The Greene family of Amsterdam, New York, are descendants of Thomas Greene, of England, the final e of the name being dropped by the second generation in America. There were other families of the same name who settled in New England at an early date, and there were others by the name of Thomas. There was a Thomas who was on record in Roxbury in 1648; Thomas, who came in the "Speedwell" in 1636; and Thomas, of Middlesex. These must not be confounded with the Thomas Greene, of Malden, who founded the family under consideration in this sketch.
(I) Thomas Greene, the immigrant, was born in England, probably in Leicestershire, about 1606, died in New England, December 19, 1667. The first record extant of him is dated 1653, when his youngest daughter, Dorcas, was born, but it is exceedingly probable that he was an early settler in the Massachusetts Colony; that he remained temporarily in one of the new settlements until about 1649-50, when he removed to the northern part of Malden, now Melrose, where he secured his farm of sixty-three acres; that all his children lived with him or near him with the exception of daughter Hannah, who married and lived in Woburn. It is certain that he lived in Malden, Massachusetts, as early as October 28, 1651, when his wife Elizabeth and daughter of the same name, signed a petition to the general court concerning the Rev. Marmaduke Matthews. A portion of his farm in Malden was still in the possession of some of his descendants two hundred years later. He was selectman of Malden in 1658, served several times on the Middlesex county grand jury and was known as Thomas Greene, Sr., to distinguish him from his son, Thomas, Jr., and another Thomas Greene of the town, who had no suffix. His ten children who had been living near him commenced to separate about 1676. Four of his sons — Samuel, William, Nathaniel and Jabez — removed to Leicester, and their descendants are found to-day in every state in the Union. Another son, Henry, removed to Killingly, Connecticut, as did the children of his son Jacob. Another son, David, removed to Amherst, New Hampshire; two others, Jacob and Benjamin, to Hanover, New Jersey. Thomas Greene, Sr., in his will, dated November 12, 1667, does not mention any wife, but makes bequests to his "eldest son" Thomas, to sons John, William, Henry, Samuel and to daughters Elizabeth, Mary, Hannah, Martha and Dorcas. This shows that all his children were living at the date of his death. Some of them were born in England, but it is not on record how many. He married (first) Elizabeth ————, who died August 22, 1658, and is believed to have been the mother of all his children. He married (second) Frances, born in 1608, widow of Richard Cook, previously widow of Isaac Wheeler, who had had children by her first two husbands.
(II) Thomas (2) Green, son of Thomas (1) and Elizabeth Greene, was born in England about 1630, died in Malden, Massachusetts, February 13, 1671-72, having made his will the previous day. He was a farmer and always lived in Malden, where he was admitted freeman, May 31, 1670. He married, about 1653, Rebecca, daughter of Joseph Hills. She was one of the thirty-six women who signed the petition to the general court, praying that body to excuse some errors and failings of Rev. Marmaduke Matthews, first minister to Malden, who had fallen under the censure of that honorable body. Children:
- Rebecca, married Thomas Newell.
- Thomas, not mentioned in his father's will, being probably then deceased.
- Hannah, died in infancy.
- Hannah, married John Vinton, of Woburn, and had a numerous posterity, which is fully recorded in the "Vinton Memorial."
- Samuel, see forward.
(III) Captain Samuel Green, youngest child of Thomas (2) and Rebecca (Hills) Green, was born in Malden, Massachusetts, October 5, 1670, died January 2, 1735-36. He resided in Malden until 1717, when he removed to Leicester, being one of the original founders of that town. Leicester was granted by the general court, February 10, 1713-14, and Captain Green was appointed one of the committee by the proprietors to settle it. He had one hundred and eighty acres of land granted him in five parcels, and was a very influential man in all the affairs of the new settlement, the part of the town once occupied by him being still Greenville in his honor. It is a village in the southern part of Leicester, about one mile north of the South Leicester railroad depot. His title of captain was bestowed upon him for service in the militia, rendered during the Narragansett war. He married Elizabeth, born 1658, died 1720, daughter of Deacon Phineas Upham, granddaughter of Lieutenant Phineas Upham, who was severely wounded at the storming of the Narragansett fort, December 19, 1675; and great-granddaughter of Deacon John Upham, born in England, and founder of the Upham family in America. Captain Samuel Green mentioned in his will, dated April 18, 1717, wife Elizabeth, son Thomas and daughters Elizabeth and Rebecca (twins), Ruth, Lydia, Bathsheba, Abigail and Anna.
(IV) Rev. Thomas (3) Green, only son of Captain Samuel and Elizabeth (Upham) Green, was born in Malden, Massachusetts, 1699, died in Leicester, August 19, 1773. He acquired a knowledge of medicine and surgery from two surgeons of the English buccaneers, who boarded with his father for many years, they having come in and surrendered themselves under an offer of pardon from the English government. They instructed Thomas in what they knew of medicine, gave him a few medical books, and with this equipment and an uncommon amount of practical wisdom, he was enabled to enter upon and pursue the practice of medicine with great success. This practice extended into various parts of the colony, and into Rhode Island and Connecticut. He was not, however, more eminent as a physician than he was as a minister of the Gospel. Having embraced the Baptist faith, he organized a church and society of that denomination in South Leicester, and was ordained their pastor in 1736. He supplied their pulpit for many years, and his church grew and flourished. He donated a farm for a parsonage, a lot of land for the meeting house, and for a burial ground, in which he and his wife were buried, but their remains, together with those of his father, were afterward removed by their descendant, Dr. John Green, to Rural cemetery, in Worcester, Massachusetts. He married, January 13, 1725-26, Martha, born in Malden, July 6, 1700, died in Leicester, June 20, 1780, daughter of Captain John Lynde by his third wife, who was Mrs. Judith (Worth) Buckman. Children:
- Samuel, see forward.
- Martha, married Robert Green, who studied medicine with her father, but never practiced the profession, becoming a manufacturer of spinning wheels.
- Isaac, married Sarah Howe.
- Thomas, married (first) Hannah Fox, (second) Anna Hovey.
- John, married (first) Mary Osgood, (second) Mary Ruggles.
- Solomon, married Elizabeth Page.
- Elizabeth, married (first) Daniel Hovey, (second) Rev. Benjamin Foster, D.D., a graduate of Yale College, who succeeded his father-in-law as pastor of the Leicester Baptist Church, from whence he was called to Newport, Rhode Island; then to the church in Gold street, New York City, where he died of yellow fever in 1798. He had received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Brown University.
(V) Deacon Samuel (2) Green, eldest child of Rev. Thomas (3) and Martha (Lynde) Green, was born in Leicester, Massachusetts, 1726, died in the autumn of 1810. He served as deacon in the Baptist church in Leicester for more than fifty years. After the dismission of Rev. Dr. Foster, the church was without a pastor for a period of several years, and during this time Deacon Samuel Green devoted himself with much energy, ability and piety to the interests of the church, which continued to prosper. He was greatly beloved in the town and his death was deeply and sincerely mourned. He married (first) January 28, 1753, Zeviah Dana, born 1733, died May 25, 1797. Married (second) ———— Fisk, a widow, of Sturbridge, who died July 2, 1810. Children of first wife:
- Three, names not recorded, who died in infancy.
- Samuel, see forward.
- Elijah, died in the service of his country in camp at Roxbury, Massachusetts, December 25, 1776, at the age of sixteen years.
(VI) Samuel (3), son of Deacon Samuel (2) and Zeviah (Dana) Green, was born in Leicester, Massachusetts, November 22, 1757, died at Pembroke, New York, February 2, 1832. He resided in Leicester on the old homestead of his grandfather, Rev. Thomas Green, but, meeting with financial reverses and losing much of his property, he removed from Massachusetts, settling in Pembroke, New York, where the remainder of his life was spent. He was an eminently pious man, and his wife enjoyed a similar reputation. He married, April 15, 1779, Hannah Kinney, of Sutton, who died December 22, 1842, "aged ninety-two years, two months and fourteen days." After the death of her husband she returned to Leicester, where she lived with her son-in-law, John King. Children:
- Elijah, died young.
- Anderson Dana, died young.
- Lucretia, married Daniel Fairbanks.
- Sophia, married John King, of Leicester.
- Samuel, died young.
- Samuel Dana, married Susan Gibbs, of Providence, Rhode Island.
- William Kinney, see forward.
- Hadassah, married Asa Mann, of Leicester; she removed to St. Catharines, Canada, where she died, leaving three children.
- Patty, died young.
- Hannah, died young.
(VII) William Kinney, fifth son and seventh child of Samuel (3) and Hannah (Kinney) Greene was born in Leicester, January 9, 1790, died in Amsterdam, New York, October 13, 1864. He settled in Amsterdam, in 1840, becoming a pioneer carpet manufacturer there, and being associated there for a time with John Sanford, of the Sanford Carpet Mills. He was later in the manufacturing business alone, and was a highly respected and energetic man of affairs in the city. He married, December 10, 1812, Betsey, daughter of Deacon Jedediah Kimball, of Woodstock, Connecticut. Children:
- Almeria, married Lyman Bennett.
- William Kimball, see forward.
- Harriet Newell, married Nicholas Anthony Wemple.
- Samuel Dana, married Marietta Willoughby.
- Henry Eckford.
- Andrew Harding, married Mary E. Davis.
