Holbrook line: William Greene, Immigrant

Unfortunately, we don't seem to know for sure when William Greene was born, or where, or the names of his parents, or even when he arrived in New England.  If he was born as early as 1591, as some suggest, then his wife, Hannah Carter, would have been significantly younger than he was in order to be starting the family in 1644.  So if the 1591 date is correct, he may well have had an earlier wife and an earlier family about whom we know nothing. 

What we know of William is that he was "of Charlestown" in 1640 and that year subscribed to the "town orders" for the settlement of Woburn, which basically stated rules to live by, for the town.  For instance, no one could have a guest ("inmate"), for more than three days without the express permission of at least four of the town selectmen.  He married Hannah Carter, daughter of Thomas Carter, the blacksmith of Charlestown, about 1642, and the young or middle-aged and young, couple went to Woburn to live.  He was made a freeman in 1644.  I should note that it's possible that Greene never actually moved at all, as Charlestown gave up some of its territory to what became the town of Woburn.  Still, the Greenes probably lived a good ways from Hannah's parents, as currently Woburn and Charlestown are about 18 miles distant from each other.  William was made a freeman in 1644, meaning he was a member of the church and had property of some sort. 

There isn't much more that is known of his life in Woburn.  Apparently he stayed out of trouble, paid his taxes, supported the church, and was not much involved in the government of the town.  Raising small children and farming probably kept him busy.  When he died in 1654, there were at least four small children to raise, and they were apparently taken in by members of Hannah's family.  Hannah died just a few years after William, in 1658.

William Greene had an estate of over 200 pounds when he died, probably helped greatly by a gift of half of the lands of his father in law.  This was a good sum of money for a man believed to have been in the country only about 14 years when he died. 

This sums up the story of William Greene, who came to New England to practice his religion, or for economic gain, or because he wanted an adventure, or some combination of the three.  Whatever his reasons, we are glad he came, because he contributed to our gene pool. 

The line of descent is

William Greene-Hannah Carter
Mary Greene-John Snow
Zerubabbel Snow-Jemima Cutler
William Snow-Elizabeth Stevens
Lucy Snow-Josiah Whittemore
Josiah Whittemore-Betsy Foster
Mary Elizabeth Whittemore-Joseph Holbrook
Fremont Holbrook-Phoebe Brown
Loren Holbrook-Etta Stanard
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants