Life History

Notes

• According to a genealogy handed down in the Green line from Glenda Pool, William Green had three sons named after the three Hebrew boys of the Old Testament book of Daniel:  Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego (which he spelled Abednigo), plus a fourth son Thomas that sources tell us about.  Several genealogies indicate that the middle initial was L for the first Shadrack, his son and his grandson, but it not clear what the L was for.
  
  The sources from Glenda Pool give the birth date of 1800 for a Shadrack Green.  But this could not be the son of William, who was born in about 1700, going by the birth date of 1720 for his son Meshack. This appears to be a son of Shadrack, brother of Meshack Green.
  
  Glenda Pool does report a Shadrack Green, Jr, son of Shadrack son of William.  Dates, however, are confused with the later Shadracks.  Shadrack Jr, born in 1855, would be the son of the Shadrack born in 1800.  She has Shadrack son of William born in 1800 but no death date.  For Shadrack, Jr, grandson of William there is no date of birth and a death date of 1846.  These dates match other sources' dates for the Shadrack Green son of William.
  
  The year 1846 is the date a World Family Tree source (Vol 146, Pedigree 36) gives as the date of death for the Shadrack Green born in 1760.  This could then be the father of Shadrack Green born in 1800.  A One World Tree source tells us this Shadrack Green had a son named Shadrack L Green in 1855 (among many other children)  and died 13 May 1864.  The latter source has no father for this Shadrack.  The death in 1864 is reported to be in Georgia.  His military gravesite information appears at the end of this discussion.
  
  Researcher Martha McConnell comments:
  One source gives the name of Shadrack Sr's wife as Martha Jones, while another says it was Mary Gage.  What I discovered is that his mother was Mary Cage, but Martha Jones was his stepmother.  The lists of children from the two sources are very similar.  But one source has no Shadrack, Jr.  More investigation needs to be done in other sources to clarify the family configuration and dating for William, his children and grandchildren.
  
  The only wife that I have for Shadrack b 1800 is Benisa Ann Owens.  In 1860 Shadrack's wife is enumerated as Maniza, which is phonetically close to Benisa.  But the age is also wrong for Benisa, reporting 30 when normally her age reflects birth in about 1818.  Note that the first child William is reported as 17, which would mean if really born in 1830, this Maniza was only 13 at the time of William's birth.
  
  Vague family sources report a daughter Emily born in 1840 and Polly (probably Mary) born in 1841.  These could be the daughter of Benisa if born in 1818, but not of a woman born in 1830 (as reported for "Maniza").  But Benisa Ann is still with her children in the 1870 census (under the name Ann) and reported as age 38 (born 1832).
  
  Perhaps this age for "Maniza" in 1860 and for Ann in 1870 indicates that Shadrack had a wife before Benisa Ann who died after the birth of the first two daughters.  No genealogy I have seen accounts for these facts.  Shardrack's reported age in 1860 makes him borni n 1809, while the correct year seems to be 1800.  A memorial on Find a Grave, established only in 2012, does report that Shadrack was married twice, and married "Manisa" on 5 April 1855.  That means that Shadrack L Jr was Benisa's first child.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Gwinnett County, Georgia, 16 August, District 544, PO Sweet Water, p 733, Hse/Fam #963
  Shadrick Green 51 M Farmer $0 Real Estate $50 Personal Born South Carolina [born abt 1809]
  Maniza [Benisa] Green 30 F b North Carolina [born abt 1830]
  William Green 17 M Farm Laborer b Georgia [born abt 1843]
  Creca Green 16 M b Georgia [born abt 1844]
  James Green 14 M b Georgia [born abt 1846]
  Thomas Green 12 M b Georgia [born abt 1848]
  Shadrick Green 6 F b Georgia [born abt 1854]
  Henryetta Green 1 F b Georgia [born abt 1859]
  Nancy Green 8 F b Georgia [born abt 1852]
  
