William Green of Preston, Connecticut

Above: William Green's signature. This image was created
from a scan of a microfiche copy of a petition William Green signed in 1717.

William Green first appears in New London County, Connecticut records in the town of Stonington, where the births of his five eldest children -- Elizabeth, John, William, Jabez and Ann -- were recorded between the years 1699 and 1705:

Above: image created from a scan of a microfilm copy of the original record
from Stonington Vital Records, Volume 1, page 116.

Transcription:
Elizabeth, Daughter of W^m Green was born Feby 24^th 1699/10
John son of W^m green was born May: 12^th 1701
William son of W^m Green was born Jany 6^th 1701/2
Jabez son of W^m Green was born Aug. 19^th 1702/3
Ann Daughter of W^m Green was born March 7^th 1704/5

While the births of William's children were recorded in Stonington, William appears nowhere else in early Stonington records, however there is plenty of evidence of him in early Preston records. It's possible that, rather than moving from Stonington to Preston, William and his wife were living in that part of Preston that was subject to boundary changes at the time.[1] The births of William's youngest four children -- Mary, Sarah, Timothy, and Abigail -- are not recorded in Preston or in any of the town records in its vicinity, and researchers have only been able to speculate about their approximate ages. The youngest four children do appear in marriage and other records for Preston and Griswold, Connecticut, and William named them in his will (written August 22, 1764; proved 1767).

William Green and his wife, whose name is unknown[2], had the following children:

i. Elizabeth Green, b. 24 February 1699/00, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (1) William Bennett, 17 February 1724/25, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (2) Ebenezer Tiler (Tyler), 23 May 1739, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

ii. John Green, b. 12 May 1701, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; d. 13 August 1791, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (1) Mary Rich, 02 June 1724, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (2) Elizabeth _____, 28 February 1728/29, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

iii. William Green, b. 06 January 1701/02, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; d. Bef. 22 August 1764; m. Elizabeth _____, bef. 1729, probably in Voluntown, CT.

iv. Jabez Green, b. 19 August 1703, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. Hannah Walton, 20 June 1728, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

v. Ann Green, b. 07 March 1704/05, Stonington or Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. Silas Palmiter, 04 July 1728, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

vi. Mary "Mercy" Green, b. Abt. 1710, probably Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. (1) Lewis Jones, 03 November 1732, Preston or Griswold, New London County, Connecticut; m. (2) Thomas Johnson, 05 December 1737, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

vii. Sarah Green, b. Abt. 1712, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; d. bef. 22 August 1764; m. (1) Mr. Sheldon; m. (2) Joshua Bennett, 08 October 1733, Preston or Griswold, New London County, Connecticut.

viii. Timothy Green, b. 1711-1713, Preston, New London County, Connecticut; m. Hannah Bennett, 14 September 1738, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

ix. Abigail Green, b. Abt. 1713-1719, Griswold, New London County, Connecticut; m. Benjamin Sheldon, 02 August 1739, Preston, New London County, Connecticut.

William Green died February 3, 1767. Since his first child was born in February of 1699/00, William must have been at least in his eighties at the time of his death. He was referred to as "old" William Green in the records of the Second Church of Preston. My guess is that he was around ninety years old when he died. He was probably buried in the Green Cemetery in Griswold Connecticut, located southwest of the intersection of the Hopeville-Stone Hill Road and Roode Road, where there are, among the stones of William's descendants, unmarked field stones. This land was possibly part of the original Green tract.

In his will, written August 22, 1764 and proved 1767, William named his sons John, Jabez, and Timothy; his grandsons William, Benjamin and Joseph -- sons of his son, William, deceased; his daughters Elisabeth, Abigail, Anne and Mercy; and his granddaughter Sarah Bennett -- daughter of his daughter, Sarah (deceased). William named his "trusty friend", Colonel Samuel Coit executor of his will. The will was witnessed by Joseph, Benjamin, and Hannah Kimball, names that may also be significant as the Kimball family came to Preston from Ipswich, Massachusetts.

The Land Records of William Green of Preston

What I have been able to find out about William Green of Preston is that land was clearly an important aspect of his life and perhaps the motivating factor for his appearance in New London County. His land was most certainly located in the northern part of Preston, as he and his descendants were members of Preston's North or Second Society. Green Cemetery is located southwest of the intersection of Hopeville-Stone Hill Road and Roode Road near Hopeville and Spy Rock.

Here is a chronicle of the records, land or otherwise, that I have found for William Green of Preston:

January 16, 1709/10: William Green of Preston bought for eighteen pounds from Capt. John Parke, Jr., William Billings, Caleb Fobes, and Joseph Geer, a seventy-acre tract of land in Preston, bounded by the southwestern portion of Ebenezer William's land. The deed was signed by John Parke, William Billings, Caleb Fobes and Joseph Geer (who gave his mark) and witnessed by Jonathan Tracy and John Brown. It may be significant that the other men being granted land in Preston on January 16-18, 1709/10 were John Brown, Lazarus Tyler, John Meech and James Tyler -- all originally from Andover, Salem and Ipswich, Massachusetts.

