William Green

of Preston, Connecticut

 While the births of William's children were recorded in Stonington, William appears nowhere else in early Stonington records, however there is plenty of evidence of him in early Preston records.  It's clear the record of the oldest five children was recorded at the same time, after the fact of their births. In addition, it's possible that, rather than moving from Stonington to Preston, William and his wife were living in the northern part of Preston that was subject to boundary changes at the time, which would explain why their births were recorded in Stonington records.[1]

The births of William's youngest four children -- Mary, Sarah, Timothy, and Abigail -- are not recorded in Stonington or Preston or in any of the town records in the vicinity, and researchers have only been able to speculate about their approximate ages.  The youngest four children do appear in marriage and other records for Preston and Griswold, Connecticut, and William named them in his will (written 22 August 1764; proved 17 March 1767). Given this, it seems likely that William Green first arrived in New London County around the time of his first land deed, dated January 16, 1709/10.  His sixth child, Mary, born about 1710, would not have been born yet, so this would explain why his younger four children, born between 1710 and 1714 were not listed with the older children in Stonington records.

William Green's arrival in Preston was during a time when there was settlement by families from Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  After King Philip’s War of 1675-1676, settlement of land in and surrounding Norwich, Connecticut began in earnest.  Norwich residents began to settle land across the Shetucket River, on land further east, outside the Norwich boundary. As early as 1680, word spread abroad that desirable land for homes and farming was available in this unsettled area east of Norwich (Phillips, 1929; Town of Preston, Connecticut, n.d.).

In October 1686, 19 people petitioned the Connecticut General Court for the incorporation of a new town, which was granted in January 1687. On 17 March of that year, Owaneco, son of Uncas, deeded the area of the new town to the English inhabitants. The new town was named Preston after the English home of the Parke family, some of the first European settlers of the area. The town then included most of the current town of Griswold and the eastern half of the present town of Preston (Phillips, 1929; Town of Preston, Connecticut, n.d.).   After 1690 settlers began to come in numbers, initially from Norwich, Stonington and the southern part of Preston, and then from the older settlements in eastern Massachusetts.

William Green probably settled in Preston in later 1709 or early 1710, with his first purchase of a tract of land there.  In 1717, he was one of 142 signers of a petition to the Connecticut General Assembly for a new bridge to Preston to allow access over the 

William Green and his wife, whose name is unknown[2], had the following nine children:

1. Elizabeth Green, b. 24 February 1699/00, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (1) William Bennett, 17 February 1724/25, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; divorced 1738; they had six known children, b. between 1725 and 1733. Elizabeth m. (2) Ebenezer Tiler (Tyler), 23 May 1739, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

   In Connecticut Divorces: Superior Court Records for the Counties of New London, Tolland, and Windham, 1719-1910, compiled by Grace Louise Know and Barbara B. Ferris is listed:



William Bennett was one of three great-grandchildren of John and Ursula (White) Bennett of Stonington who married children of William Green of Preston. William Bennett and his brother, Joshua Bennett (husband of Elizabeth Green's sister Sarah Green) descended from John and Ursula Bennett's son and daughter-in-law, William, Jr. and Susannah (Bright) Bennett through their son William3 Bennett who married Elizabeth Chapman. Timothy Green married Hannah Bennett, who descended from John and Ursula Bennett's son and daughter-in-law, John and Elizabeth (Parke) Bennett through their son Joseph  Bennett who married Jemimah Herrington. Elizabeth Green's second husband, Ebenezer Tyler was the son of Lazarus and Mary (Lathrop) Tyler who came to Preston from Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

2. John Green, b. 12 May 1701, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; d. 13 August 1791, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (1) Mary Rich, 02 June 1724, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; they had one known son, b. 1725. John m. (2) Elizabeth _____, 28 February 1728/29, Preston, New London County, Connecticut. They had seven knwon children, b. between 1731 and 1737. Mary Rich was the daughter of Nicholas and Abigail (Green) Rich of Essex County, Massachusetts.  Abigail (Green) Rich was the daughter of John and Mary (Warren) Green of Salem, Massachusetts.  Nicholas Rich was first recorded in New London County, Connecticut in a Preston deed dated 24 October 1716, in which he purchased a fifty-acre tract of land from John Ames.  That same day, Nicholas Rich deeded one-half of this fifty-acre tract to his second 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. More is provided on this family in the section below, "The Greenes of Salem, Massachusetts".  The surname of Elizabeth, John Green's second wife, is unknown because the original page in the record book of North or Second Church in Preston (now Griswold First Congregational Church) was torn away, leaving only her first name.  Several Internet family trees give her surname as Winter, probably because one of the sons of John and Elizabeth Green was named Winter, however no record substantiating her parentage has been found to confirm this.

