also named Richard. He became a surgeon and moved to Salisbury
, Wiltshire
, England, where he was married at St. Thomas in 1619 to Joane Tattersall/Tatarsole, and where all of his children were baptized. On 6 April 1635 he and his family boarded the ship James at Southampton
, England and sailed to New England
, arriving in Boston
on 3 June, and then going to Salem
for a short while.
Greene was consistently resistant to the Puritan
authority of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
, and within a year or two of his arrival in New England he moved to Providence
with Roger Williams
. He used this sanctuary to write haranguing letters to Massachusetts, speaking contemptuously of the magistrates, and in September 1637 he was fined 20 pounds and ordered not to come into the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts colony. In 1638 he was one of the 12 persons to whom land was deeded by Roger Williams, he becoming one of the original proprietors of that town. He was also one of the 12 original members of the First Baptist Church
there.
Miantonomi and named the property Occupassuatuxet. This land remained in his family for the following 140 years. He became a close friend of Samuel Gorton
, and in January 1643 these two men and nine others purchased another tract of land from Miantonomi and named it Shawomet, later to become Warwick, Rhode Island
. The following September, many of these Shawomet settlers were summoned to appear in court in Massachusetts
, based on supposed charges brought against them from two minor Indian sachems. The settlers refused the summons, telling Massachusetts that they did not have jurisdiction over their land, in response to which soldiers were sent and several of the settlers were taken to Boston
. Greene and his son John Jr.
both escaped to Conanicut Island
and were never captured. Those who were taken to Massachusetts were tried, and several of them were convicted of blasphemy and for their beliefs, and then incarcerated. While the captives were released a few months later, they were banished from Massachusetts, and also from their homes in Shawomet. Seeking redress for the wrongs against them, Greene, Gorton, and Randall Holden
sailed to England, but had to board a ship in New Amsterdam
, being banned from going to Boston
. While in England, Gorton was able to get a royal decree for his settlement of Shawomet from the Earl of Warwick
. Greene and Holden returned to New England
with this important document in 1646, while Gorton remained in England for another two years. When Gorton returned in 1648, he had his town renamed to Warwick, in honor of the earl who helped him get the protection he needed for the settlement.
, lived a long life which was almost entirely devoted to public service, including ten one-year terms as Deputy Governor of the colony. The second son, Peter, married Mary Gorton, a daughter of colonial President Samuel Gorton
. A great grandson, William Greene
served as Governor of the colony for 11 one-year terms during the middle of the 18th century, and his son, William Greene, Jr.
served as a governor of the State of Rhode Island. Greene is also the ancestor of General Nathanael Greene
, the only general in the American Revolutionary War
, besides George Washington
, to serve for the entire war, and of former United States President Warren G. Harding
.
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...
, and a co-founder of the town of Warwick
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
in the colony. Sailing from England with his family in 1635, he first settled in Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, but had difficulty with the Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
authority, and soon followed Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
, becoming one of the original proprietors of that town. In 1643 he joined Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton , was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick for one term...
and nine others in purchasing land that would become the town of Warwick
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
. Difficulties with Massachusetts ensued, until he accompanied Gorton on a trip to England where they secured royal recognition of their town.
Once Warwick became safe from external threats, Greene became active in its government, serving on the town council, being Deputy to the General Court of the colony, and serving as magistrate of the General Court of Trials. He died in the last days of 1658, being survived by his wife and six grown children, and becoming the ancestor of many prominent citizens.
Early life
John Greene was likely born at Boweridge Hall in GillinghamGillingham, Dorset
Gillingham is a town in the Blackmore Vale area of Dorset, England. The town is the most northerly in the county. It is 3 miles south of the A303 lying on the B3092 and B3081. It is near to the town of Shaftesbury which lies 7 miles to the south east. Neighbouring hamlets included Peacemarsh, Bay...
, Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, England, and was the son of Richard Greene, whose father was also named Richard. He became a surgeon and moved to Salisbury
Salisbury
Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England and the only city in the county. It is the second largest settlement in the county...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, England, where he was married at St. Thomas in 1619 to Joane Tattersall/Tatarsole, and where all of his children were baptized. On 6 April 1635 he and his family boarded the ship James at Southampton
Southampton
Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
, England and sailed to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, arriving in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
on 3 June, and then going to Salem
Salem, Massachusetts
Salem is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 40,407 at the 2000 census. It and Lawrence are the county seats of Essex County...
for a short while.
Providence
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
authority of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, and within a year or two of his arrival in New England he moved to Providence
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
with Roger Williams
Roger Williams (theologian)
Roger Williams was an English Protestant theologian who was an early proponent of religious freedom and the separation of church and state. In 1636, he began the colony of Providence Plantation, which provided a refuge for religious minorities. Williams started the first Baptist church in America,...