(VIII) William Kimball, eldest son and second child of William Kinney and Betsey (Kimball) Greene, was born July 18, 1816, died in Rome, Italy, while on a European tour, January, 1870. He was one of the potent factors in securing for the city of Amsterdam the water supply and power which gave it its full impetus as a great manufacturing center, and was the founder of two of its most important industries. He was a member of the firm of Wait, Greene & Company, manufacturers of satinet, at Hagamans Mills in 1840, but in 1842 withdrew from that firm and located in Amsterdam, where he started a carpet factory in a small building, afterward the site of the Greene Knitting Company's works. This was the forerunner and foundation of the carpet industry in Amsterdam and of the present immense business of S. Sanford & Sons. Mr. Greene ran his business alone for a few years, then John Sanford acquired an interest, and the plant was removed to the old Harris mill, further up the stream. Prior to 1856 Mr. Greene retired from the firm, which after other changes became, in 1853, the sole property of Stephen Sanford, who later admitted his sons. In 1856 William K. Greene and John McDonnell began the manufacture of knit goods in the small building where later stood the extensive plant of the Greene Knitting Company. In 1868 Mr. McDonnell withdrew, the business henceforth being conducted by Mr. Greene, who increased it by the erection of a much larger mill on the same site, operating with thirteen sets of machinery. In 1870 he died and was succeeded by his sons, Elijah P. and Henry E. Greene, with John K. Warnick, under the firm name of W. K. Greene's Sons & Company. Upon the death of E. P. Greene, the firm became W. K. Greene's Son & Company. In 1881 Henry E. Greene died, and in 1882 the Greene Knitting Company, manufacturers of knit underwear, was formed. If any one man can be called the father of manufacturing interests in Amsterdam, it is William K. Greene, these two great industries, carpets and knit goods, both being founded by him.
Amsterdam originally had sufficient water power from Chuctenunda creek to run its mills, but with the denuding of the northern hills and mountains, the supply was decreased. Dams were resorted to, but in 1855 it was necessary to again increase the supply of water. In that year a reservoir was constructed in Galway, covering four hundred and fifty acres, which was enlarged in 1865 to five hundred and fifty acres. In 1875 the banks of the reservoir were raised, increasing the area of stored water to one thousand acres. Through all these operations Mr. Greene bore a conspicuous part. He was one of the incorporators of the water supply company and, when the first board of trustees was formed, for the purpose of maintaining the supply, he was chosen one of the Water Supply Company. This permanent settlement of the question of power has been of immense advantage to Amsterdam, as it attracted many new industries, and has resulted in making the city one of the most noted manufacturing centers in Central New York. In this, as in the starting of pioneer industries, great credit must be awarded William Kimball Greene. He was a man of great energy and initiative and a born leader of men. He was interested in all forms of charity and benevolence for the benefit of those less fortunately situated than himself, and he and his wife gave generous aid to the institutions of the city. The record he left is a noble one, and his memory is still warmly cherished. Mr. Greene married, December 22, 1838, Jane M. Priest. Children:
- Elijah Priest, see forward.
- Henry Eckford, see forward.
(IX) Elijah Priest, eldest son of William Kimball and Jane M. (Priest) Greene was born May 22, 1843, died December 9, 1876. To a great degree he inherited the mechanical ability of his father. He was an extensive traveler, a great lover of beauty in art and nature, his collection of geological specimens showing him to have been a geologist of no mean merit. On September 28, 1865, he married at Ilion, New York, Ella, born June, 1845, daughter of Philo Remington, well known to the world as the inventor and manufacturer of the Remington typewriters and rifles. Children:
- Fred Remington, see forward.
- William Kimball, born December 15, 1869.
- Harry Priest, born November 27, 1871, died in New Haven, Connecticut, June 10, 1892, just prior to his graduation from Yale University.
(IX) Henry Eckford, second son of William Kimball and Jane M. (Priest) Greene, was born April 10, 1849, died September 20, 1881. He was a prominent knit goods manufacturer in Amsterdam, New York, and was highly honored and respected for his sterling worth as a business man and as a citizen. He married Helen K., born in Troy, New York, June 28, 1851, died May 26, 1880, daughter of Ransom Baldwin and Elizabeth (Winne) Moore; granddaughter of Charles Moore, a soldier of the revolution, who died September 21, 1821; also a granddaughter of Robert Winne, and great-granddaughter of Moses and Elizabeth (Adams) Winne, who were among the first settlers in the Hudson-Mohawk valley. Children:
- Jane M., married Hon. Spencer K. Warnick, born September 9, 1874, a graduate of Yale University, and an attorney at law in Amsterdam. Children:
- Spencer K., born May 20, 1899;
- Henry Greene, April 17, 1902.
- Henry E., born May 2, 1880, is engaged in business in Amsterdam; married, October 8, 1902, Florence Irene Taylor; son,
- Henry E., born Sept 24, 1903.
(X) Fred Remington, eldest child of Elijah Priest and Ella (Remington) Greene, was born in Amsterdam, New York, November 4, 1867. He married, January 4, 1893, in Atlanta, Georgia, Harriet Estelle Delbridge, born July 24, 1873, and has one child:
- Emily Hughey Delbridge, born November 30, 1907.
Mrs. Greene is the daughter of Dr. George Washington and Emily Mandeville (Hughey) Delbridge, the latter born May 5, 1847, daughter of Joseph, and granddaughter of John Hughey, of South Carolina, whose family dates back to the Huguenot settlers of early colonial days. Dr. Delbridge, born in Petersburg, Virginia, November 18, 1826, was a well-known physician of Atlanta, Georgia, where he died June 1, 1900. His father was James Kimmeburgh, his grandfather Edward Delbridge, of Virginia, the latter being a soldier during the revolution. The line goes back to Richard Delbridge, the immigrant ancestor, who came from England to America in 1619, and had special rights granted him with reference to the Atlantic coast fisheries.