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Roger Sherman Greene (December 14, 1840 – February, 17, 1930) was a
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
lawyer, judge, politician and military officer.


Early life

Greene was a descendant of many of the distinguished families of the Atlantic states. On the maternal side he was the great-grandson of
Roger Sherman Roger Sherman (April 19, 1721 – July 23, 1793) was an American statesman, lawyer, and a Founding Father of the United States. He is the only person to sign four of the great state papers of the United States related to the founding: the Con ...
, one of the signers of the
Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
, the Articles of Confederation, and the United States Constitution. His mother, Mary Evarts, was a daughter of
Jeremiah Evarts Jeremiah F. Evarts (February 3, 1781 – May 10, 1831), also known by the pen name William Penn, was a Christian missionary, reformer, and activist for the rights of American Indians in the United States, and a leading opponent of the Indian rem ...
and a sister of
William M. Evarts William Maxwell Evarts (February 6, 1818February 28, 1901) was an American lawyer and statesman from New York who served as U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Attorney General and U.S. Senator from New York. He was renowned for his skills as a li ...
,
US Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
,
US Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
and a
US Senator 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 powe ...
from New York. His father, Rev. David Greene, was for twenty years the corresponding secretary of the
American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) was among the first American Christian missionary organizations. It was created in 1810 by recent graduates of Williams College. In the 19th century it was the largest and most imp ...
. In his eighth year the family moved to
Westborough, Massachusetts Westborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 21,567 at the 2020 Census, in over 7,000 households. Incorporated in 1717, the town is governed under the New England open town meeting system, headed ...
, and two years later to
Windsor, Vermont Windsor is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As the "Birthplace of Vermont", the town is where the Constitution of Vermont was adopted in 1777, thus marking the founding of the Vermont Republic, a sovereign state until 1791, when ...
. He graduated from
Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native ...
in 1859. During his college life, being largely dependent upon his own exertions for support, he taught school in vacations at Windsor in the winter of 1857/58, and at Falmouth, Massachusetts in the winter of 1858/59. Soon after his graduation he began the study of law in the office of Evarts, Southmayd & Choate, in New York City. In this office as student, and afterward as managing clerk, he gained preliminary legal training. In May 1862, in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, he was admitted to practice, but he soon abandoned his professional career and to enter the Union army.Ullery, J. G., Fuller, L. Knight, Huse, H. Augustus, Davenport, C. H., Proctor, R
''Men of Vermont: an illustrated biographical history of Vermonters and sons of Vermont''
Brattleboro: Transcript publishing company, 1894, Part III, p. 74.


Civil War

In September 1862, he enlisted under commission as 2d Lieutenant of Company I, 3d
Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
Infantry; in March following he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant of the same company, and still later, in 1863, was made captain of Company C, 51st U. S. Colored Infantry., serving until honorably discharged by acceptance of his resignation in November 1865. He also served during this period as judge advocate of the District of Vicksburg at the close of 1864 and beginning of 1865, and judge advocate of the Western Division of
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
from June 1865, until retirement from service. He received a gunshot wound through the right arm in the general assault on Vicksburg while in command of his company on May 22, 1863. Just before his military service, Judge Greene was offered the position of Assistant United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, but declined the office.


Later life

In January 1866, he resumed a legal practice in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, occupying the same office with Perkin Bass, then United States attorney, with whom he was associated in practice. He remained in Chicago until his appointment by President
Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...
to associate justice of the Supreme Court of
Washington Territory The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington. It was created from the ...
, 1870–79. He settled at Olympia, and in 1880 he was commissioned chief justice, at which time he moved to
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
. In 1883, he was re-appointed chief justice and served until the close of his term in March 1887. In March 1887, he formed a professional copartnership with Honorable
Cornelius H. Hanford Cornelius Holgate Hanford (April 21, 1849 – March 2, 1926) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Washington and the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, and ...
, who later became a United States District Judge for the District of Washington, and Honorable John H. McGraw, who became Governor of the State of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
, under the firm name of Greene, Hanford & McGraw; afterward, in August, the firm was enlarged by the addition of another member, Joseph F. McNaught, Esquire, under the firm name of Greene, McNaught, Hanford & McGraw. In July 1888, the partnership was dissolved by mutual consent, all the partners retiring from practice, the senior partner on account of temporary ill-health, Messrs. McNaught and McGraw to enter other pursuits and Judge Hanford to become chief justice of the Supreme Court of Washington Territory. In 1889, Judge Greene resumed the practice of law, and in 1890 formed a partnership with L. Theodore Turner of Seattle, under the firm name of Greene & Turner. In 1889, he was trustee and secretary of the Seattle Investment Co. In 1890, he became trustee and secretary of the Seattle Trust Co, and trustee and vice president of Rainier Power and Railway Co., 1890–1893.


Party affiliation

Greene was identified with the Republican Party until the year 1888, when he joined the Prohibition movement. He was a Prohibition Party candidate for US Congress from Washington, 1888; and the Prohibition candidate for Governor of the State of Washington, 1892.


Religion

Religiously, his parents being Congregationalists, his first church connection was with the church of that denomination in Windsor, where his membership remained until after the war. Then he united with the New England Congregational Church of Chicago. Afterward he was a constituent and prominent member of the Lincoln Park Church. On removal to Olympia he joined the Baptist church.


Family

Judge Greene was married August 17, 1866, at
Whitewater, Wisconsin Whitewater is a city located in Walworth and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located near the southern portion of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, Whitewater is the home of the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. As of the ...
, to Grace, daughter of Jesse and Rhoda (Brockett) Wooster of
Naugatuck, Connecticut Naugatuck is a consolidated borough and town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town spans both sides of the Naugatuck River just south of Waterbury and includes the communities of Union City on the east side of the river, whi ...
. They had four children: Agnes Margaret, born October 18, 1868; Roger Sherman, born September 29, 1870; Grace Evarts, born January 15, 1875, and Mary Rhoda, born July 27, 1876. Judge Greene is interred at Evergreen Washelli Memorial Park in Seattle, Washington.


References


External links

*
Ungovernor, 1892 – Roger Sherman Greene

Judge Greene Obituary

Roger Sherman Greene Papers

1876 WASHINGTON TERRITORY LETTER - FAMOUS ROGER SHERMAN GREENE 1840-1930

Grace Wooster Greene, his wife
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Roger Sherman Washington (state) Republicans Washington (state) Prohibitionists 1840 births 1930 deaths Dartmouth College alumni People of the Washington Territory