Thomas Greene
Encyclopedia
Thomas Greene of Bobbing, Kent, 2nd Proprietary Governor
of Maryland
(1610, Bobbing, Kent
, England - 20 Jan 1651 St. Mary's County, Maryland) was an early settler of the Maryland colony
and second Provincial Governor of the colony from 1647 to 1648. He was the son of Sir Thomas Greene and Lady Margaret Webb. His father was created Knight Bachelor
of the Realm by James I
in 1622 at Windsor Castle
.
Thomas came over from England on the Ark
and Dove
expedition in 1634. Greene was among the earliest settlers of the colony after its founding in 1634 as a haven of religious tolerance for English Catholics among other groups. He was already prominent in the politics of the colony by 1637 or 1638, when he became a prominent leader of moderate Catholics. More radical Catholics led by Thomas Cornwaleys resisted attempts by the colony's proprietor, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
to ensure a broader religious tolerance by, for example, restricting the activities of the Jesuits. Greene and others voted against some of these measures, but despite pressure from Cornwaleys and the Jesuits accepted the laws once they were passed.
In 1647, Greene was appointed to the governorship by the colony's first governor, Leonard Calvert
, as an emergency measure only hours before Calvert's death due to a sudden illness. He was by this point one of the few early settlers still active in colonial leadership. Some, such as Leonard Calvert, had died and some, such as Thomas Cornwaleys, had returned to England. Greene, who had been a member of the colonial council prior to his appointment and was familiar with the issues confronting the colonial government, quickly set about strengthening the colonial militia in response to threats from the Nanticoke
and Wicocomico
tribes of Native Americans. Among his actions was the payment of arrears to soldiers at St. Inigoe's Fort as well as appointment of John Price as the new commander of colonial militia. These were necessary steps given that the colonial militia had been severely taxed during armed conflict with Virginian William Claiborne
and his allies during the previous three years. Greene also appointed a number of Catholics to government offices, but was unable to build Catholic influence in the colony and suffered severe political setbacks when the Protestant-dominated colonial assembly passed legislation unfavorable to the proprietary government.
By 1648, Cecilius Calvert replaced him with William Stone. Greene was a Catholic and a royalist, and some historians have speculated that Stone, a Protestant and supporter of Parliament
, was appointed in his place to appease the Protestant majority in the colony. Following his removal from office, Greene served as Deputy Governor under Stone. In November 1649, while Stone was in neighboring Virginia, Greene used this position to publicly declare Maryland in support of Prince Charles
, the heir to the English throne. Earlier that year, the Prince's father, King Charles I
, had been executed by the mainly Puritan
Parliamentarians in the culminating event of the English Civil War
. Stone quickly returned and retracted the declaration, but the event was enough to convince Parliament to appoint Protestant commissioners Richard Bennett and William Claiborne to help oversee the colony. Bennett and Claiborne appointed a Protestant council to oversee the colony, creating some confusion as to whether this council of the proprietary governor and his deputies was in charge. The council, among other decisions, rescinded the Maryland Toleration Act
which had guaranteed religious freedom in the colony and banned Catholics from worshiping openly. Stone attempted to regain control of the colony by force, but was defeated in the Battle of the Severn
.
, and was possessed of much land in the neighborhood of Norton and Faversham
, as appeared by the chartulary of the monastery of St. Augustine.
Governor Thomas Greene was the son of Sir Thomas Greene Of Bobbing Kent and Lady Margaret Webb of Frittenden, Kent, England. Gov. Thomas had three brothers; Jerimiah Greene, John Greene, and the Hon. Robert Greene, Lord of Bobbing Manor who had joined his brother in Maryland for a time, but returned to England as the eldest son to inherit his father's property. Governor Greene's father, Sir Thomas, was created a Knight Bachelor
of the Realm by King James I
on 5 September 1622. at Windsor Castle
in Berkshire
, England.
Sir Thomas Greene's father was Sir Robert Green of Bobbing Kent who married Frances Darrel of Scotney. Sir Robert was the son of Sir Thomas Norton alias Greene and his wife Alice Heveningham. Sir Thomas was the illegitimate child of Sir John Norton of Northwood through whom the family descended. Between 1536 and 1541, Sir Thomas Norton Greene was granted royal favours by Henry VIII
. During the dissolution of the monasteries the rectory at Bobbing Manor along with "all manors, messuages, glebe, tithes and hereditaments in the parishes and fields of Bobbing, Iwade, Halstow, and Newington" were granted to him by the King.
