William Green
Privacy Level: Open (White)

William Green (abt. 1671 - 1722)

Judge William Green
Born about in Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married before 1700 in New Jerseymap
Descendants descendants
Father of , , , , and
Died at about age 51 in Hunterdon, New Jerseymap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: John McVey private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 7 Dec 2013
This page has been accessed 5,467 times.

Contents

Biography

The Birth Date is a rough estimate. See the text for details.
Flag of Wiltshire, England
William Green migrated from Wiltshire, England to Ewing Township, Trenton, New Jersey in the American Colonies.
Flag of Ewing Township, Trenton, New Jersey in the American Colonies

William Green was born about 1671 in Wiltshire, England, the son of Richard and Marie Anne (Quincey) Green (see a full discussion in the Research Notes). He was likely baptized on 21 July, 1672 at St Edmund, in Salisbury Parish, Wiltshire, England according to the St. Edmond Parish Register [1].

William left England at about 20 years of age, arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he stayed a short time before longing to return to England [2]. An unverified source says William immigrated in 1685 [3].

William Green… dissatisfied with some new relation in his father's family, left his native land, England, at the early age of twenty, and landed at the port of Philadelphia. Soon after, desirous of returning, and finding no vessel about to sail from that port, he went to New York, but not meeting with an opportunity immediately, visited Long Island. [4].


William made his way to New York where he met Joanna Reeder, the daughter [5] of John and Johannah (Burroughs) Reeder. The Reeder family had also recently come from England and had settled in the village of New Town, on Long Island, New York. William and Joanna were married 1692 in Long Island New York [6] and moved together to the vicinity of Ewing township in Burlington County [7] [2].

The home of William Green as it appeared in the 1990's.
Used by permission of the Friends of the William Green Farmhouse.
In 1712, William purchased three hundred and forty-five acres of land in Burlington County from Colonel Daniel Coxe. The acreage was made of property recently purchased by John Severns and included a wooden farmhouse. The wood-framed home was bricked, probably by William's son, William Jr. around 1717 [8]. The William Green farmhouse, as it would come to be known, was the first brick home in the township [2] [7], and would be occupied by five generations of the Green family. It is still standing today, although in a sad state of disrepair. The organization, Friends of the William Green Farmhouse have preserved and seek to restore the structure.

The area where William Green settled was originally called Hopewell Township. It was originally Burlington County, then became part of Hunterdon County in 1713. 125 years later, it was made part of Mercer County. In 1834, Ewing Township was separated from Trenton [9].

William and Joanna reared a family of seven sons and four daughters on their farm in Ewing township.

Children

The eleven children of William and Joanna were:

  1. Richard (m. Mary Ely) [7]
  2. Joseph (abt.1699) m. Elizabeth Mershon
  3. William II (b.1702) m. Lydia Armitage
  4. Benjamin (b.1706) m. Martha Dean
  5. John (abt.1708) [10]
  6. Jeremiah (b.1710) m. Joanna Hunt and moved to North Carolina
  7. Isaac m, _____ and moved to Sussex County, New Jersey
  8. Joanna (b.1702) m. Christopher Howell son of Christopher Howell.[11]
  9. Sarah (b.1701) married 1) Thomas Smith and 2) Benjamin Severns [12]
  10. Esther (abt.1711) [13]
  11. Mary

The children were listed in William's will:

1721-2 Jan. 11. Green, William, of Trenton, Hunterdon Co., yeoman; will of. Wife Joanna. Children—Richard, Joseph, William, Joanna, Sarah, Benjamin, John, Jerimiah, Isaac, the last six under age, Esther and Mary. Real and personal estate (a farm bought of John Severans). Executors—sons Richard and Joseph. Witnesses—Christopher Howell, William Reed, David Howell. Proved June 1, 1723. Lib. 2, p. 240. [14].


Career

William Green was a notable and respected figure in the community. As others spoke of William Green:

His qualities were such as to give him distinction, for he was appointed one of the first judges of Hunterdon county, and from the frequent mention of his name in public affairs and important business transactions, he was evidently a prominent and useful citizen [4].

"William Green became one of the first Justices of Hunterdon County at its organization in 1714, and, was Judge in the Court of Common Pleas until his death in 1722 [15].

William and Joanna later moved to Birmingham, known today as West Trenton, near the Delaware River [8]. Judge William Green died 16 June, 1722 and is buried in cemetery of the First Presbyterian Church near Scotch Road in Ewing, New Jersey [6]


Research Notes

While some of the Green descendants added a trailing 'e' to the surname (including my ancestors), this William Green was never spelled with an 'e' [16].

