The earliest proven ancestor of the Greens of Preston and Griswold, Connecticut, is William Green, who first appeared in New London County records near the turn of the 18th century, when the births of his eldest five children were recorded in Stonington town records, the births taking place between 1699/00 and 1704/5.[1]  The appearance of these birth records is such that they were recorded at the same time (see below) -- at least by March 1704/5 when William's fifth child, Ann, was born, but possibly later, since the records preceding and following the Green birth records were dated 1716-1719.  I have found no earlier record of William Green's presence in New London County.  The next record found of William Green is his first deed for land in Preston, dated January 16, 1709/10, in which he purchased a seventy-acre tract of land for eighteen pounds from Capt. John Parke, Jr., William Billings, Caleb Fobes, and Joseph Geer.[2]  The date of this deed may possibly be closer to the date of William Green's arrival in New London County.

Above: image created from a scan of a microfilm copy of the original record
from Stonington Town Records, Volume 1, page 116.

 

Transcription:
Elizabeth, Daughter of W^m Green was born Feby 24^th 1699/10
John son of W^m green was born May : 12^th 1701
William son of W^m Green was born Jany 6^th 1701/2
Jabez son of W^m Green was born Aug. 19^th 1702/3
Ann Daughter of W^m Green was born March 7^th 1704/5

 

 

Origins of the Greens of Preston

 

The surname Green was common to the areas surrounding Preston, Connecticut in the early 1700s.  There was the printer, Timothy Green, who settled in the town of New London.  Robert Green was an early settler of Canterbury, Connecticut and was probably close in age to William Green of Preston.  If the naming of his children is to be taken into account, the fact that William Green of Preston named his eldest son John is probably significant, however there were many early John Green(e)s, particularly in Rhode Island, including John Green the Surgeon and John Greene of Quidnesset. William named his youngest son, Timothy, which might point to a connection with Timothy Green of New London.  However, he also named one of his sons Jabez, a name found among the descendants of John Greene of Quidnesset.  William Green's granddaughter, Mary Green, married Phillip Olin, whose great-aunt Mary Aylesworth was the wife of John Greene, a grandson of John Greene of Quidnesset.  A biography written in 1891 of one of William's great-great-great-grandsons, Benajah Samuel Greene, states that Benajah Greene was "the great-grandson of Major General Nathaniel Greene, of Revolutionary fame". [3]
        Unfortunately, there are many possibilities for the ancestry of William Green of Preston, but, frustratingly, not a shred of proof that I or anyone I know has been able to find to connect him with one of these families.

 

 

The Greens of Salem, Massachusetts 

The most recent family that I have researched for a possible connection to William Green of Preston is that of the mariner, John Green of Salem, Massachusetts.  John Green of Salem resided in a part of Salem known as "Ryal Side", located to the east of Salem near the town of Beverly.  Quite a bit of information is available on these early settlers of Salem in the book, Ryal Side from Early Days of Salem Colony, by Calvin P. Pierce.  An excellent map of early Salem Village that shows the location of the John Green homestead can be found at the University of Virginia's Maps of Salem Village 1692 page.

My attention was first turned to the Greens of Salem, Massachusetts when I began to explore the background of Mary Rich, the first wife of William Green's eldest son, John, whom she married in Preston, Connecticut on June 2, 1724.  On October 21, 1726, John and Mary Green of Preston, along with Samuel Rich of Sutton, Massachusetts; David Rich of Meriden, Connecticut; Jonathan Rich of Preston, Connecticut; Timothy and Abigail Jerome of Wallingford, Connecticut; and James and Sarah Tyler of Providence, Rhode Island, sold to Thomas Rose, Jr. of Preston, a fifty-acre tract of land in Preston that, according to the deed, had originally been purchased from John Ames in 1716.  Further research showed that ten years earlier, October 24, 1716, a man named Nicholas Rich purchased this fifty-acre tract of land from John Ames.  That same day, Nicholas Rich deeded one-half of this fifty-acre tract to his wife, Grace, for "Love and Goodwill".  On March 2, 1719/20, Grace Rich freely gave up her title and interest to this land, and six years later, the land was sold to Thomas Rose, Jr. by the children of Nicholas Rich and his first wife, the late Abigail (Green) Rich.

Abigail (Green) Rich, the first wife of Nicholas Rich and mother to Samuel, David, Jonathan, Abigail, Mary and Sarah Rich, was one of five known children born to John and Mary (Warren) Green of Salem, Massachusetts.   John Green died intestate January 11, 1690/1, and his estate was divided February 28, 1690/1.  The administration of his estate was recorded in the Essex Registry of Deeds on August 8, 1693, naming his wife, "Mary Green, widow", his children "Abigail, wife of Nicholas Rich", Elizabeth Green, "Mary, wife of Tobias Trow", and John Green, Jr.

