Frank Lester Greene (February 10, 1870December 17, 1930) was a Vermont newspaper editor and militia officer. He is most notable for his service as a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. A native of St. Albans, Vermont, he was educated in St. Albans and

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, and began working as a teenager to help support his family after his father became disabled. He became a clerk for the Central Vermont Railway, and later became a journalist and editor of the '' St. Albans Messenger'' newspaper. Greene also served in the militia; enlisting as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, by the time of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

he was a company commander with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. He later served on the military staff of Governor

Edward Curtis Smith Edward Curtis Smith (January 5, 1854 – April 6, 1935) was an American attorney, businessman, and politician from Vermont. A Republican, he was most notable for his service as the 47th governor of Vermont from 1898 to 1900. Early life Edward Cur ...

, with the rank of

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

; Smith had been his employer at the Central Vermont Railway and ''St. Albans Messenger''. Long active in politics and government as a Republican, in 1912 he won a special election to complete the term of Congressman David J. Foster, who had died. He was reelected to a full term in November 1912, and won reelection to four more terms. In 1922, Greene was elected to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. He was reelected in 1928, and served until his death. In 1924, Greene was wounded when

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

agents attempting to apprehend the owners of a Washington, DC moonshine still accidentally shot him in the head. Greene never fully recovered, and was left partly paralyzed. He died as the result of surgical complications while being treated for a hernia, and was buried in St. Albans.

Early life

Frank Greene was born in St. Albans, Vermont on February 10, 1870, the son of Lester Bruce Greene and Mary Elizabeth (Hoadley) Greene.Prentiss Cutler Dodge
''Encyclopedia of Vermont Biography''
1912, page 78 He attended the public schools in St. Albans and

. The Greene family had relocated to Cleveland because Lester Greene had become Secretary/Treasurer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. When Frank Greene was 13 his father became ill and could no longer work. The family returned to Vermont and Frank quit school to help support his family by taking a job as a messenger with the Central Vermont Railway. He remained with the railroad until 1891, learning

shorthand Shorthand is an abbreviated symbolic writing method that increases speed and brevity of writing as compared to longhand, a more common method of writing a language. The process of writing in shorthand is called stenography, from the Greek ''ste ...

and stenography and advancing to the position of chief clerk in the general freight department. Having worked part-time as a correspondent for ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' and other newspapers beginning in 1888, in 1891 Greene made journalism his full-time career, first as a reporter for and later as editor of the '' St. Albans Messenger''. He was president of the Vermont Press Association from 1904 to 1905.

Military service

Greene served in the Vermont National Guard from 1888 to 1900. Enlisting as a

, during the

he commanded an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

company as a

. Greene later served as

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of 3rd Brigade, First Division, Third Army Corps, with duty at

Camp Thomas Camp Thomas was a United States Regular Army (United States), Regular Army training facility located in North Columbus, Ohio (now Columbus, Ohio, Columbus), during the American Civil War. It was primarily used to organize and train new infantry r ...

, Georgia and

Anniston, Alabama Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and is one of two urban centers/principal cities of and included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 23,106. Acco ...

. After the war Greene was commissioned a

on the staff of

, the Governor of Vermont, and Greene's former employer on the Central Vermont Railroad and the ''St. Albans Messenger''.

Beginning of political career

A Republican, Greene was Chairman of Vermont's Young Men's Republican Club in the 1890s. He was Chairman of the St. Albans Republican Committee, and a Delegate to several county and state conventions. He was an Alternate to the

1904 Republican National Convention The 1904 Republican National Convention was held in the Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on June 21 to June 23, 1904. The popular President Theodore Roosevelt had easily ensured himself of the nomination; a threat had come fro ...

and a Delegate to the one in 1908. In 1906 Greene was appointed to head a commission that examined the state

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

s, and in 1908 he was a member of the commission that proposed amendments to the

Vermont Constitution The Constitution of the State of Vermont is the fundamental body of law of the U.S. state of Vermont, describing and framing its government. It was adopted in 1793 following Vermont's admission to the Union in 1791 and is largely based upon the ...

Congressional career

Greene was elected as a Republican to the House of Representatives during the

62nd Congress The 62nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from March 4, 1911, to M ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of David J. Foster. He was reelected every two years from 1912 to 1920, and served from July 30, 1912 to March 3, 1923. In 1914 he was chairman of the Vermont State Republican Convention. He was a

Regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

from 1917 to 1923. In 1922 Greene was elected to the U.S. Senate. While in the Senate, he was Chairman of the Committee on Enrolled Bills ( 69th through 71st Congresses). Greene was reelected in 1928 and served from March 4, 1923 until his death.

Gunshot wound

On the evening of February 15, 1924, Greene was walking with his wife near an alley on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

when

agents were about to arrest several men unloading a still from their car. The

bootleggers Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made ...

ran, the agents fired their guns, and Greene was struck in the head by a stray

bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

. Greene was in critical condition for several weeks, and never fully recovered. His right arm was paralyzed, and his legs were severely weakened.

Death and burial

Greene died in St. Albans on December 17, 1930 from complications during

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

for a

hernia A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...

. He was interred at Greenwood Cemetery in St. Albans.

Civic and fraternal memberships

Greene was a member of several veterans organizations, including the

Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) is an American congressionally chartered fraternal organization that carries out activities to preserve the history and legacy of the United States Armed Forces veterans who fought during the Civil ...

, Military Order of Foreign Wars, and

United Spanish War Veterans The United Spanish War Veterans was an American veterans' organization which consisted of veterans of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War and China Relief Expedition. Origins Soon after the Spanish–American War ended, in early ...

. He was also a member of several civic and fraternal organizations, including the

Vermont Historical Society The Vermont Historical Society (VHS) was founded in 1838 to preserve and record the cultural history of the US state of Vermont. Headquartered in the old Spaulding School Building in Barre, the Vermont History Center is home to the Vermont His ...

Masons Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cutt ...

Knights Templar , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

, Elks,

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

Owls Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

and

Army and Navy Club The Army and Navy Club in London is a private members club founded in 1837, also known informally as The Rag.

Honors

Greene received an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

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 ...

degree from

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

in 1908. He received an honorary LL.D. from Norwich in 1915.

Family

In 1895 Greene married Jessie Emma Richardson (1873–1949). They were the parents of three children: Richardson Lester Greene (March 27, 1896 – May 28, 1980); Dorothy Greene Alexander (November 18, 1897 – December 5, 1991); and Stuart Hoadley Greene (December 2, 1901 – December 15, 1973).

William Richard Cutter William Richard Cutter (August 17, 1847 – June 6, 1918) was an American historian, genealogist, and writer. Life Born in Woburn, Massachusetts on August 17, 1847, he was the son of Dr. Benjamin Cutter and Mary Whittemore Cutter. He attended ...

''New England Families, Genealogical and Memorial''
Volume 4, 1914, page 2193

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Frank 1870 births 1930 deaths American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Editors of Vermont newspapers Republican Party United States senators from Vermont Burials in Vermont Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Vermont Vermont National Guard personnel People from Franklin County, Vermont