Accurate information on the birth of William Green is hard to find. There were literally hundreds of William Greens in England in the late 1600's. This William, son of Richard, was born about 1671. As of yet, there is no definitive source, but there is sufficient evidence for using the birth date and place of William Green as 1671 in Wiltshire, England:

1671, Wiltshire -- The Find-A-Grave memorial page for Judge William Green [6]
1672, Wiltshire -- A geni.com webpage on Judge William Green [17].
1671, Rippingdale -- Prestal Greene's page from Genealogy.com [18].
October 1671, Duffield, Derbyshire -- in the 'FamilySearch.org website [19].
1671, England -- Several unsourced family trees and legacy files.

There are slightly different references as to the parents of William Green on the Find-A-Grave memorial of Judge William Green [6]. It appears names were combined on Find-A-Grave and carried over to the FamilySearch.org website. William is named as the son of:

Peter and Elizabeth Green – in the Find-A-Grave narrative.
Richard Peter Green and Marie Anne Quincey Green – Find-A-Grave links to parent's.
Richard and Anne Green -- the Prestal Green family webpage [18].
Richard and Anne Green -- the Judge William Green Geni.com webpage [17].
Richard Peter and Anne (Quincey) Green – in Family Search.org [19]
Richard and Marie Green -- in a potential baptismal record [1].
Richard and Marie Anne (Quincey) Greene – on Wikitree.

There are conflicting sources for the christening or baptism of William Green:

christened on 7 October, 1671 in Duffield, Derbyshire, England [20].
baptized on 21 July, 1672 at St Edmund, in Salisbury Parish, Wiltshire [1]

And while it is certain that William Green married Joanna Reeder, the date and location is unclear:

Newtown, Long Island – in "The decedents of Rev John Moore" [2]
1692, Queens -- The FamilySearch.org database [3].
before 1696, Newtown, NY – unsourced text relating, "…arriving circa 1691 in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania. He married Joanna Reeder, daughter of John Reeder and Joanna Burroughs before 1696 at Newtown, Province of New York." [21].
New Town, Long Island -- Geni.com page of Judge William Green [17].
1692, Long Island -- Prestal Green [18]

Was Joanna the daughter or sister of John Reeder? The Prestal Greene family web page says, "[William] married Joanna Hannah Reeder in 1692 in Long Island, NY, daughter of John Reeder II and Joanna Burroughs" [18], and the Alton Greene book agrees: "He married Joanna "Hannah" Reeder born 1669, the daughter of John and Joanna "Hannah" (Burrroughs) Reeder [22]. However, Rev Ely Cooley is not so sure of her relationship to John, stating "[William] became acquainted with the family of John Reeder, recently arrived from England, whose sister, or daughter, Joanna, in process of time, he married…" [4]. Further, The descendants of Joshua Ely says that William, "while awaiting the sailing of a ship, he visited Long Island and there he met Joanna Reeder a sister of John Reeder…" [7].

