William Greene (abt. 1791 - 1873)

Born about 1791 in Rowan, North Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Rutha (Slatton) Greene — married about Oct 1815 in Tennessee

Descendants

Died 12 May 1873 at about age 82 in Hancock, Tennessee, United States [uncertain]

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Biography

William Greene migrated from Rowan Co., North Carolina to Hawkins Co., Tennessee.

William Greene was born in 1791 in Rowan County, North Carolina. ^{[1] [2]} He was the son of Jeremiah and Sarah Anne (Hartley) Green. He married Rutha (Slatton) (Slaton, Slatton), the daughter of John and Mary (Unknown) Slatton ^[3] in October of 1815 in Hawkins County. ^[4]

Military Service

Private William Greene served in the Tennessee Millitia in the War of 1812
Service started: Sep 20, 1814
Unit(s): Capt Bejamin Powell's Company
Service ended: May 07, 1815

William enlisted as a private in Captain Benjamin Powell's Company of the Tennessee Militia on 20 Sep 1814. His father-in-law, John Slatton was a Captain in the militia, although there is no record of them serving together. William was discharged on 7 May 1815 ater eight months of service ^[3]. His Pension application shows that he was at Point Mobile when his Tennessee unit heard the guns from the battle of New Orleans, but does not mention his father-in-law ^{[5] [6]}

Children

The children of William and Ruth Greene as mentioned in the Greene Family Tree of Jeremiah and Anne Hartley Greene, ^[3]:

1. Mary Polly (b.1816) m. David Cantwell
2. Nancy (b.1818) m. Nicholas Wolfe
3. Sterling (b.1820) m. Emeline Murrell
4. Elizabeth (b.1823) m. George W. Brewer
5. Minerva (b.1825 ) m. John Pearson
6. William Jr.* (b.1826) m. Susan ______
7. Jeremiah (b.1827) m. 1) Charlotte Murrell and 2) Mary "Polly" Wolfe
8. Martha "Patsy" (b.1829) m. John Murrell
9. John Arthur. (b.1831) m.Melissa Wolfe
10. Orpha (b.1833) m. Efrem Clonce
11. Ruth (b.1837)' m. Nicolas Wolfe

• It has been ssuggested that William Green Jr. was not a child of William and Rutha Greeen (see Research Notes).

Note that both Nancy and Rutha married men named Nicolas Wolfe, but they are not the same man; more likely they were uncle and nephew ^[3]

Will and Passing

William's chlidren are also mentioned in his will:

William passed away on 6 May 1873 in Hawkins County and was laid to rest in the Wolfe Family Cemetery in Hawkins County (in what is now Hancock County, Tennessee) ^[7]. ^[8]

Research Notes

• Birthdate - William was enumerated as 59 years old in the 1850 Census, suggesting a year of birth between 1790 and 1791.

• Birthplace - William's birthplace was listed as North Carolina in the 1850 Census.

• Children - Based on William's Last Will,it is likely that he did not have a son named William. but William Green Jr. may have been a nephew that lived with him and helped on the farm. The reasoning behind this is that there is no mention of William Jr. in the will of William Greene, and the documentl was very careful to spell out all his children, both living and deceased, and in chronological birth order, to wit: the estate was to be "equally divided between my children":

“to my wife Rutha . . . [and] between my children vis Polly Cantwell, Nancy Wolfe, Emeline Greene widow of Sterling Green, the heirs of Elizabeth Brewer, Minerva Pearson, Jeremiah Green, Patsy Murrel, the heirs of John A. Green decd Orpha Clonce and Rutha Wolfe. . .” ^[9]

Emeline was struck out because William instructed the court to “bequeath” her the $670 debt owed by her late husband to the estate.

Sources

1. ↑ Greene, Alton, contributor to Hancock County Tennessee and its People - 1989, (Walsworth Publishing, Marceline, Missouri, 1989) p 35.
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch Household of William Greene, Tennessee > Hancock > Hancock county > image 2 of 132; citing NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Greene, Alton, Greene Family Tree of Jeremiah and Anne Hartley Greene, (Pineville, Louisiana, Claude Greene, publisher, 1970) p 3.
4. ↑ William Greene military pension application, (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/6061522/william-green#source) Find-A-Grave.com, accessed 23 Jun 2021.
5. ↑ William Greene, War of 1812 Pension application, mar by George Rogers, but no existing proof as all witnesses are dead by 1873. (needs full citation).
6. ↑ War of 1812 William Green SC 27161 SC 18189 WO 25874 SC 24914 ...Marriage of widow and soldier Oct 1815 Hawkins Co TN residence of George Rogers, Maiden name of widow Ruth Slatten; Residence on widow Mooresburg, Hawkins co TN; Death of soldier: May 6 1873, Private in Capt Benjamin Powell's Co TN Militia Enlisted Sept 20 1814 Discharged May 7 1815. Widow’s Certificate 25874, Ruth Slatten, widow of William Greene, who served in Capt John Slattens Co, War of 1812 Pension Applications; Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives Building, Washington, DC.
7. ↑ Hancock County was created from parts of Hawkins and Claiborne Counties in 1844.
8. ↑ Memorial page for William Green (1791–12 May 1873), Find A Grave: Memorial #6061522, citing Wolfe Cemetery, Hancock County, Tennessee, USA .
9. ↑ The Will of William Green, 1873; transcribed from original in the Hawkins County Archives, Rogersville, Tenn, by Hallie Price Garner.

Acknowledgement

Profile created by Clinton Slayton Jr. 25 July 2020.