Sir John Norton of Northwood's wife was Joan Northwood, co-heiress with her brother to the estates of John Northwood, Esq. Sir John Norton's father was Sir Reginald Norton of Lee's Court in Sheldwich, Kent who married Katherine Dryland of Cooksditch in Faversham, Kent, England.
. From their residence at the Lees, the family assumed the name of At-Lese, their mansion here being called Lees-court, a name which this manor itself soon after wards adopted, being called THE MANOR OF LEESCOURT, alias SHELDWICH. It was the previously mentioned Sir John Norton of Northwood who alienated this manor to Sir Richard Sondes, of Throwley, whose son Sir George Sondes, K. B.
succeeding him in it, pulled down a great part of the old mansion of Lees-court, soon after the death of King Charles I. He then completed the present mansion of Lees-court, the front of which is built after a design of Inigo Jones, to which he after wards removed from the antient mansion of his family at Throwley. The current court was inherited and is currently inhabited by Phyllis Kane, Countess Sondes, wife of the former Henry George Herbert, 5th Earl Sondes Milles-Lade
who died in 1996.
Thomas married Mistress Winifred Seybourne [Seaborne] (b. abt 1610, England) on 2 April 1643 and had issue. Mistress Winifred Seybourne emigrated to Maryland in 1638 who by her title indicated gentle birth and likewise one who arrived to the age of discretion to be recognized as a femme sole in matter of ethics and business. On 30 July 1638, she received 100 acres for transporting herself and another 100 for transporting Mistress Troughan. She emigrated, that is, financed her own passage thus indicating a lady of means.
A third wife is often cited for Thomas Green, Millicent Browne. There is a Thomas and Millicent Green residing
in Stafford County Virginia a few years after the death of Governor Thomas Green, therefore, Millcent Browne
was not another wife of this Thomas.
The house Green's Inheritance
was built by Francis Caleb Green, on part of the 2400 acres (9.7 km²) of land granted in 1666 to the sons of Thomas Greene, the second Provincial Governor of Maryland. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1977.
Proprietary Governor
Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
(1610, Bobbing, Kent
Bobbing, Kent
Bobbing is a village and civil parish in the Swale district of Kent, England, about a mile north-west of Sittingbourne, and forming part of its urban area. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 1,694....
, England - 20 Jan 1651 St. Mary's County, Maryland) was an early settler of the Maryland colony
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
and second Provincial Governor of the colony from 1647 to 1648. He was the son of Sir Thomas Greene and Lady Margaret Webb. His father was created Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
of the Realm by James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
in 1622 at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
.
Thomas came over from England on the Ark
The Ark (ship)
The Ark was a 17th century ship which carried passengers bound for the Maryland colony during the pioneering 1634 expedition. The settlers began a permanent settlement in a shared Indian village south of St. Clement's Island and named it St. Mary's...
and Dove
Maryland Dove
The Maryland Dove is a re-creation of a late 17th-century trading ship. She was designed by the naval architect and naval historian William A. Baker....
expedition in 1634. Greene was among the earliest settlers of the colony after its founding in 1634 as a haven of religious tolerance for English Catholics among other groups. He was already prominent in the politics of the colony by 1637 or 1638, when he became a prominent leader of moderate Catholics. More radical Catholics led by Thomas Cornwaleys resisted attempts by the colony's proprietor, Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, 1st Proprietor and 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland, 9th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland , was an English peer who was the first proprietor of the Province of Maryland. He received the proprietorship after the death of his father, George Calvert, the...
to ensure a broader religious tolerance by, for example, restricting the activities of the Jesuits. Greene and others voted against some of these measures, but despite pressure from Cornwaleys and the Jesuits accepted the laws once they were passed.
In 1647, Greene was appointed to the governorship by the colony's first governor, Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert
Leonard Calvert was the 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietary of the Province of Maryland...
, as an emergency measure only hours before Calvert's death due to a sudden illness. He was by this point one of the few early settlers still active in colonial leadership. Some, such as Leonard Calvert, had died and some, such as Thomas Cornwaleys, had returned to England. Greene, who had been a member of the colonial council prior to his appointment and was familiar with the issues confronting the colonial government, quickly set about strengthening the colonial militia in response to threats from the Nanticoke
Nanticoke Indian Tribe
The Nanticoke people are an indigenous American Algonquian people, whose traditional homelands are in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware. Today they live in the northeast United States, especially Delaware; in Canada; and in Oklahoma.-History:...
and Wicocomico
Wicocomico
The Wicocomico, Wiccocomoco, Wighcocomoco, or Wicomico are an Algonquian-speaking tribe who lived in Northumberland County, Virginia, at the end and just slightly north of the Little Wicomico River. They were a fringe group in Powhatan’s Confederacy.-History:The Wicocomico people were encountered...