Sources

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 St. Edmund Parish Register, Image 158, [ https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/61187/45582_1831109331_1174-00159?pid=336979] courtesy of Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre; Chippenham, Wiltshire, England; Reference Number: 1901/2.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Moore, James W., Rev. John Moore of Newtown, Long Island, and Some of His Descendants, [1] (The Chemical Publishing Co. Easton, Pennsylvania, 1903.) pp 23, 249.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 from an unsourced entry in the FamilySearch.org database.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cooley, Rev. Eli, "The Green Family," in Genealogy of Early Settlers in Trenton and Ewing, Old Hunterdon County, New Jersey [2], (The W.S. Sharp Printing Co., Trenton, New Jersey, 1883), pp 17, 78.
  5. ↑ contentious - see Research Notes on relationship of Joanna and John Reeder.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Memorial page for Judge William Green (1671–16 Jun 1722), Find A Grave: Memorial #9682834, citing First Presbyterian Church of Ewing Cemetery, Ewing, Mercer County, New Jersey, USA.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Ely, Reuben P.; Ely Warren S.; and Ely, Daniel B., "Chapter III, Descendants of Joshua Ely" in An Historical Narrative of the Ely, Revell and Stacye Families who were Among the Founders of Trenton and Burlington in the Province of West Jersey, 1678-1683, with the genealogy of the Ely descendants in America, [3], (Fleming H. Revell Company, New York, Chicago, etc., 1910), pp 163-4.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Short & Ford (Historical Consultants, Princeton, NJ), Architects and Heritage Studies, from a report prepared for the Division of Building and Construction; New Jersey State Department of Treasury; Control No: DBC 1776.
  9. ↑ online article, "Hunterdon County History", (https://www.co.hunterdon.nj.us/history.htm) on Hunterdon County, New Jersey website, accessed 5 November, 2021
  10. ↑ [| John Green of Oxford Township], profile on Geni.com.
  11. ↑ Joanna Green profile, [4] on Geni.com.
  12. ↑ Sarah Green profile [5] on Geni.com.
  13. ↑ Esther Green profile [6] on Geni.com.
  14. ↑ Nelson, William, "Calendar of New Jersey Wills, 1670-1730", [7], from Documents Relating to the Colonial History of the State of New Jersey, Vol XXIII, (The Press Printing and Publishing Co., Paterson, New Jersey, 1901.) p 193.
  15. ↑ Snell, James, History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey, (Everts and Peck, Philadelphia, 1881) p 191, 258.
  16. ↑ Bill Green, descendant of William Green and purveyor of the website of the William Green Farmhouse in personal email to Bryan Lawson, 26 October, 2021.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 webpage, "Judge William Green," (https://www.geni.com/people/Judge-William-Green/366819414200013625), information on geni.com, accessed 5 Nov, 2021.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Greene, Prestal, "The Greene Family of Douglasville, GA: Information about William Greene" [8] on the website Genealogy.com. accessed 5 Nov, 2021.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 The profile of Judge William Green on The Latter Day Saint's genealogy website, 'FamilySearch.org [9], accessed 5 November, 2021.
  20. ↑ William Green, son of Richard Green, in "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975" [10], FamilySearch, accessed18 September 2020.
  21. ↑ from an unknown source.
  22. ↑ Greene, Alton, Greene Family Tree of Jeremiah and Anne Hartley Greene: 1700-1970, (Claude Greene publisher, Pineville, Louisiana, 1970) p 2.
William W. and Phebe (Moore) Green. It tells how he was part of the Hunterdon men who were at the crossing of the DE. There was a historical plaque on the plantation that is missing, 1 on his grave and Washington's Light Horse billetted on the plantation. Its tells of other Green and Reeder's who took part in our amazing history. Rose Hill was the Reeder Plantation. from Janis Reasor

Acknowledgments

  • Thank you to John McVey for creating Green-9130, 7 December 2013.
  • Merged profile Green-6344 created through the import of My-Family-20-Dec-2012.ged on Dec 20, 2012 by Matt King
  • Merged profile of William Green was created on 18 March 2011 through the import of knox17032011.ged.
  • Merged profile Greene-1292 created through the import of Sandysthree_2009-05-22_2009-08-21_2009-12-22_2010-01-17_2010-10-04.ged on Jun 21, 2012 by Sandy Johnson.
  • Zoiya Holland Tate added bio and sources to this profile, Jan 25,2017
  • Meehan-411 added abstract of his will, 24 July 2018.




Is William your ancestor? Please don't go away!
 star icon Login to collaborate or comment, or
 star icon contact private message the profile manager, or
 star icon ask our community of genealogists a question.
Sponsored Search by Ancestry.com

DNA Connections
It may be possible to confirm family relationships with William by comparing test results with other carriers of his Y-chromosome or his mother's mitochondrial DNA. However, there are no known yDNA or mtDNA test-takers in his direct paternal or maternal line. It is likely that these autosomal DNA test-takers will share some percentage of DNA with William:

Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.

Images: 2
Chapter III Descendants of Joshua Ely of Trenton Third Generation page 163
Chapter III Descendants of Joshua Ely of Trenton Third Generation page 163
The William Green Farmhouse
The William Green Farmhouse


Comments: 6

Leave a message for others who see this profile.
There are no comments yet.
Login to post a comment.
Ellen Gustafson
Should the bio reflect that the parents were detached? Also it us possible that daughter Sarah did not marry Benjamin Severns. He married Sarah Green daughter of Samuel Green, mentioned in his Will.
posted by Ellen Gustafson
edited by Ellen Gustafson
[Living Martin]
The Y-DNA haplogroup for this William Green born Oct 1671 of England and parishes on 6/16/1722 in New Jersey and m. to Joanna Reeder is R-M269 and is the earliest genetically and paper trail confirmed ancestor on FTDNA Green/Greene surname group. Please consider detaching the parents until more proof is found because the genetic Y-DNA matches of I, Q, and R are getting more organized and I would like the Wikitree to reflect those findings. For example, there was many Jeremiah Greens in North Carolina, and those Jeremiah Greens might be from the Q haplogroup, and otherwise, the Q haplogroup Greens are present in Wilkes, North Carolina, as well as Tenn and VA; there are the 'Red' Greens of Culpeper, Virginia, and an I haplogroup of Greens from Malden, Mass that descend from Thomas "Seagull" Green and Elizabeth Lynde-Mills. Besides that, I found a 1685 William Green immigration at 16 from England to Maryland. Could this be him?

