Sunday, March 7, 2010

ALL ABOUT THE GREEN FAMILY

This time we will take a slightly different tack as we follow the Green family beginning with an early generation in the 17th century. A special thank you to Cuz Marilyn (Donahue) Christie, whose study of this family has added much to their story.

What we know of the family has its beginnings in Groton, Massachusetts, and as most early Massachusetts towns at one time encompassed what was later to become others, early Groton included Pepperell, Shirley, portions of Littleton, Dunstable, Harvard, Westwood and Nashua, NH.

William and Mary (Crispe) Green
Among the original proprietors was WILLIAM GREEN (1640- 1713) with a 14 acre right. His house lot of 17 acres was on both sides of the great country road. Their home was on the present site of Lawrence Academy and extended as far north as the road across Broad Meadows.

It is said in Groton history that
“In King William’s War, 1691-2, William Greene captained 11 men and their families in Garrison No. 1, south and east of West Parish Church.”
He was a constable in 1675 and surveyor in 1680.

He married Mary Crispe who bore eight children. She was born 20 May 1638 in Watertown, Massachusettts; and died after Jul 1713. I would include a bit about Mary's parents:
CRISPE, BENJAMIN: b abt 1615 Frisby, Lincolnshire, England d 5 Nov 1683 Groton, Massachusetts
m.1. bef 1637 Watertown, MA
____, BRIDGET: b abt 1614 killed by Indians 13 Mar 1676. They had six children
* Mary b 20 May 1638
m.2. after 1680
GOFF, JOANNA: widow of William Longley & sister of Thomas Goff
He was a mason. Deposed in 1656, age abt 45 years, that he was “a servant to Maj Gibbons 25 years agone”. He was in service to the major as early as 1629. In 1666 he sold to Thomas Boyden of Groton a dwelling with 7 acres & several other parcels of land amounting to 92 acres. He probably moved to Groton about that time and sold about 8 acres to William Green. Benjamin was a Groton resident from 1666 to 1680.. In 1682 he again sold land to W. Green and moved to Watertown where he remarried.

The children of William and Mary (Crispe) Green were:
Mary b 21 May 1661; d 11 Apr 1736; m. 6 Jul 1683 Daniel Cady
William b 13 Jul 1665
Anna b 12 May 1667
John b Mar 1669; m. Hannah ____
* Eleazer b 20 May 1672
Hannah b abt 1676; d 28 Jan 1682
Elizabeth b 11 Mar 1680 Groton, MA; m. John Cady
Hannah b 10 Feb 1683; m. Hezekiah Whitcombe
[the * before a child’s name indicates the next in lineal descent to our family]