        The Vital Records of Salem Massachusetts contain the birth records of five children of John and Mary (Warren) Green:

1.  Abigaile Greene, born 22 February 1660 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts

2. Mary Greene, born March 1, 1663 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts

3. Sara Greene, born August 14, 1666 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts

4. Elizabeth Greene, born February 20, 1667 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts

5. John Green, born June 28, 1671 in Salem, Essex County, Massachusetts

 

John Green's eldest daughter, Abigail (Green) Rich and her husband Nicholas Rich settled in Wenham, Massachusetts (near Salem), where the birth of their daughter, Abigail Rich, was recorded on October 2, 1687, and the birth of their son David Rich, was recorded on July 18, 1695.[4]  (Considering the range between Abigail and David's birth dates, it's possible that all six of the Rich children were born in Wenham). 

Abigail (Green) Rich must have died before 1713, because by this time, Nicholas Rich had married the widow Grace Lewis.[5]  Nicholas and Grace Rich were in Preston, Connecticut by 1716 when Nicholas bought the fifty-acre tract of land from John Ames, and thereafter deeded one-half of the tract to his wife, Grace.  Although I have found no proof of Nicholas Rich's demise, the most logical explanation for why Samuel, David, Jonathan, Abigail, Mary, and Sarah Rich would sell this tract of land in October of 1726 is that Nicholas had died and his heirs were in the process of dispersing his estate amongst themselves.  The fact that Grace Rich freely relinquished her rights to her one-half of the Rich tract in 1720 may also be significant.  It's possible that Nicholas Rich died as early as 1720, since he neither signed nor witnessed the 1720 document.

Although none of this provides proof of a relationship between William Green of Preston and the Greens of Salem, there is most certainly a link between the families of William Green and Abigail (Green) Rich through their children, John Green and Mary Rich.  William Green and Abigail (Green) Rich were probably close enough in age to have been siblings or cousins.  William Green's date of birth is estimated to be between 1667-1682[6].  Abigail (Green) Rich and the other children of John and Sarah Green of Salem were born between 1660 and 1671. 

The similarities in naming patterns of the Preston Greens and the Salem Greens may also be significant.  William Green's eldest son was named John, which according to traditional naming patterns would suggest a paternal grandfather named John Green.  John and Mary Green of Salem named their children Abigail, Mary, Sarah, Elizabeth, and John.  William Green of Preston gave these same names to his children.  William Green's two youngest children were named Abigail and Timothy.  These children may have been named for Timothy and Abigail (Rich) Jerome -- Abigail (Green) Rich's daughter and her husband.[7]

Since several of the early settlers of Preston came from Essex County, Massachusetts, it would not be unlikely that William Green came to Preston from Essex County as well.  In fact, the men who were granted land in Preston at the same time as William Green (January 16-18, 1709/10) came from Salem, Andover and Ipswich, Massachusetts.[8] Thus, while proof of William Green's origin has not been found, the most likely place to find his ancestry appears to be Essex County, Massachusetts.

 

NOTES

 

My Green line of descent, from William Green of Preston down to my maternal grandmother, is listed below. 

 

Direct Descendants of William Green

 

1 William GREEN 1667-1682 - 1767 + UNKNOWN
2 John GREEN 1701 - 1791 + Elizabeth 1700-1710 - 1777
3 Mary GREEN 1739/40 - 1815 + Phillip OLIN 1742 -
4 Squire OLIN 1772 - 1853 + Alice WALTON 1780 - 1863
5 Susan OLIN 1807 - 1861 + Thomas PHILLIPS, Jr. 1807 - 1866
6 Susan M. PHILLIPS 1846 - 1917 + Abel BURDICK 1836 - 1926
7 Frank R. BURDICK 1885 - 1960 + Sarah H. CLARK 1884 - 1955
8 Bertha M. BURDICK 1912 - 1976

 

 

Green Ancestor Webpages

Mary Green & Phillip Olin of Preston and Griswold, Connecticut

The Last Will and Testament of John Green of Preston

John Green & Elizabeth of Preston and Griswold, Connecticut

William Green of Preston, Connecticut

The Last Will and Testament of William Green of Preston

 

 

 

LINKS TO OTHER GREEN(E) FAMILY RESOURCES

Green Family Genealogy Forum

GREEN/GREENE FAMILY GENEALOGY

Green Surname List from Rootsweb

Greene Surname List from Rootsweb

 

 

     

Sally' s Website

Genealogy Home

My New England Ancestry

My  Pontic Greek Ancestry

Contact Me

    

The background paper for this page is from Ender Design's Realm Graphics collection.

 

The fern graphic on this page is a scan I made of the stencil, Fern and Foliage,
a stencil template produced by Delta CeramDecor.

 

Last updated: Saturday, April 22, 2023 10:28:13 AM