Place: Maryland; Year: 1685; Page Number: 555 U.S. and Canada, Passenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s Filby, P. William, ed. iPassenger and Immigration Lists Index, 1500s-1900s/i. Farmington Hills, MI, USA: Gale Research, 2012.

His official story he may have told his future wife & in-laws was perhaps a "disagreement in the father's family" but in reality may have been something else, and a slightly different port of arrival: especially if he came as a convict! Not saying he did, but this piece of information is very interesting taken together. He is always listed as the progenitor of the New Jersey Greens, DAR record, obituary, family history, etc. Furthermore, there are many, many William Greens that came from England and were in America as his contemporary, but not necessarily related, the Richard and Marie Anne Quincy parentage currently set as his parents are likely incorrect. The records say of England, but they don't say where. Given the many William Greens to be sorted here on Wikitree, please detach the parents: if you look back a generation prior to said parents, you might notice that they married around the time their son immigrated to England... if this was the issue with his father's family, then this was not his biological mother if this was his father... secondly, I think that this Richard Green may have been attached to William Green as the father simply because he was born in England, could have been old enough to have been his father, and parished in Hunterdon, NJ supposedly in 1722, all with lack of sources and confusion abound. When it gets this mingled, sometimes simplifying things is better. I also detached the John Samuel Thomas who definitely belonged to a different family entirely, one who also was in New Jersey along with Richard Green of the same age with no information available. While there was a John in the family, it wasn't that John, who married Anna Abigail Light. If you go to the profile you will see there are duplicates of John Samuel Green and Anna Light as a result of this error. I propose we all work together to get all the lineages correct and you can go to https://www.familytreedna.com/public/Green?iframe=ycolorized to see the different lineages that would not, could not belong together based on having different Y haplogroups, yet, here on wikitree, currently these lineages are kind of smashed together and mixed up. But this one is easy: There are several matches that claim descendency to this couple. It's only a matter of time of finding the true progenitor, and it may end up being this couple after all, but for the sake of research, again, please review this lineage in ftdna and realize that this IS the oldest confirmed ancestor so far, and that's okay. The only way to get further back in history is with accuracy in the present.

posted by [Living Martin]
Lawson-10040 Bryan Lawson
I have added a comprehensive narrative biography to the profile of William Green. I have attempted to organize the random notes and various references into a legible "story." I have tried to improve the existing citations and added a few new ones, along with updated information. Instead of replacing the profile as a whole, I have saved it in 'chunks', documenting what was changed within each session. This will allow anyone with concerns to go back through the "Change History" and restore sections from the previous version.
posted by Bryan Lawson
Meehan-411 Beryl Meehan
If William is that born in Wiltshire with parents Richard and Marie; those parents are probably those who married 16 Apr 1672 at Chute, Wiltshire and Marie's surname was "Poore." The marriage entry says Richard was of Titcombe and Marie of Chute.

Another potential set of parents are Richard Greene, married 5 Jun 1655 at St Edmund, Salisbury to Elizabeth Pearse. The entry states his father was James Greene of this parish and her father Daniel Pearse. Richard appears to be that baptised 16 Nov 1634 at St Edmund Salisbury, son of James Greene and Elizabeth_____ James Greene married 6 Sep 1624 at St Edmund, Salisbury Elizabeth Burdges both of the parish. Image 191 https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/61187/45582_3082375_0003-00192?pid=2397600

These are what I see on the actual original images of the parish registers by subscription on ancestry.com - not copied from a tree of some person posting their questionable data.

posted by Beryl Meehan
Holland-5579 Zoiya (Holland) Tate
Greene-1292 and Green-9130 appear to represent the same person because: They are the same person,
posted by Zoiya (Holland) Tate
Ellis-6095 Dawn Ellis
The person in this profile died more than 200 years ago. Please open this profile. Thanks
posted by Dawn Ellis

Rejected matches › William Greene (abt.1545-) › William Greene (abt.1750-) › William Greene (1652-bef.1679) › William Green Jr. (1659-1690) › William Lenard Greene

Featured National Park champion connections: William is 13 degrees from Theodore Roosevelt, 18 degrees from Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, 11 degrees from George Catlin, 12 degrees from Marjory Douglas, 20 degrees from Sueko Embrey, 12 degrees from George Grinnell, 24 degrees from Anton Kröller, 12 degrees from Stephen Mather, 22 degrees from Kara McKean, 13 degrees from John Muir, 13 degrees from Victoria Hanover and 22 degrees from Charles Young on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.

G  >  Green  >  William Green

Categories: First Presbyterian Church of Ewing Cemetery, Ewing, New Jersey | Burlington, New Jersey | Trenton, New Jersey | Estimated Birth Date