Thomas Green (June 3, 1761 – May 29, 1814) was an American

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

minister who served as the first pastor of the

North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse The North Yarmouth and Freeport Baptist Meetinghouse, also known as the Old Baptist Meeting House, is an historic church on Hillside Street in Yarmouth, Maine. Built in 1796 and twice altered in the 19th century, it is believed to be the oldest ...

in what was then North Yarmouth, Massachusetts (now

Yarmouth, Maine Yarmouth is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, twelve miles north of the state's largest city, Portland. When originally settled in 1636, as North Yarmouth, it was part of Massachusetts, and remained as such for 213 years. In 1849, ...

Life and career

Green was born on June 3, 1761, in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in British America which became one of the Thirteen Colonies, thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III of England, William III and Mary II ...

, to John Green and Mary Osgood, one of their three children. His mother died before his first birthday, and his father remarried, to Mary Ruggles, with whom he had ten more children. His paternal grandfather, Reverend Thomas Green, was the first pastor of the Greenville Baptist Church in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

of the same province. He entered college around the time of the Revolutionary War which meant he did not complete his

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

studies. He preached for a period in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

and Danvers, Massachusetts. On October 8, 1782, Green married Salome Barstow of

Sutton, Massachusetts Sutton, officially the Town of Sutton, is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The population was 9,357 in the 2020 United States Census. Located in the Blackstone Valley, the town was designated as a Preserve America community in 2004. H ...

, with whom he had eight children: John (1783–1812), Mary Osgood (1786–1849), Rebecca Hammond (born 1788), Salome (1790–1790), Salome (1792–1792), Thomas (1793–1826), Salome Barstow (born 1796) and

Elijah Dix Green Elijah Dix Green (March 22, 1799 – March 7, 1867) was an American merchant, bank director and militia officer. He also founded the Second Baptist Church in Calais, Maine. Life and career Green was born on March 22, 1799, in North Yarmouth, Dis ...

(1799–1867).''A Biographical Sketch of the Descendents of Thomas Green of Malden, Mass.'', Samuel S. Green (1858), Henry W. Dutton & Son, p. 49 On January 18, 1797, Green was one of seven members who organized the "Baptist Religious Society of North Yarmouth and Freeport". He was chosen as its pastor. He remained in the position, albeit with not the warmest of relationships with his congregation, until 1810, when he was succeeded by Reverend Sylvanus Boardman, father of missionary George Boardman. Green received an honorary

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

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 ...

in 1798. His granddaughter,

Mary Hayden Pike Mary Hayden Pike (''née'' Green) (November 30, 1824 – January 15, 1908) was an American author. She also wrote under the pseudonyms Mary Langdon and Sydney A. Story, Jr. Biography She was born Mary Hayden Green in Eastport, Maine, to Elijah ...

, daughter of Elijah, was born ten years after he died. She went on to become a noted author, and married U.S.

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

Frederick A. Pike Frederick Augustus Pike (December 9, 1816 – December 2, 1886) was a U.S. Representative from Maine. Biography Born in Calais, Massachusetts (now in Maine), Pike attended the common schools and the Washington Academy, East Machias, Maine. ...

. They lived at today's number 40 Church Street, built in 1798. Melina Roberts, whose family lived in the house in the early 20th century, established the "Stroll Haunted Yarmouth"

role play ''Role Play'' is an upcoming American thriller film directed by Thomas Vincent, written by Seth Owen, and produced by and starring Kaley Cuoco. Premise A married couple's lives are turned upside down when secrets are revealed about their pasts. ...

. David Ray portrayed Green in the 2018 event. Salome Green died on November 29, 1799; eleven months later, on October 8, 1800, he married 27-year-old Huldah Stinson in

Woolwich, Maine Woolwich is a town in Sagadahoc County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,068 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland– South Portland–Biddeford, Maine metropolitan statistical area. Woolwich is a suburb of the city of ...

, with whom he had a son (Samuel, born 1802) and a daughter (Jane Robinson, born 1804). A sermon Green gave at the Second Parish Church in Cambridge on November 17, 1783, was printed the following year.

Death

Green died on May 29, 1814, aged 52. He is interred in the Old Baptist Cemetery, beside the church at which he had preached. He is buried beside his first wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Thomas 1761 births 1814 deaths American Christian clergy Clergy from Worcester, Massachusetts People from North Yarmouth, Maine People of colonial Massachusetts People of colonial Maine People of pre-statehood Maine Brown University alumni