William Greene III (January 1, 1797 – March 24, 1883) was a lieutenant governor of the state of

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, serving for two years shortly after the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

Life

From a prominent Rhode Island family, Greene was the son of United States Senator and Rhode Island

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Ray Greene Ray Greene may refer to: * Ray Greene (politician) (1765–1849), United States senator from Rhode Island * Ray Greene (American football) (1938–2022), American football coach * Ray Greene (lacrosse) (1923–1987), American lacrosse player * Ra ...

and his wife Mary M. Flagg. Greene was also the grandson of the second governor of the state, William Greene, Jr. who served for several years during 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 ...

, and the great grandson of William Greene, Sr. who served 11 one-year terms as a colonial governor of Rhode Island. Greene also descends from

John Greene, Jr. 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 Gree ...

who served for ten years as deputy governor of the

Rhode Island colony The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was one of the original Thirteen Colonies established on the east coast of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. It was founded by Roger Williams. It was an English colony from 1636 until 1 ...

, from Warwick founders John Greene, Sr.,

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 theolog ...

, and

Randall Holden Randall Holden (1692) was an early inhabitant of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, one of the original founders of Portsmouth, and one of the co-founders of the town of Warwick. He came to New England from Salisbury, Wilt ...

, and from Frances (Latham) Dungan, the "mother of governors." Greene graduated 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 ...

and studied law at Litchfield in

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. Following this he went to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

about 1820, and spent more than four decades there, promoting the

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

public schools and roads. Greene delivered a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

Address at Brown in 1851, which supported the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 and criticized those who violated the law (abolitionists). He returned to Warwick in 1862, and was selected as Rhode Island's Lieutenant Governor in 1866, under Governor

Ambrose Burnside Ambrose Everett Burnside (May 23, 1824 – September 13, 1881) was an American army officer and politician who became a senior Union general in the Civil War and three times Governor of Rhode Island, as well as being a successful inventor ...

, shortly after the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. He served for two years. Greene died in Warwick in 1883 and was buried in the Governor Greene Cemetery where his father, grandfather, and great grandfather are all buried, along with their wives.

Family

Greene was married in 1821 to Abby Bracket Lyman, the daughter of Erastus Lyman, and the couple had two daughters: Catharine Ray Greene (1824-1864) and Anna Jean Greene (1827-1831). He married second Caroline Brenton Burge.

Sources

Bibliography

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External links

Greene family group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, William 1797 births 1883 deaths American people of English descent Brown University alumni Lieutenant Governors of Rhode Island Politicians from Cincinnati Politicians from Warwick, Rhode Island Burials in Rhode Island 19th-century American politicians Greene family of Rhode Island

Life

Family

Sources

Bibliography

Further reading

See also

External links