tribes of Native Americans. Among his actions was the payment of arrears to soldiers at St. Inigoe's Fort as well as appointment of John Price as the new commander of colonial militia. These were necessary steps given that the colonial militia had been severely taxed during armed conflict with Virginian William Claiborne
William Claiborne
William Claiborne was an English pioneer, surveyor, and an early settler in Virginia and Maryland. Claiborne became a wealthy planter, a trader, and a major figure in the politics of the colony...
and his allies during the previous three years. Greene also appointed a number of Catholics to government offices, but was unable to build Catholic influence in the colony and suffered severe political setbacks when the Protestant-dominated colonial assembly passed legislation unfavorable to the proprietary government.
By 1648, Cecilius Calvert replaced him with William Stone. Greene was a Catholic and a royalist, and some historians have speculated that Stone, a Protestant and supporter of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, was appointed in his place to appease the Protestant majority in the colony. Following his removal from office, Greene served as Deputy Governor under Stone. In November 1649, while Stone was in neighboring Virginia, Greene used this position to publicly declare Maryland in support of Prince Charles
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, the heir to the English throne. Earlier that year, the Prince's father, King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, had been executed by the mainly Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
Parliamentarians in the culminating event of the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
. Stone quickly returned and retracted the declaration, but the event was enough to convince Parliament to appoint Protestant commissioners Richard Bennett and William Claiborne to help oversee the colony. Bennett and Claiborne appointed a Protestant council to oversee the colony, creating some confusion as to whether this council of the proprietary governor and his deputies was in charge. The council, among other decisions, rescinded the Maryland Toleration Act
Maryland Toleration Act
The Maryland Toleration Act, also known as the Act Concerning Religion, was a law mandating religious tolerance for trinitarian Christians. Passed on April 21, 1649 by the assembly of the Maryland colony, it was the second law requiring religious tolerance in the British North American colonies and...
which had guaranteed religious freedom in the colony and banned Catholics from worshiping openly. Stone attempted to regain control of the colony by force, but was defeated in the Battle of the Severn
Battle of the Severn
The Battle of the Severn was a skirmish fought on March 25, 1655, on the Severn River at Horn Point, across Spa Creek from Annapolis, Maryland, in what at that time was referred to as "Providence", in what is now the neighborhood of Eastport. Following the battle, Providence changed its name to...
.
Ancestry
The Greene family of Maryland did not descend from the Green family of Norton's Green, but rather through the illegitimate child of Sir John Norton of Northwood, Sir Thomas Norton who took on the alias Greene; hence the descendants surname of Greene. He was descended from Nicholas de Norton, who lived in the reign of King StephenStephen, King of England
Stephen , often referred to as Stephen of Blois , was a grandson of William the Conqueror. He was King of England from 1135 to his death, and also the Count of Boulogne by right of his wife. Stephen's reign was marked by the Anarchy, a civil war with his cousin and rival, the Empress Matilda...
, and was possessed of much land in the neighborhood of Norton and Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
, as appeared by the chartulary of the monastery of St. Augustine.
Governor Thomas Greene was the son of Sir Thomas Greene Of Bobbing Kent and Lady Margaret Webb of Frittenden, Kent, England. Gov. Thomas had three brothers; Jerimiah Greene, John Greene, and the Hon. Robert Greene, Lord of Bobbing Manor who had joined his brother in Maryland for a time, but returned to England as the eldest son to inherit his father's property. Governor Greene's father, Sir Thomas, was created a Knight Bachelor
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
of the Realm by King James I
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
on 5 September 1622. at Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a medieval castle and royal residence in Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, notable for its long association with the British royal family and its architecture. The original castle was built after the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror. Since the time of Henry I it...
in Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
, England.
Sir Thomas Greene's father was Sir Robert Green of Bobbing Kent who married Frances Darrel of Scotney. Sir Robert was the son of Sir Thomas Norton alias Greene and his wife Alice Heveningham. Sir Thomas was the illegitimate child of Sir John Norton of Northwood through whom the family descended. Between 1536 and 1541, Sir Thomas Norton Greene was granted royal favours by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
. During the dissolution of the monasteries the rectory at Bobbing Manor along with "all manors, messuages, glebe, tithes and hereditaments in the parishes and fields of Bobbing, Iwade, Halstow, and Newington" were granted to him by the King.
Sir John Norton of Northwood's wife was Joan Northwood, co-heiress with her brother to the estates of John Northwood, Esq. Sir John Norton's father was Sir Reginald Norton of Lee's Court in Sheldwich, Kent who married Katherine Dryland of Cooksditch in Faversham, Kent, England.