3. William Green, b. 06 January 1701/02, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; d. Bef. 22 August 1764; m. Elizabeth _____, bef. 1729, probably in Voluntown, CT. They had three known sons, b. between 1729 and 1735. The name of William Green, Jr.'s wife is known through the birth records of their three sons, Joseph, William, and Benjamin, listed in Voluntown, Connecticut records.

4. Jabez Green, b. 19 August 1703, Stonington or Preston, New London county, Connecticut; b. 19 August 1703; m. Hannah Walton, 20 June 1728, Preston, New London County, Connecticut. They settled in Canterbury, Connecticut and had six known children, b. between 1731 and 1754. Hannah Walton was a daughter of Lawrence and Margaret (Smith) Walton, who established a farm on the northeast boundary of Norwich, including lands in both of the early towns of Norwich and Preston, now known as the northern part of Griswold.

5. Ann Green, b. 07 March 1704/05, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. Silas Palmiter, 04 July 1728, Preston, New London County, Connecticut. They settled in Stonington, Connecticut and had seven known children, born between 1729 and 1749.  Silas Palmiter was the son of Daniel and Johanna (Daynes) Palmiter of Norwich, Connecticut.

6. Mary "Mercy" Green, b. Abt. 1710, probably Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (1) Lewis Jones, 03 November 1732, Preston or Griswold, New London County, Connecticut. They had five knwon children, born between 1733 and 1739.  Lewis Jones may have been a descendant of Lewis Jones (1635-1696) of Saybrook, Connecticut.  An Ephraim Jones married Margaret Amos in Preston on 17 April 1729, a little more than three years before Mary Green and Lewis Jones married. The name Ephraim also appears among the descendants of Lewis Jones of Saybrook.  Norwich (from which part of Preston was formed) was settled by a contingent of settlers from Saybrook, Connecticut in 1659.  Although the surname Jones doesn't appear among these early settlers, there may have been a connection with this family.

7. Sarah Green, b. Abt. 1712, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; d. bef. 22 August 1764; m. (1) Mr. Sheldon; m. (2) Joshua Bennett, 08 October 1733, Preston or Griswold, New London County, Connecticut.  Mr. Sheldon was possibly a brother of Benjamin Sheldon who Sarah Green's sister Abigail married. Joshua Bennett was the son of William and Elizabeth (Chapman) Bennett of Stonington.

8. Timothy Green, Abt. 1712-1713, Preston or Griswold, New London County, Connecticut; m. Hannah Bennett, 14 September 1738, Preston, New London County, Connecticut. Hannah Bennett was the daughter of Joseph and Jemimah (Herrington) Bennett of Stonington. Timothy and his sister Abigail Green (below) may have been twins. They appear to have been named after Mary (Rich) Green's sister and brother-in-law, Timothy and Abigail (Rich) Jerome.

9. Abigail Green, b. Abt. 1712-1713, Preston or Griswold, New London County, Connecticut; m. Benjamin Sheldon, 02 August 1739, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.  Benjamin Sheldon was the son of Ephraim and Jane (Peard) Sheldon who came to Preston from Essex County, Massachusetts.  Ephraim and his sister Susanna were centrally involved in the Salem Witch Trials. Susanna Sheldon was one of the afflicted accusers in 1692.  She and Ephraim lived with their mother and siblings near the center of Salem Village, next to the home of Rebecca Nurse who was executed on 19 July 1692 on Proctor's Ledge at Gallows Hill.

Land was clearly an important aspect of William Green's life and probably the motivating factor for his appearance in New London County. His land was most certainly located in the northern part of Preston, as he and his descendants were members of Preston's North or Second Society.  Green Cemetery is located southwest of the intersection of Hopeville-Stone Hill Road and Roode Road near Hopeville and Spy Rock. A chronicle of the records, land or otherwise, that I have found for William Green of Preston follows:

January 16, 1709/10:  William Green of Preston bought for eighteen pounds from Capt. John Parke, Jr., William Billings, Caleb Fobes, and Joseph Geer, a seventy-acre tract of land in Preston, bounded by the southwestern portion of Ebenezer William's land.  The deed was signed by John Parke, William Billings, Caleb Fobes and Joseph Geer (who gave his mark) and witnessed by Jonathan Tracy and John Brown.  It may be significant that the other men being granted land in Preston on January 16-18, 1709/10 were John Brown, Lazarus Tyler, John Meech and James Tyler -- all except for Lazarus Tyler originally came from Andover, Salem and Ipswich, Massachusetts.

May 1717: William Green was one of 142 signers of a petition to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1717 for a new bridge to Preston. 

