Life History

Notes

• Some genealogies report Thomas' full name was Thomas Jefferson Green.  It is not clear who his father was.  The following record in 1850 for Thomas J and Nancy J Green reports his age as 32, or born about 1818.  There are several unrelated lines of Greens in north Texas, some of whom lived at times in the same counties and same towns.  Several genealogies have confused records for Thomas Jefferson Green and a younger Thomas James Green, who was born in about 1840 in Georgia, while Thomas Jefferson Green was born about 1820 in Tennessee.
  
  T J and Nancy's son Bethel Mayberry Green married Frances Jane Barnett.  The Barnetts are also related to another line of Greens form South Carolina descended from Meshack W Green and Lucretia Franklin, the central Green line in this genealogy.  Frances Jane was the daughter of Francis Marion Barnett and Nancy Jane Gibson.  This Meshack W Green line is also related to a different Barnett line in North Texas and Indian Territory.
  
  In 1850 Thomas and Nancy were in Sabine County, Texas, on the border with Louisiana, in northeastern Texas.
  
  1850 Federal Census, Sabine County, Texas, 7 May, Sabine District, page 677 (Scan 325), Hse/Fam #228
  Thomas J Green  32 M Farmer $200 Real Estate  b Tennessee [b abt 1818]
  Nancy J Green 20 F b Mississippi
  John M Green 1 M b Texas
  
  The one child John at age 1 here matches the genealogy report that Thomas and Nancy married in 1948.
  
  Living next door appears to be Nancy's brother James Easley and his wife.  The spelling of his name in the common way seems to indicate a typo in the genealogy where I found Nancy's maiden name as Easely.  (I have found that unfortunately, many people constructing genealogies give no attention to spelling of names, which greatly complicates matters!)  I am following the spelling of the census, which is the normal way this family name is spelled.
  
  Sabine County is on the border with Louisiana in east Texas.  This would match their movement from the east.  Thomas was born in Tennessee, Nancy in Mississippi.  They apparently married in Sabine County, but no marriage record has been found.
  
  "Sabine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas.  As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,834.  Its county seat is Hemphill.  The county was organized on December 14, 1837, and named for the Sabine River, which forms its eastern border."
  --  "Sabine County," Texas, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabine_County,_Texas
  
  In 1860 and 1870 Tom and his first wife Nancy were living in Van Zandt County, in east Texas, 2 counties east of Dallas.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Van Zandt County, Texas, 7 May, Prairie Beat, District 259, page 11B, Hse #187, Fam #189
  T J Green  42 M Farmer $320 Real Estate  $200 Personal b Tennessee [b abt 1818]
  N J R Green 28 F b Mississippi  Cannot read or write
  J W Green 11 M b Texas
  J L Green 9 M b Texas
  D L Green 7 M b Texas
  M F Green 5 F b Texas
  B M Green 4 M b Texas
  T J Green 1 M b Texas
  
  Note that the child matching John M of 1850 in the 1860 census is called J W.
  
  Ages for Thomas in these two census match, in contrast to later censuses.  Nancy's age varies by 2 years, which can happen with changes in census dates, depending on when the birthday was.  1860 and 1870 vary only one year for Nancy, making her birthday either 1822 or 1823.  If we follow the age in 1850, her birth would be in 1830 or 1829, which some genealogies use.
  
  Interpretation of the Is and Js of this enumerator vary with the reader.  Genealogies seem generally to have middle initial J.  I have listed these individuals as Thomas J Green and Nancy J R Easely.  Only this census has the additional R initial for Nancy.  Father and son T (Thomas) seem to have the same name and initial, comparing the different censuses.In 1870, this child is definitely Thomas J, so it matches the father's name in 1860 transcribed as T J in most sources, and as Thomas J in 1850.
  
  Thomas' reported age in 1870 would make his birth in about 1823.  This birth year estimates from the three censuses range from 1818 to 1823.  His grave reports his birth year as 1839.  With this birth year, he would have been only about 11 years old in 1850 when he was reported as married with a 1-year-old son, and age 32.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Van Zandt County, Texas, 23 August, Justice Precinct 3, PO Canton, page 69, Hse #492, Fam #545
  Tho [sic] Green  47 M W Farmer $1000 Real Estate  $1000 Personal b Tennessee [b abt 1833]
  Nancy Green 37 F W Keeping House b Mississippi Cannot read or write
  Joseph Green 17 M W b Texas Cannot write
  Daniel Green 15 M W b Texas Cannot write
  Mary F Green 13 F W b Texas
  Bethel Green 11 M W b Texas Cannot read or write
  Thos J Green 9 M W b Texas
  
  Note how vastly the ages vary on most of the people in this household from census to census.  We see a wide range for son Bethel Mayberry (BM).  See his Notes for details on his family.  Census ages on 1850 and 1860 match, so this seems the safest reference to use for the birth of Thomas and Nancy.
  
  Some genealogies have Nancy's death information as 2 Nov 1879 Sabine, Texas, but no source documentation is provided.
  
  Some genealogies report that the second wife of Thomas James Green was S J McQuary, or McQuarry.  They cite a marriage record in 1880 in Hamilton County, Texas, several counties to the southwest. Several genealogies have mixed informatino for Thomas Jefferson Green and his wife S J McQuarry with another couple in a perhaps different Green line in Upshur and neighboring counties in northeast Texas.
  
  Thomas James Green was the son of Anderson and Sarah Green from North Carolina, and appears to have been born in Georgia, based on the 1850 census.  They moved to north Texas late in Anderson's life.  The S J Green who was the wife of Thomas James Green was Sarah Jane Duffy/Duffey, who stated in 1909 that she had lived in Upshur County for 53 years.
  
  Widow S J Green of Upshur County, Texas, applied in 1909 for a military widow's pension, reporting her husband as Thomas James Green.  She reports they married on 6 February 1871 in Upshur County.  She reports she has lived in Upshur County for 53 years, or since about 1856.  Family sources and some records tell us S J Green was Sarah Jane Duffy.  Her son Berlie's death certificate has this full maiden name.  Her husband had served with the Cavalry from Texas in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
  
  While Thomas Jefferson Green and his wife Nancy were reported in Sabine County, Texas, in the 1850 census, in that census Thomas James Green was reported as an 11-year-old son in the household of his parents Anderson and Sarah Green in Carroll County, Georgia.

Sources

• 1. 1850 Federal Census, Sabine County, Texas
  • 7 May, Sabine District, page 677 (Scan 325), Hse/Fam #228
• 2. 1860 Federal Census, Van Zandt County, Texas
  • 30 July, Prairie Beat, page 85, Hse #583, Fam #585
• 3. 1870 Federal Census, Van Zandt County, Texas
  • 23 August, PO Canton, page 69, Hse #492, Fam #545
• 4. Ancestry Trees
• 5. U.S., Confederate Pensions, 1884-1958
  • File #16831
• 6. Ancestry Trees
  • Biddy Family Tree, http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/person.aspx?tid=5753013&pid=-1187331433