Lees Court
Sir Reginald's grandfather Sir John Norton married Lucy At-Lese. It was through her that their descendants came into the possession of Lees Court alias Sheldwich, some of whom lie buried at Faversham. The property of Lees Court which seems to have comprehended the manor of Sheldwich, became the property of that family during the reign of Edward IEdward I of England
Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
. From their residence at the Lees, the family assumed the name of At-Lese, their mansion here being called Lees-court, a name which this manor itself soon after wards adopted, being called THE MANOR OF LEESCOURT, alias SHELDWICH. It was the previously mentioned Sir John Norton of Northwood who alienated this manor to Sir Richard Sondes, of Throwley, whose son Sir George Sondes, K. B.
George Sondes, 1st Earl of Feversham
George Sondes, 1st Earl of Feversham KB was an English peer and member of the House of Lords.-Life:He was born at Lees Court, in the parish of Sheldwich, near Feversham in Kent, the son of Sir Richard Sondes of Throwley, by his wife Susan, daughter of Sir Edward Montagu of Boughton...
succeeding him in it, pulled down a great part of the old mansion of Lees-court, soon after the death of King Charles I. He then completed the present mansion of Lees-court, the front of which is built after a design of Inigo Jones, to which he after wards removed from the antient mansion of his family at Throwley. The current court was inherited and is currently inhabited by Phyllis Kane, Countess Sondes, wife of the former Henry George Herbert, 5th Earl Sondes Milles-Lade
Henry Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes
Henry George Herbert Milles-Lade, 5th Earl Sondes , styled Viscount Throwley between 1941 and 1970, was a British peer. He inherited the title upon the death of his father in 1970 and the peerage became extinct when he died without an heir.The fifth earl was considered a colourful character...
who died in 1996.
Marriage and Issue
In 1634, the Hon. Thomas Greene married Anne Gerard. Anne was a passenger on the Ark and the Dove said to have come over with her brother Sir Richard K.B. Gerard. Originally Anne was listed as Mrs. Anne Cox as a passenger on the Ark and the Dove, but research has begun on the theory that she was most likely the sister of Sir Richard K.B. Gerard who made the voyage as well. Author Harry Newman states that "Mistress Ann Cox" was one of the few "gentlewomen" on the initial voyage of the Ark and the Dove that sailed from England to Maryland. Another author, Edwin W. Beitzell, states that Ann Cox was actually Ann Gerard, sister of Richard and Thomas Gerard who also arrived in Maryland on the Ark and Dove. He states that she was the widow of someone named Cox. However, he does not give a source for that statement or relationship. On the other hand, "Mrs. Ann Cox" received a special grant of 500 acres (2 km²) of land from Lord Baltimore in 1633. The title "Mrs." in that land grant suggests that possibly Cox was a married rather than a maiden name. Thomas and Anne were wed in 1634 on the banks of the St. George River. Their marriage was considered to have been the first Christian marriage performed in Maryland and had issue.- Thomas Greene (1635 - abt 1665)
- Leonard Greene (1637–1688). Married Anne Clark and had issue. Leonard's godparent was Leonard CalvertLeonard CalvertLeonard Calvert was the 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland. He was the second son of George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, the first proprietary of the Province of Maryland...
. Their daughter Mary married Francis Marbury.
Thomas married Mistress Winifred Seybourne [Seaborne] (b. abt 1610, England) on 2 April 1643 and had issue. Mistress Winifred Seybourne emigrated to Maryland in 1638 who by her title indicated gentle birth and likewise one who arrived to the age of discretion to be recognized as a femme sole in matter of ethics and business. On 30 July 1638, she received 100 acres for transporting herself and another 100 for transporting Mistress Troughan. She emigrated, that is, financed her own passage thus indicating a lady of means.
- Robert Greene (1646–1716)
- Francis Greene (1648–1707)
A third wife is often cited for Thomas Green, Millicent Browne. There is a Thomas and Millicent Green residing
in Stafford County Virginia a few years after the death of Governor Thomas Green, therefore, Millcent Browne
was not another wife of this Thomas.
The house Green's Inheritance
Green's Inheritance
Green's Inheritance is a historic home located at Pomfret, Charles County, Maryland, United States. It is a -story gable-roofed house of common bond brick, built about 1850. The house has a basic Georgian plan. It is the only brick house in Charles County dating between the years 1835 and 1880...
was built by Francis Caleb Green, on part of the 2400 acres (9.7 km²) of land granted in 1666 to the sons of Thomas Greene, the second Provincial Governor of Maryland. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1977.