February 4, 1718: William Green was granted a 10½-acre tract of land in Preston by the proprietors of a large land grant in the town of Preston.  The tract was near the land of Joseph Morgan in Preston.  The proprietors who signed the deed were: Thomas Rose, Joseph Geer, Samuel Partridge, Mark Williams, William Richards, Thomas Rose, Jr., Thomas Gates, Thomas Tracy, David Tracy, Thomas Clark, William Billings, William Parke, John Brown, Nathaniel Tracy, John Richards, John Lord, Joseph Sherman, John Safford, Hopestill Tyler, John Reynolds, Benjamin _____, Benjamin _____, and Jedediah Tracy. Stephen Gates and Hopestill Tyler witnessed the deed.

March 11, 1723: William Green bought for fourteen pounds, sixteen acres of land from Stephen Gates of Preston.  The land of John Bennett, Stephen Gates, and the Norwich boundary bound the land.  The deed was signed by Stephen Gates and witnessed by Thomas Clark and Jonathan Fanning.

April 16, 1729: William Green bought, for forty pounds, a "Small tract or slip of land" from Thomas Clark. The land was adjacent to William's existing property near the Norwich boundary.  The deed was signed by Thomas Clark and witnessed by Mary Green and Elizabeth Green (who were possibly William's daughter, Mary Green, and Elizabeth, wife of William's eldest son, John, or perhaps one was William's wife).

September 13, 1736, entered in Preston land evidence books, a deed dated December 12, 1735: William Green was granted by "William Bennet formerly of Preston abovesaid now of Stratford in ye County of Fairfield" a tract of land bounded by the land of John Mulkins.  William Green had this deed entered in the Preston land evidence books.  Noted at the end of the deed is stated, "ye said Green also saith yt ye said William Bennet Refuseth to acknowledge ye sd Deed tho often Requested theirs unto therefore ye sd Green Entres this Cotion in order to secure of said Land to him ye said Green & his Heirs as ye of Law Directs."  As noted above, William Bennett was William Green's son-in-law,  the husband of William's eldest daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth Green filed for divorce from William Bennett on 29 September 1738, so the deed must have been recorded around the time William Bennett left his family in Preston for Stratford, Connecticut. It appears from this deed and the following one, that the land transaction had been executed between William Green and William Bennett, however William Bennett had not had the deed recorded in Preston records.

September 13, 1736, entered in Preston land evidence books, a deed dated December 12, 1735: apparently referring to the same deed as above but with the wording, "This may inform all persons that I William Green of Preston ... have a deed of a certain Tract of Land of William Bennet formerly of Preston abovesaid now of Stratford in ye County of Fairfield Colony aforesaid which Deed is well Executed all but acknowledged and said Deed is Dated December 12, 1735. The bounds of ye Land Contained in Sd Deed is as followeth Beginning at four maples Standing on ye North Side of a brook called by ye name of ye Roreing Brook from thence a straight Line to ye Northwest Corner of John Mulkins Land where is a stake and heap of Stones then bounded upon ye said Mulkins Land until it comes to a Stake and heap of Stones about it which is ye Southwest Corner of Sd Mulkins Land from thence a straight Line to ye first mentioned bounds."

William Green died 3 February 1767.  Considering that he was probably at least 18 years old when his first child Elizabeth was born on 24 February 1699/00, his year of birth would be 1681/2, at the latest. Thus, he was probably at least 85 or 86 years of age, if not older when he died.  He was referred to as "old Mr. Wm. Green" in the records of the North or Second Church of Preston (now the First Congregational Church of Griswold).

Above: image created from a scan of a microfilm copy of the original record from Griswold First Congregational Church Records, Volume 1, page 201, Family History Center Microfilm 007592458.

William was probably buried in the Green Cemetery in Griswold Connecticut, located southwest of the intersection of the Hopeville-Stone Hill Road and Roode Road, in a wooded area between Uncas Drive and Danika Way. At this burial ground there are a number of unmarked field stones, probably grave markers, among the stones of William's descendants.  This land may have been part of the original Green tract.

William Green's will was written 22 August 1764 and proved 17 March 1767. In it he named his sons John, Jabez, and Timothy; his grandsons William, Benjamin, and Joseph -- sons of his son, William, deceased; his daughters Elisabeth, Abigail, Anne, and Mercy; and his granddaughter Sarah Bennett -- daughter of his daughter, Sarah (deceased). William named his "trusty friend", Colonel Samuel Coit executor of his will.  The will was witnessed by Joseph, Benjamin, and Hannah Kimball, names that may also be significant as the Kimball family came to Preston from Ipswich, Massachusetts.

