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Biography
Thomas Jefferson Green - 1841 to 1903
7th Maine Infantry, Co. F &
30th Maine Infantry, Co. C |
Thomas was born on 8-Dec-1841 at Wells, ME, son of Joseph Green & Lavinia Hubbard. He appears in the 1850 census household at age 8 as Jefferson Green. Thomas was married in Wells on 16-Jan-1864 to Sarah Elizabeth Hatch (1828-c1920). Thomas died 10-Jan-1903 at Kennebunk ME.
According to a descendant, he was the father of 13 children, ten of which we have identified. There are no children under the age of 16 in Jan-1903, so all children that survived childhood were born before 1888. Thomas and Sarah were known as Indians according to very strong oral tradition among their descendants. Thomas taught at least one of his children about herbal medicine.
Known children:
- Sarah Elizabeth Frances Green, 'Lizzie' - b.abt. 1866
- Arabell L. Green - b.abt.1868
- Etta M. Green - twin? b.abt.1871
- Thomas J. Green - twin? b.abt.1871
- Joseph Hubbard Green - b.abt.1873
- Emeline Green, 'Emma' - b.abt.1875
- Laura B. Green - b.abt.1878
- Eldridge or Ellery Green - b.bef.1885
- Addy or Mandy Green - b.bef.1885
- Pearl Elsie Green - b.11-Mar-1885 in Portland ME (the youngest)
On 21-Aug-1861, at age 23, Thomas enlisted as a private in Co. F, 7th Maine Infantry. He was honorably discharged from the 7th Reg't on 23-Apr-1862 and probably never saw action with this regiment. The reason for his discharge is not stated in the military records we have access to.
He reenlisted on 15-Dec-1863 in Co. C, 30th Maine and this unit was discharged 29-Aug-1865. However, Thomas says he was not discharged until 11-Sep-1865.
It appears he first filed for a military pension in 1866, but government records could not be found to verify a disability. A copy of that first application was not included in the military records we received. Thomas files for pension again on 24-Nov-1873. In this application he is described as; age 31, height [blank], dark complexion and hair, and hazel eyes. Prior to military service he was in good health and worked as a shoemaker. He had resided at Kennebunk since his discharge and was working as a laborer. He claimed 3/4 disability from obtaining his subsistence from manual labor. Henry Lord & Alonzo F. Page, both of Biddeford, attest to this application as acquaintances of Thomas.
The application described his disability as follows;
"He contracted chronic diarrhoea & chills & fever in Louisanna in the Red River Expedition during last part of Jany of 1864 from change of climate diet & exposure in a malarial locality. April 23rd 1864 at battle of Cane River Crossing he was hit in right knee by a spent ball or other missil, which injured the knee causing it to swell but remained on duty until about May 10th 1864 when from exposure he contracted a cold which produced Rheumatism in right hip & back these disabilities rendered him unfit for military duty & have caused him to be lame emuciated & greatly debilitated exertion causes violent palpitations of heart & he suffers greatly from Rheumatic pains in hip and back. ... That he was treated in General Hospital No. [blank], at Fortress Monroe a few days (Hampton & Grants hospit 'hard 20' Long Island NY from about middle of July 1864 to about last of August 1864."
Thomas died 10-Jan-1903 and his widow filed for her widow's pension on 27-Jan-1903. Frederick W. Nason, who had known Sarah 35 years, and Etta M. Shaw, who had known Sarah 25 years, both of Kennebunk, appear with Sarah and sign the application as witnesses. This application contains many items of interest. First, it verifies her age as 57, residence as Kennebunk, post office as West Kennebunk, maiden name as Sarah E. Hatch, their marriage date as 16-Jan-1864 at Wells, there are no children under 16, Thomas' birth date is 8-Dec-1841 in Wells, and he was a farmer. This information conforms to what we already know about Thomas and Sarah. Now for the curious part - Thomas' physical description is given as: 5'1", light complexion and hair, gray eyes.
Did you notice it? The color of Thomas' hair and skin have changed over the years! How could this be? There is clearly enough information in the two applications that does agree, so this is not a case of the government messing up the records. Surely Sarah should know what her husband looks like - right?!? On the other hand, Thomas himself was physically present to sign the application in 1873, so that description must match the man - right?!? Today we can only speculate about the reason for this curious change of appearance. We must look at the time period and understand that bigotry and discrimination against minorities was common and serious. Sarah may have been afraid that she would lose the pension if the current administration believed Thomas was anything but white. The person notarizing Sarah's application probably did not know the family.
The records in Thomas' pension file along with regimental records provide this brief time line of his military service.
- from date of muster until February of 1862, he is present for duty in the 7th Reg't
- March & April 1863, the 7th Reg't reports him sick in the hospital at Washington DC
- 23-Apr-1862 at Washington D.C., Discharged for disability [exact nature not stated]
- from date of muster until 30-Jun-1864, it is not stated if he is absent or present for duty in the 30th Reg't - the Reg't left Portland Harbor 7-Feb-1864 on the steamer 'Merrimac' and arrived at New Orleans on 16-Feb-1864. From Feb. to June, his Reg't saw action 10 times, but we don't know if his company was involved in all the actions of the Reg't.
- 18-Jul-1864, the 30th Reg't reports he is left sick at Ft. Monroe
- Sept & Oct 1864, the 30th Reg't reportes him on furlough in Maine
- Nov-1864 until 30-Jun-1865, the 30th Reg't reports him sick at General Hospital [probably Cony Hospital in Augusta]
- 20-Aug-1865, the 30th Reg't muster-out report shows him sick in Cony Hospital Augusta ME
We would like to thank Roy Welch and Diana Morine for sharing their family story with Ne-Do-Ba. We would love to hear from any additional descendants of Thomas & Sarah Green and encourage anyone that has additional information about the family to contact us.