May 1717: William Green was one of 142 signers of a petition to the Connecticut General Assembly in 1717 for a new bridge to Preston. (Jan Ramos has a scan on this petition online at her website).

February 4, 1718: William Green was granted a 10½-acre tract of land in Preston by the proprietors of a large land grant in the town of Preston. The tract was near the land of Joseph Morgan in Preston. The proprietors who signed the deed were: Thomas Rose, Joseph Geer, Samuel Partridge, Mark Williams, William Richards, Thomas Rose, Jr., Thomas Gates, Thomas Tracy, David Tracy, Thomas Clark, William Billings, William Parke, John Brown, Nathaniel Tracy, John Richards, John Lord, Joseph Sherman, John Safford, Hopestill Tyler, John Reynolds, Benjamin _____, Benjamin _____, and Jedediah Tracy. Stephen Gates and Hopestill Tyler witnessed the deed.

March 11, 1723: William Green bought for fourteen pounds, sixteen acres of land from Stephen Gates of Preston. The land of John Bennett, Stephen Gates, and the Norwich boundary bound the land. The deed was signed by Stephen Gates and witnessed by Thomas Clark and Jonathan Fanning.

April 16, 1729: William Green bought, for forty pounds, a "Small tract or slip of land" from Thomas Clark. The land was adjacent to William's existing property near the Norwich boundary. The deed was signed by Thomas Clark and witnessed by Mary Green and Elizabeth Green (who were possibly William's daughter, Mary Green, and Elizabeth, wife of William's eldest son, John, or perhaps one was William's wife).

September 13, 1736, entered in Preston land evidence books, a deed dated December 12, 1735: William Green was granted by "William Bennet formerly of Preston abovesaid now of Stratford in ye County of Fairfield" a tract of land bounded by the land of John Mulkins. [Interestingly enough, William Green had this deed entered in the Preston land evidence books. Noted at the end of the deed is that, "ye said Green also saith yt ye said William Bennet Refuseth to acknowledge ye sd Deed tho often Requested theirs unto therefore ye sd Green Entres this Cotion in order to secure of said Land to him ye said Green & his Heirs as ye of Law Directs." It should be noted that William Bennet was William Green's son-in-law, the husband of William's eldest daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth Green married Ebenezer Tiler (Tyler) on May 23, 1739, so William Bennett must have died -- or the marriage must have otherwise ended -- before 1739.]

September 13, 1736, entered in Preston land evidence books, a deed dated December 12, 1735: apparently referring to the same deed as above but with the wording, "This may inform all persons that I William Green of Preston ... have a deed of a certain Tract of Land of William Bennet formerly of Preston abovesaid now of Stratford in ye County of Fairfield Colony aforesaid which Deed is well Executed all but acknowledged and said Deed is Dated December 12, 1735. The bounds of ye Land Contained in Sd Deed is as followeth Beginning at four maples Standing on ye North Side of a brook called by ye name of ye Roreing Brook from thence a straight Line to ye Northwest Corner of John Mulkins Land where is a stake and heap of Stones then bounded upon ye said Mulkins Land until it comes to a Stake and heap of Stones about it which is ye Southwest Corner of Sd Mulkins Land from thence a straight Line to ye first mentioned bounds."

[1] In Griswold - A History, Daniel L. Phillips discussed the division of Preston into two ecclesiastical societies -- First, or South Society and Second, or North Society, in February 1715/1716. This division appears to have been motivated by convenience -- it was difficult for all inhabitants of Preston to journey to a single meeting place for religious and political meetings. The dividing line between the two societies was "Beginning at Norwich line, thence the dividing line to run half way between ye house of Jonathan Geers and ye now dwelling house of John Richards, and from thence a straight line twenty rods east from ye now dwelling house of Samuel Sterry and so ye same line till it comes to Stonington." There was, however, confusion as to where the precise boundary of Stonington was. According to Phillips, the town of Stonington employed the surveyor, John Prentis, to run out Stonington's northern line. Prentis "ran a due east line from Stonington's northwest corner to a large rock in the form of an oval near the Rhode Island line." In 1716, "the General Assembly granted to the town of Stonington a patent which established her north boundary as a due east line identical with the Prentis survey, cutting off from Preston what seems to have been some three square miles of territory upon which were settled a number of families. "

[2] I have never seen a reference to William's wife in any records, not even in church records. An Elizabeth Green, adult, who appears in Second Church of Preston records in the 1730s, could be William's wife, but more than likely she was Elizabeth, wife of John Green (William's son).