John Greene Jr. (1620 – 27 November 1708) was a deputy governor of the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations who spent almost his entire adult life in the public service of the colony. Born in England, he was the son of
John Greene Sr. and Joan Tattersall, and sailed to
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...
with his parents in 1635 aboard the ship ''James''. His father, after coming from
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
to
Providence, became one of the original settlers of
Warwick
Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...
. In 1652 Greene served in his first public role as a commissioner from Warwick, and served in some public capacity every year until 1690 when he was first chosen as deputy governor of the colony. He then served 10 consecutive one-year terms in this capacity, retiring from public service in 1700 at the age of 80. He was one of the
10 Assistants named in the
Royal Charter of 1663
The Rhode Island Royal Charter provided royal recognition to the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, approved by England's King Charles II in July 1663. It outlined many freedoms for the inhabitants of Rhode Island and was the ...
, which would become the basis for Rhode Island's government for nearly two centuries. During the devastating events of
King Phillips War
King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1676 between indigenous inhabitants of New England and New England coloni ...
, Greene was
one of 16 prominent inhabitants of the colony whose counsel was sought by the General Assembly.
Greene died in Warwick on 27 November 1708 and was buried on the Spring Greene Farm (later the property of Governor
Theodore F. Green
Theodore Francis Green (October 2, 1867May 19, 1966) was an American politician from Rhode Island. A Democrat, Green served as the 57th Governor of Rhode Island (1933–1937) and in the United States Senate (1937–1961). He was a wealthy ari ...
) in Warwick.
Greene married Ann Almy, the daughter of William and Audry (Barlow) Almy. They had 11 children, the youngest of whom, Samuel, married Mary Gorton, a granddaughter of Rhode Island colonial president
Samuel Gorton
Samuel Gorton (1593–1677) was an early settler and civic leader of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and President of the towns of Providence and Warwick. He had strong religious beliefs which differed from Puritan the ...
. Their grandson,
William Greene Sr. served for 11 one-year terms as a governor of the colony, and their great-grandson, also named
William Greene Jr. was a governor of the State of Rhode Island. John and Ann Greene are also ancestors of United States President
Warren G. Harding
Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...
, as well as inventor
Thomas A. Edison
Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...
, Canadian politician and religious leader
Nathan Eldon Tanner
Nathan Eldon Tanner (May 9, 1898 – November 27, 1982) was a politician from Alberta, Canada, and a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). He served in the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1935 to 1952 a ...
, cowboy artist and inventor
Earl W. Bascom and Hollywood actor
John Wayne.
__NOTOC__
See also
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William Greene (colonial governor)
William Greene Sr. (16 March 1695 – 23 January 1758) was a governor of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. He was a clerk of the county court in Providence, deputy from Warwick, speaker of the Rhode Island Assembly, and then ...
for ancestral chart
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List of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island
The current lieutenant governor of Rhode Island is Sabina Matos, who was sworn in on April 14, 2021, after Daniel McKee succeeded to the office of governor. The first lieutenant governor was George Brown.
In Rhode Island, the lieutenant gove ...
*
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Images
File:Original Providence Rhode Island town layout of homesteads.jpg,
File:Prov Home Lots.1.jpg,
File:Greene.John.Jr.tombstone.SpringGreeneCem.Warwick.jpg,
References
Bibliography
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External links
State list of lieutenant governors of Rhode Island
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, John Jr.
1620 births
1708 deaths
English emigrants
Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Attorneys General
People of colonial Rhode Island
Greene family of Rhode Island