Noted among the older residents of Shelby county, Indiana, is James Green, who was born in Addison township on May 20, 1836, and who was lived the greater part of his life in that community. He was one of a large family, and a son of Christopher Cheek Green, who was originally of Kentucky, and who married Keturah Norris, of New Jersey.
Christopher was a son of Eli and Nancy (Cheek) Green, of Virginia. When Indiana was only a territory and a wilderness, they located in Dearborn county. During the terrible plague of cholera which swept the country in 1833 they succumbed to the disease, both dying of the malady the same week. He owned the first mill in that section of the country, and ground the grists brought to him, by horse power. They were the parents of ten children, as follows: Elizabeth married James Bridges, and lived in Iowa; James married Phoebe Chambers and was a steamboat captain on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and a soldier of the War of 1812; He died in Vicksburg of the yellow fever, his wife passing away in Indianapolis; Leah married Seth Parks, and lived in Iowa; Christopher C.; Tobitha married Bethany Bridges, and lived in Waverly, Indiana; Page died of cholera; Hiram died of cholera; Elston married Ann Bowers, of Hamilton county, Indiana; Ansy married Nathan Bowers, lived in Illinois; Eliza died of cholera. Joseph Norris, maternal grandfather of James Green, was a native of New Jersey, and married Elizabeth Wolsey, of that state. They lived in Aurora, Indiana, and later removed to Jefferson county, and still later to Boone county, this state, where they both died. They were the parents of ten children as follows: Catherine married James Van Cleaves, lived in Clinton county, Indiana; Samuel lived in Boone county, Indiana, and later in Kansas; Richard died single; Keturah, mother of James Green; Rachael married Peter Moore and lived in Boone county, Indiana; Joseph also lived in Boone county, and later in Kansas; Johanna married the Rev. John Wright, and lived and died in Boone county; Maria married Abram Hendrickson and lived in Clinton county, Indiana; Stephen lived in Jefferson county, Indiana; Alice married William Wheatley and lived in Boone county, Indiana. Christopher Cheek Green prided himself on his ability as a mathematician, although he had but a very limited education. It was said of him that he could solve any problem in Pike's arithmetic. He married when young, and resided for a time in Aurora, Indiana. In 1829 he removed to Shelby county, Indiana, and entered a tract of land on the middle fork of Lewis creek, and settled there in the wilderness. He erected a log cabin and commenced clearing the ground, and he succeeded in getting the farm in fair condition for those days, but in 1846 he removed to Washington township and bought two hundred forty acres of land, paying seven hundred dollars for the tract. It was all heavily wooded, but he cleared a goodly portion of it and built a house for his family. He lived there until he died in 1851. His widow passed away in 1892, at the advanced age of ninety-two years. He was a Democrat and she was a member of the Methodist church. There were ten children born to them as follows: Grayson died in infancy. Eli, a farmer in Noble township, Shelby county; he married Martha J. DeBaun. Joseph, a veteran of the Mexican war, serving in the Fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry; he married Eliza Jane Jackson and went to Iowa and later to Missouri, where he died in 1898; his widow still lives in that state. Jason was a Mexican war veteran and served in the same command as his brother, Joseph. At the close of the war he taught school. He married Ann Fenn, and in after years he removed to Illinois, where he now lives. Elston, a farmer, married Caroline Limpus, dying in Shelbyville, Indiana, where the widow still lives. Milton, a teacher for ten years, later removed to Illinois, where he married Sarah J. Hayes, deceased. James, the subject of this sketch. Stephen married Elizabeth Monroe, a farmer, of Shelby county. Elizabeth married Ithamer Spurlin, lived in Washington township, Shelby county, where she died in 1887. William, deceased, married Elizabeth McColley; she resides in Shelbyville, Indiana. James Green married Mary Ann Clark on October 15, 1857. He was a man of sterling character and obtained his education in the common schools of his county. He lived at home until his marriage. His bride was a daughter of William and Mary (Van Benthusen) Clark, he of Manchester, England, and she of Orange county, New York. William Clark was a son of James and Frances Cheshire Clark, of England, and a man of considerable mental attainments. He and his wife became the parents of the following children: James, born April 18, 1804; Thomas, born April 22, 1806; Frances, born January 15, 1808; Ann, born July 2, 1809; John, born February 1, 1811; William, born November 21, 1812; Francis B., born October 13, 1814; Mary, born May 25, 1816; Sarah, born December 26, 1818; Edward C., born July 16, 1820; Ellen, born July 18, 1822; John, born November 1, 1824, lives in Drakeville, Iowa; Charles, born October 29, 1826. James Clark sailed for America on April 5, 1817, and was seventy days on the voyage from Liverpool. He landed in Philadelphia on January 14, 1817. He settled at Elkland, Pennsylvania, and later removed to Springboro, Ohio, and in 1824, to Jackson township, Shelby county, Indiana. He died in 1826, and his wife on April 20, 1841. Mary Van Benthusen was a daughter of James and Susan (Smith) Van Benthusen. He was born August 14, 1778, in New York, and she was born March 4, 1791, in the same state. They removed, after their marriage, to Mercer county, Ohio, and in 1829 went to Jackson township, Shelby county, and settled in the woods. He was a victim of the cholera scourge, and died in 1850, while attending the constitutional convention at Indianapolis. He was prominent in state affairs and assisted in revising the constitution of Indiana, with Thomas A. Hendricks. His wife died in 1862, having married a second time to John Moore. the children of James and Susan (Smith) Van Benthusen were: Margaret, born July 18, 1811, married Aaron Fix; William, born August 30, 1813, married Frances Clark; Mary, mother of James Green's wife; Catherine, born January 28, 1817, and the wife of Leonard Guile; Precilla, born August 3, 1819, married Alexander Hawkins; Daniel was born September 28, 1821, and married Rebecca Hughes; John, born September 26, 1823, married Sarah Clayton; James, infant, born October 14, 1825; Stephen, born March 25, 1827, married Margaret Kendall; David, born December 30, 1829; James, born September 19, 1832, married Ann Whaler; Aaron, born November 22, 1834, married Mary Keeling. William Clark, father of Mrs. James Green, was known as an honest and industrious man and a good citizen. He lived with his parents until his marriage and then entered land in Washington township, Shelby county. He finally owned two hundred seventy acres, which he cleared and made a fine homestead. He died in 1903, his wife passing away in 1899. They were the parents of seven children: Frances, born October 18, 1834, and married James Parrish; she died in 1906; Leonard, born January 22, 1836, died in infancy; Elizabeth, born February 2, 1837, and married Isaac Watson, deceased; she lives in Howard county, Indiana; Mary Ann, wife of James Green; Margaret Jane, born in 1842, married William H. Chesser, deceased; she lives in Washington township; John C., born May 6, 1844, and married Candes Doren, both dead. William H., born 1848, died March 13, 1900. He married Phoebe Osborn and they lived in Washington township, on the old homestead.
After his marriage James Green and wife went to farming in Washington township, Shelby county, later in Liberty township, and later to Noble township, and then back to Shelby township, where they now live, in section 32. He owns eighty-seven acres and has lived on the old home place since 1865, at which time he erected the house as it now stands. He carries on a general farming business and raises horses and cattle. He has been active in civil affairs, and was Justice of the Peace from 1868 to 1872, and Township Trustee from 1882 to 1884, and a school director for ten years. By political faith he is a Democrat. He retired from active work in 1897 to enjoy his remaining years in that rest he so richly earned. He and his estimable wife are will preserved for their years, and are held in high esteem by a large circle of friends and neighbors. Chadwick's History of Shelby County, Indiana, by Edward H. Chadwick, B.A., assisted by well known local
talent, B.F. Bowen & Co, Publishers: Indianapolis, IN, 1909, pg 603-606.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming for Dave Richey
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
James W. Green, M.
D., was born in Rush County, Ind., February 5, 1825. He is the son of
Lot and Anna (Cooper) Green,
and is of English extraction. The family is descended from four
brothers, who came to America from England. Our subject is the
eldest of five sons and three daughters. His boyhood was spent
on the farm, where he received a common school education. He
began the study of medicine in the office of Dr. William Frame, at
Rushville. In 1847, he was licensed to practice medicine by the
Fifth District Medical Institute, and by Rush Medical College, at
Chicago, in 1856. From 1856 to 1886, he was engaged in the
practice of his profession at Arlington, Rush County, where he
was very successful. He came to Shelbyville September 1, 1886,
and took charge of a large and lucrative practice, which was
turned over to him by the death of his brother, William Frame Green,
who for many years lived in Shelbyville, and lead the medical profession in Shelby County.
The latter was born in Rush
County, Indiana, April i, 1831. The earlier days of his life were
passed on a farm, where he managed to get a fair common school
education. He taught school for two winters, then began the study
of medicine in Drs. Selman & Bassell's office, afterward studying
with his brother in Rush County. He graduated from the Rush
Medical College, of Chicago, February 20, 1856. He immediately began the practice of medicine in Shelbyville, and so continued until his death, which occurred August 19, 1886.
His brother,
the immediate subject of this sketch, was for many years a member of the Rush
County Medical Society, and is also a member of
the State Medical Society. In 1882, he became a member of the
National Medical Association, at St. Paul, Minn. He was married
in 1846, to Miss Mary J. Gowdy. This union has produced nine
children: Dr. Lot, Annie, Preston S., Dr. James C,
Isabella M., John D., William and Thomas (twins),
and Nellie. In politics,
Dr. Green is a Republican. He is an Odd Fellow, and his wife
and he are members of the Christian Church. History of Shelby County, Indiana, Brant & Fuller, 1887,
"Shelbyville Sketches," page 481.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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