Military Wiki
Advertisement
John W. Green
Judge on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals

In office
October 11, 1822 - February 5, 1834

In office
December 4, 1815 – 1819
Member of the Virginia State Senate representing Spotsylvania, Orange, Culpeper and Madison Counties
Preceded by Robert Taylor
Succeeded by Robert Mallory
Personal details
Born (1781-11-09)November 9, 1781
Culpeper County, Virginia, United States
Died February 4, 1834(1834-02-04) (aged 52)
Resting place Fairview Cemetery
Nationality American
Spouse(s) Mary Brown, Million Cooke
Profession Law
Military service
Allegiance United States
Rank Lieutenant
Battles/wars War of 1812

John Williams Green (November 9, 1781 – February 4, 1834) was a Virginia lawyer, soldier, plantation owner, politician and judge. He fought in the War of 1812, was elected to the Virginia State Senate, and served for more than ten years as a judge on the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

Early life and family[]

Born in Culpeper County, Virginia, Green was the only son of William Green and Lucy Williams. His grandfather Colonel John Green fought in the American Revolutionary War. John W. Green was educated as a lawyer. Although he was 31 years old, Green volunteered to fight in the War of 1812, serving as a lieutenant in that conflict.

He married twice, first to Mary Brown in 1805 and second to Million Cooke (1785–1842, granddaughter of George Mason) in 1817.[1]

Political and judicial career[]

Green served in the Virginia State Senate from 1815 to 1819, representing Culpeper County and neighboring Spotsylvania, Orange and Madison Counties.[2] He also served as a delegate to the Virginia Constitutional Convention of 1829-1830.[3] In 1830, Judge Green's household consisted of seven white males (four of them boys), three white females (one a girl) and 42 slaves (28 males and 14 females).[4]

Green resigned his part-time senate seat in 1819 upon being elected to the Court of Chancery.[5] Three years later, the legislature elected Green as a judge of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.[1] Green held that position for over ten years, but poor health prevented him from attending sessions of the court during the last two years of his life. As a result, the Virginia General Assembly began considering removing Judge Green from office, before his death on February 4, 1834 made those considerations moot.[6]

Death and legacy[]

Green died at his plantation, Greenwood, survived by his widow. Both are buried at Culpeper's Fairview Cemetery.[7]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography; Volume 2 (Lyon Gardiner Tyler ed.). Lewis Historical Publishing Company. 1915. p. 63. ISBN 9781154336733. https://books.google.com/books?id=Ob-YsASF844C&q=John+Green. Retrieved 19 June 2014. 
  2. Cynthia Miller Leonard, The General Assembly of Virginia: 1619-1978 (Richmond: Virginia State Library 1978) pp. 284, 288, 292, 296
  3. "To James Madison from John W. Green, 10 January 1818". United States National Archives. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/04-01-02-0183. Retrieved 21 June 2014. 
  4. 1830 U.S. Federal Census for Culpeper County, Virginia
  5. Leonard p. 296 note
  6. Acts Passed at a General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia. General Assembly. 1834. pp. 320–321. https://books.google.com/books?id=usc_AQAAMAAJ&dq=Judge+%22John+W.+Green%22&pg=PA320. Retrieved 20 June 2014. 
  7. findagrave.com no. 50809271
All or a portion of this article consists of text from Wikipedia, and is therefore Creative Commons Licensed under GFDL.
The original article can be found at John W. Green and the edit history here.
Advertisement