. He used this sanctuary to write haranguing letters to Massachusetts, speaking contemptuously of the magistrates, and in September 1637 he was fined 20 pounds and ordered not to come into the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts colony. In 1638 he was one of the 12 persons to whom land was deeded by Roger Williams, he becoming one of the original proprietors of that town. He was also one of the 12 original members of the First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church in America
The First Baptist Church in America is the First Baptist Church of Providence, Rhode Island, also known as First Baptist Meetinghouse. The oldest Baptist church congregation in the United States, it was founded by Roger Williams in Providence, Rhode Island in 1638...
there.
Warwick
In October 1642 Greene bought a neck of land with a little island from the Indian sachemSachem
A sachem[p] or sagamore is a paramount chief among the Algonquians or other northeast American tribes. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms from different Eastern Algonquian languages...
Miantonomi and named the property Occupassuatuxet. This land remained in his family for the following 140 years. He became a close friend of Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton , was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick for one term...
, and in January 1643 these two men and nine others purchased another tract of land from Miantonomi and named it Shawomet, later to become Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick, Rhode Island
Warwick is a city in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. It is the second largest city in the state, with a population of 82,672 at the 2010 census. Its mayor has been Scott Avedisian since 2000...
. The following September, many of these Shawomet settlers were summoned to appear in court in Massachusetts
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
, based on supposed charges brought against them from two minor Indian sachems. The settlers refused the summons, telling Massachusetts that they did not have jurisdiction over their land, in response to which soldiers were sent and several of the settlers were taken to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. Greene and his son John Jr.
John Greene, Jr.
John Greene Jr. was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who spent almost his entire adult life in the public service of the colony. Born in England, he was the son of John Greene and Joan Tattersall, and sailed to New England with his parents in 1635 aboard...
both escaped to Conanicut Island
Conanicut Island
Conanicut Island is the second largest island in Narragansett Bay, in the state of Rhode Island. It is connected on the east to Newport, Rhode Island, on Aquidneck Island by the Claiborne Pell Bridge, commonly known as the Newport Bridge, and on the west to North Kingstown, Rhode Island, on the...
and were never captured. Those who were taken to Massachusetts were tried, and several of them were convicted of blasphemy and for their beliefs, and then incarcerated. While the captives were released a few months later, they were banished from Massachusetts, and also from their homes in Shawomet. Seeking redress for the wrongs against them, Greene, Gorton, and Randall Holden
Randall Holden
Randall Holden was an early inhabitant of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, was one of the original founders of Portsmouth, and one of the co-founders of the town of Warwick...
sailed to England, but had to board a ship in New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
, being banned from going to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. While in England, Gorton was able to get a royal decree for his settlement of Shawomet from the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
. Greene and Holden returned to New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
with this important document in 1646, while Gorton remained in England for another two years. When Gorton returned in 1648, he had his town renamed to Warwick, in honor of the earl who helped him get the protection he needed for the settlement.
Later life and family
Greene served on the Warwick town council in 1647 and 1648, was the Warwick Deputy to the Rhode Island General Court from 1649 to 1657, and was made a freeman in 1655. He was the magistrate for the Rhode Island General Court of Trials in March 1656. He died sometime between 28 December 1658 when he wrote his will, and 7 January 1659 when it was proved. Greene had seven children, six of whom grew to maturity, and all with his first wife, Joan Tattershall (or Tatarsole). The oldest child, JohnJohn Greene, Jr.
John Greene Jr. was a deputy governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who spent almost his entire adult life in the public service of the colony. Born in England, he was the son of John Greene and Joan Tattersall, and sailed to New England with his parents in 1635 aboard...
, lived a long life which was almost entirely devoted to public service, including ten one-year terms as Deputy Governor of the colony. The second son, Peter, married Mary Gorton, a daughter of colonial President Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton , was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick for one term...
. A great grandson, William Greene
William Greene (colonial governor)
William Greene 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...
served as Governor of the colony for 11 one-year terms during the middle of the 18th century, and his son, William Greene, Jr.
William Greene (Rhode Island governor)
William Greene was the second Governor of Rhode Island after it became a state. His father, William Greene, had served as governor when Rhode Island was still a British colony....
served as a governor of the State of Rhode Island. Greene is also the ancestor of General Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene
Nathanael Greene was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. When the war began, Greene was a militia private, the lowest rank possible; he emerged from the war with a reputation as George Washington's most gifted and dependable officer. Many places in the United...
, the only general in the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, besides George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, to serve for the entire war, and of former United States President Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding was the 29th President of the United States . A Republican from Ohio, Harding was an influential self-made newspaper publisher. He served in the Ohio Senate , as the 28th Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator...
.
See also
- List of early settlers of Rhode Island
- Colony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsColony of Rhode Island and Providence PlantationsThe Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original English Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of North America that, after the American Revolution, became the modern U.S...