Albert Collins Greene (April 15, 1792January 8, 1863) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

lawyer and politician from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. He served as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

and

Attorney General of Rhode Island The Attorney General of Rhode Island is the chief legal advisor of the Government of the State of Rhode Island and oversees the State of Rhode Island Department of Law. The attorney general is elected every four years. The current Attorney Gene ...

Early life

Greene was born in East Greenwich, Rhode Island and graduated from Kent Academy. He studied law, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1812, and completed his legal training at the

Litchfield Law School The Litchfield Law School of Litchfield, Connecticut, was the first independent law school established in America for reading law. Founded and led by lawyer Tapping Reeve, the proprietary school was unaffiliated with any college or university. (Wh ...

Litchfield, Connecticut Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are located within the town. There are also three unincorporat ...

, from 1812-1813. He commenced the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the professi ...

in East Greenwich.

Political career

He was a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

from 1815-1825, serving as speaker of the State House from 1821-1825. He was

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

, and then

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

, of the Fourth Brigade of State Militia from 1816-1823. He served as

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

of Rhode Island from 1825-1843. In 1827, he received the honorary degree of

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. Greene was a member of the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

from 1843-1844, and was elected as a Whig candidate to the U.S. Senate, serving from March 4, 1845, to March 3, 1851; he was not a candidate for reelection, and was elected to the Rhode Island Senate in 1851 and 1852. In 1857, he was again a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He retired from public life, and died in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

; interment was in Grace Church Cemetery.

Family life

Greene was the son of Perry Greene and Elizabeth (Belcher) Greene. On May 16, 1814, Greene married Catherine Celia Greene, daughter of Rhode Island Governor William Greene. He and Catherine had five children: William Albert Greene, Mary Eliza Greene, Ann Frances Greene, Catharine Celia Greene and Susan Eliza Greene. Their daughter Catherine married

Richard Ward Greene Richard Ward Greene (January 21, 1792 – March 14, 1875), was an American attorney, having graduated from Brown University and having studied law at Litchfield College and under Boston lawyer Ebenezer Rockwell. He was appointed U.S. attorney for ...

, Chief Justice of the

Rhode Island Supreme Court The Rhode Island Supreme Court is the court of last resort in the U.S. State of Rhode Island. The Court consists of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices, all selected by the Governor of Rhode Island from candidates vetted by the Judicial No ...

. After his wife Catherine died, he married Julia Bourne on August 22, 1841. Greene's uncle was

Nathanael Greene Nathanael Greene (June 19, 1786, sometimes misspelled Nathaniel) was a major general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. He emerged from the war with a reputation as General George Washington's most talented and dependabl ...

, a

of the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

References

External links

*
Portrait of Albert C. Greene
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Albert 1792 births 1863 deaths Rhode Island Attorneys General Speakers of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives Rhode Island state senators United States senators from Rhode Island Rhode Island lawyers People from East Greenwich, Rhode Island Rhode Island Whigs 19th-century American politicians Whig Party United States senators People from Kent County, Rhode Island Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island People from Providence County, Rhode Island Brown University alumni Litchfield Law School alumni Burials in Rhode Island 19th-century American lawyers American militia officers Greene family of Rhode Island