Benjamin Greene (1780 - 1860)

Born 5 Apr 1780 in Oundle, Northamptonshire, England

Husband of Mary (Maling) Greene — married 22 Feb 1803 in Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Catherine (Smith) Greene — married 5 Oct 1805 in St Peter, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 26 Nov 1860 at age 80 in London, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Benjamin Greene was born on 5 April 1780 at Oundle, Northamptonshire, England.^[1]

Benjamin was married twice. First, he married Mary Maling in Suffolk on 22 Feb 1803.^[2][1]

Benjamin married Catherine Smith on 5 Oct 1805 at Saint Peter, Bedford, Bedford, England.^[3] They were non-conformists, and their children were baptized at the Whiting Street Independent Church, Bury St. Edmonds, Suffolk. The had 7 sons and 6 daughters, including:

• Catherine Smith Greene, b. 18 Jul 1807; bpt. 14 Sept 1807^[4]
• Benjamin Buck Greene, bpt. 30 Jan 1809^[5]
• John Greene, b. 15 Aug 1810; bpt. 26 Dec 1810^[6]
• Mary Greene, b. 14 Feb 1812; bpt. 1 April 1812^[7]
• Elizabeth Greene, b. 20 Nov 1813; bpt. 27 Dec 1813^[8]
• Edward Greene, bpt. 20 December 1815^[9]
• Sophia Greene, b. 28 March 1817; bpt. 2 Feb 1818; d. 3 Jan 1819^[10]
• Henry Greene, b. 21 March 1819; bpt. 23 June 1819^[11]
• Henry Charles Greene, b. 25 Nov 1821; bpt. 28 Aug 1822^[12]
• William Greene, bpt. 24 Aug 1824^[13]
• Sophia Nichols Greene, b. 21 July 1825; bpt. 9 Dec 1825^[14]
• Helen Jane Greene, b. 9 May 1827; bpt. 27 August 1827^[15]

Benjamin Greene owned slaves in the West Indies, at least in the years 1827-1828.^[16]

In 1841, Benjamin Greene, a West India planter, lived at Russell Square, St. George Bloomsbury, Middlesex, with his wife Catherine and son William.^[17]

In 1851, Benjamin and his wife Catherine lived at 45 Russell Square, St. George Bloomsbury, Middlesex. Benjamin was a West India planter.^[18]

Benjamin Greene, Esq., of Russell Square, Middlesex, died on 26 Nov 1860. His Will, with 3 codicils, "was proved at the Principal Registry by the oaths of Benjamin Buck Greene of 25-Kensington-Palace-gardens Esquire John Green of Bury St. Edmonds in the said County of Suffolk Solicitor and Edward Greene of Bury St. Edmonds aforesaid the Sons the Executors. His estate was valued at under £80,000.^[19]

Slave owner and supporter of the slave trade

On the death of Sir Patrick Blake, 2nd Baronet he became the executor and, on the subsequent death of Sir Patrick's widow, the owner of some estates in the West Indies.

He acquired the Bury and Suffolk Herald in 1828 and as proprietor took an ultra-conservative position opposing both the Reform Bill and the Slavery Abolition Bill.[1] This position attracted much criticism and three libel actions.[1] He left Bury St Edmunds in 1836 and established with his son, Benjamin Greene & Son, West India merchants and shipowners, at 11 Mincing Lane, London

He made three claims under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 and was awarded a total of £4,033 15s 7d compensation for the 231 slaves he had owned on his estates in Montserrat and St Kitts.The Centre for the Study of the Legacies of British Slave-ownership at UCL describes him as an enthusiastic supporter of slavery, being particularly active between 1828-1833 ^[20].

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Wikipedia
2. ↑ "England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJNS-DQN : 10 February 2018), Benjamin Greene and Mary Maling, 22 Feb 1803; citing Suffolk, England, reference 6531, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 887,403.
3. ↑ England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973 [Ancestry.com. database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: England, Marriages, 1538–1973. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. FHL Film Number: 823782
4. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWD6-XXP : 11 February 2018, Catherine Smith Greene, 18 Jul 1807); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
5. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPJ8-RZ6 : 11 February 2018, Benjamin Buck Greene, 30 Dec 1808); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
6. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMK1-TKM : 11 February 2018, John Greene, 15 Aug 1810); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
7. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JWD6-XFJ : 11 February 2018, Mary Greene, 14 Feb 1812); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
8. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMK1-R2X : 11 February 2018, Elizth. Greene, 20 Nov 1813); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
9. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FQSJ-8XX : 11 December 2014), Edward Greene, 20 Dec 1815, Baptism; citing p. 43, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, record group RG4, Public Record Office, London. Affiliate Publication No. RG4_2962
10. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPJ8-BDH : 11 February 2018, Sophia Greene, 03 Jun 1819); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
11. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NYBD-9QB : 11 February 2018, Henry Greene, 20 Mar 1819); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
12. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JMK1-T38 : 11 February 2018, Henry Charles Greene, 25 Nov 1821); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
13. ↑ "England and Wales Non-Conformist Record Indexes (RG4-8), 1588-1977," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FWGX-FRD : 11 December 2014), William Greene, 18 Aug 1824, Baptism; citing p. 55, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, record group RG4, Public Record Office, London. Affiliate Publication No. RG4_2962
14. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NPJ8-BP8 : 11 February 2018, Sophia Greene, 21 Jul 1825); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962). . Affiliate Publication No. RG4_2962
15. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J3Z1-141 : 11 February 2018, Helen Jane Greene, 09 May 1827); citing WHITING STREET INDEPENDENT,BURY SAINT EDMUNDS,SUFFOLK,ENGLAND, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 0825400 (RG4 2962).
16. ↑ Slave Registers of former British Colonial Dependencies, 1813-1834 [Ancestry.com. database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Office of Registry of Colonial Slaves and Slave Compensation Commission: Records; (The National Archives Microfilm Publication T71); Records created and inherited by HM Treasury; The National Archives of the UK (TNA), Kew, Surrey, England. The National Archives of the UK; Kew, Surrey, England; Collection: Office of Registry of Colonial Slaves and Slave Compensation Commission: Records; Class: T 71; Piece Number: 2; escription: 1827-1828
17. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1841," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQJ7-MKF : 12 December 2017), Benjaman Greene, St George Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England; from "1841 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

    Benjamin Greene, 60; Catherine Greene, 55; William Greene, 16.

18. ↑ "England and Wales Census, 1851," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:SGF1-N2T : 8 November 2017), Benjamin Greene, Saint George Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England; citing Saint George Bloomsbury, Middlesex, England, p. 21, from "1851 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO HO 107, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

    Benjamin Greene, 70 b.Oundle, Northamptonshire; Catherine Greene, 67 b. Bedfordshire.

19. ↑ England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995 [Ancestry.com. database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England © Crown copyright. 1861: Surnames Fagel-Gyton, Page 224
20. ↑ Centre for the study of the Legacies of British Slavery https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/person/view/25002 accessed by Trevor Pickup on 5th August 2021]]

Research Born in Oundle and apprenticed at Whitbread, Benjamin Greene initially founded a brewing business in 1801 with John Clark in Bury St Edmunds, Then in 1806 he dissolved that partnership and established a new venture with William Buck at the Westgate Brewery. It was a venture that became Green King.