James  Green


          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
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            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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