 The Greenes of Ryal Side, Salem, Massachusetts

The surname Green or Greene was common to the areas surrounding Preston, Connecticut in the early 1700s, however no proven connection with any of the established families of this surname has been made with William Green of Preston.  It is of interest, however, that the wife William Green's eldest son, John, married Mary Rich,who was a descendant of the Greene family of the locality of southeast Salem, Massachusetts known as Ryal Side (now part of Beverly, Massachusetts).  Because many of the early settlers of Preston, Connecticut came from Salem or other parts of Essex County, Massachusetts, an investigation into this family has provided some possible clues about the origin of William Green of Preston.

Mary Rich was the daughter of Nicholas and Abigail (Greene) Rich, born ca. 1700-1709  in Wenham, Massachusetts.  Mary's mother, Abigail (Green) Rich was the daughter of John and Mary (Warren) Greene of Ryal Side. John Greene was a mariner by occupation.  He was first recorded in Salem records in 1650, but his origin is unknown.  He married Mary, the daughter of Abraham and Isabel Warren on 7 October 1659.  Abraham Warren was first recorded in Salem on 18 December 1635 when the Selectmen of Salem voted, "That Abram Warren may have a ten acre lot and an howse lott."  The origins of Abraham Warren is also unknown.  He does not appear to be related to Richard Warren who arrived on the Mayflower in 1620. 

John Greene continued to acquire land at Ryal Side, Salem from 1661 to 1684. He died 11 January 1690/1 at the approximate age of 60.  He was buried in the Green Family Burying Ground  at Beverly on land that he asked the Salem Town Council on 23 March 1684 to "have a Liberty to bury thence forward his dead in Beverly buriall place and it was put unto the vote & Graunted provided he Did beare his proportion in any necessarie Charges about the said buriall place which said Green did engage to Doe." The graphic on the right is from The Essex Antiquarian, Volume III, page 171, 1899 by Sydney Perley and George Francis Dow. John Green did not leave a will.  His estate was divided among his wife and children  28 February 1690/1.  They were named: Mary Green, widow; Abigail, wife of Nicholas Rich; Elizabeth Green; Mary, wife of Tobias Trow; and John Green, Jr. There apparently was a younger son named William, as noted in the excerpt below from an article in The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record, Volume XXX, No. 1. January 1899, on "William Greene of Barnstable" by R.H. Greene: Given the birth range of 1685-1691, this William Green was probably not William Green of Preston, because William Green of Preston was probably at least 18 years old when his first child Elizabeth was born on 24 February 1699/00, which would place his birth date at 1681/2, at the earliest. Still, this doesn't rule out the possibility that he was related to this family, especially when it appears that William Green of Preston and his wife named their two youngest children, twins named Timothy and Abigail, after Mary (Rich) Green's younger sister Abigail and her husband Timothy Jerome.

  Given the birth range of 1685-1691, this William Green was probably not William Green of Preston, because William Green of Preston was probably at least 18 years old when his first child Elizabeth was born on 24 February 1699/00, which would place his birth date at 1681/2, at the earliest. Still, this doesn't rule out the possibility that he was related to this family, especially when it appears that William Green of Preston and his wife named their two youngest children (possibly twins), Timothy and Abigail, after Mary (Rich) Green's younger sister Abigail and her husband Timothy Jerome.

Abigail (Green) Rich must have died before July 1713, because by this time, Nicholas Rich had married Grace, the widow of Christopher Lewis, verified by a deed enacted on 13 July 1713 in which Nicholas and Grace Rich of Attleborough, Massachusetts transferred land to John Houghton Sr. of Lancaster, Massachusetts, acting for Hannah Lewis, the only heir of Christopher Lewis.  Nicholas and Grace Rich were in Preston, Connecticut by 1716 when Nicholas bought a fifty-acre tract of land from John Ames.  That same day, Nicholas Rich deeded one-half of this fifty-acre tract to his second wife, Grace, for "Love and Goodwill".  On 2 March 1719/20, Grace Rich freely gave up her title and interest to this land.

John Green, eldest son of William Green of Preston, married Mary Rich in Preston on 2 June 1724.  On 21 October 1726, John and Mary, along with Mary's siblings Samuel Rich of Sutton, Massachusetts; David Rich of Meriden, Connecticut; Jonathan Rich of Preston, Connecticut; Timothy and Abigail (Green) Jerome of Wallingford, Connecticut; and James and Sarah (Green) Tyler of Providence, Rhode Island, sold to Thomas Rose, Jr. of Preston, the same  fifty-acre tract of land in Preston that had originally been purchased by Nicholas Rich from John Ames in 1716.  Although I have found no proof of Nicholas Rich's demise, the most logical explanation for why the Rich siblings would sell this tract of land in October 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, most of 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.

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

The leaf graphic on this page is a scan of the stencil, Mountain Laurel,
purchased from the Dressler Stencil Company .

Last updated: Saturday, April 22, 2023 10:25:22 AM