Thomas Marston Green Sr. (November 19, 1723 – 1805) was a

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 ...

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 ...

Early life

Thomas was born in

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...

to Thomas Green III and Elizabeth Marston. His family was prosperous and Thomas's schooling was by a private tutor.

The American Revolution, Georgia, and Mississippi

Not much is known of Green's service in the Revolution. What is known is that he was a commissioned Colonel in the Colonial Army. He later moved to Georgia where he met and befriended General George Rogers Clark. After discussing a plan with Clark, Thomas gathered a small army. Green gathered his men at the Holston River where they built a small fleet of boats. After floating down the river the party did not find George as expected so they continued on to

Natchez, Mississippi Natchez ( ) is the county seat of and only city in Adams County, Mississippi, United States. Natchez has a total population of 14,520 (as of the 2020 census). Located on the Mississippi River across from Vidalia in Concordia Parish, Louisiana, N ...

. Thomas received an interview with the Spanish Governor

Manuel Gayoso de Lemos Don Manuel Luis Gayoso de Lemos y Amorín, KOM, OTS (May 30, 1747 – July 18, 1799) was the governor of Spanish Louisiana from 1797 until his death in 1799. Biography Early years and military career Born in Oporto, Portugal, on May 30, ...

where he claimed the entire district for Georgia. The Spanish expecting a revolt had him arrested and thrown in prison in New Orleans. Soon afterward his wife Martha came down to have him released, but she soon after died of exposure and stress. The Governor feeling sympathy for the Green family released Thomas. He settled his family in

Jefferson County, Mississippi Jefferson County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi; its western border is formed by the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the population was 7,726, making it the third ...

where he became one of the most influential men in the territory. He was also instrumental in forming Bourbon county the 2nd largest county in the United States history when he had the Bourbon Act of 1785 passed.

Andrew Jackson and Rachel Donelson

Green is perhaps most famous for the marrying of

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Rachel Donelson Rachel Jackson ( ''née'' Donelson; June 15, 1767 – December 22, 1828) was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States.

. Sometime in 1791 at his family's Springfield Plantation, Green, as one of the magistrates of the

Mississippi Territory The Territory of Mississippi was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from April 7, 1798, until December 10, 1817, when the western half of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Mississippi. T ...

, married the couple.

Wife and children

On November 21, 1752 Thomas married Martha Wills with whom he fathered ten children, the most well-known of his children being Congressman Thomas M. Green Jr.

Notes

Sources

Colonel Thomas M. Green Sr.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Thomas M. Sr. 1723 births 1805 deaths People from Williamsburg, Virginia Continental Army officers from Virginia People from colonial Virginia