  1870 Federal Census, Gwinnett County, Georgia, 2 July, PO Lawrence, p 42, Hse #279, Fam #282
  Hay, Levy F 22 M W  (No Occup reported) $0 Real Estate or Personal Rptd b Georgia [born abt 1848]
  Green, Ann 38 F W Keeping House b Georgia [born abt 1822]
  Green, Shadrack 14 M W b Georgia [born abt 1856]
  Green, Henrietta 12 F W b Georgia [born Jan 1858]
  Green, Nathan 10 M W b Georgia [born abt 1860]
  Green, Geo W 7 M W b Georgia [born abt 1863]
  
  Since there are actually three Shadrack Greens, the use of Sr and Jr titles is unclear and confusing.  Sources that have only the elder and his son tend to refer to them as Sr and Jr, but they either have no third Shadrack or confuse the dates so it appears there are only two.  Those sources that have two, born in 1800 and 1855, call these Sr and Jr.  Several sources have the middle initial L for one or more of these three.
  
  World Family Tree Pedigree #2738 (anonymous in the fashion of Genealogy.com) calls the Shadrack born in 1855 Shadrack L Jr.  This is the only indication of a middle initial.  No other source I have seen has a middle initial.  But this source does not have an initial for his father Shadrack.  His father should be called Shadrack L Sr, if his son is really Jr.  I have included the middle initial on Shadrack 3, which will help differentiate them but have not used the Jr title.
  
  Another World Family Tree genealogy, Pedigree #3554, reports a Shaddrock Green Sr, born 1730.  This date would fit a son of William Green.  Meshack was born in 1720.  One child of Shaddrock is also reported, a daughter named Dicey, born in 1770.  This name Dicey, nickname for Dicea or Eudicea, is the name of a son of the Shadrack other sources report born in 1760.  A problem is that Dicey's birthplace is reported as Albemarle County, Virginia, not South Carolina.
  
  A possible match for Shadrack 2 (b 1800) in Forsyth, Georgia, 1870, shows wife's name as Nancy J (Green).  But this is after the death date of Shadrack who married Benisa Owens.  Benisa's husband died in 1864 in the Civil War, and was buried in Gwinnett County, where we find Shadrack and Benisa living, and Benisa later as a widow.  (See end of these Notes.)
  
  The old One World Tree source for Shadrack Green (b 1800 d 1864) reports his wife as Benisa Ann Owens.  Thus the Shadrack in Forsyth County, Georgia, in 1870 has to be a different Shadrack Green.  Martha McConnell told me there were two Shadrack Greens born about the same time in South Carolina, but she gives no details of their residences, except that one was in Forsyth County.  The Shadrack Green in Forsyth was born about the same time, and was married to Nancy J Parker.
  
  The Shadrack we follow here was in Gwinnett County, Georgia with his wife Benisa Ann Owens.  Shadrack L and Benisa Green were recorded in the 1860 census.  In the 1870 census, after Shadrack died in 1864, Benisa Ann is found with her children in the home of 22-year old Levy Hay.  I have not determined if there is any relation to Levy.
  
  "There were two Shadrack Greens both born in SC a few months apart.  1st Shadrack was in Forsyth Co., Ga by 1840 and remained there until his death in 1881.  He married Nancy J. Parker also of SC.  The other Shadrack was married to Benisa Ann Owens and died during Civil War (1864) buried in Gwinnett Co., GA."
  --  Note on genealogy website, 16 October 2010
  
  We have documentation that Shadrack married to Benisa Ann died in the civil was and was buried in Gwinnett County in 1864.  Shadrack who married Nancy Parker is in the 1890 census in Forsyth County.  There are Greens nearby in Forsyth County in the 1850 census, when this Shadrack and Nancy are enumerated there.  So both these Shadracks may be kin somehow in this same Green lineage.  No source gives enough information to fully compare these two, or to sort these out or establish the parentage and relationships of the Shadrack who married Nancy.
  
  In 1870 Shadrack married to Nancy is 70 years old, which matches our other details, and wife Nancy J is 60.  Other sources have also considered this the same Shadrack, but I have seen no genealogy discuss the problem of the many Shadracks, or names of the wives and other details.  See Martha McConnell's comment above which does confirm two different Shadracks with different wives of these names, but again with no details to clarify the lineages and parentage.
  
  In 1870 Nancy is age 21, son Joseph is 178 and daughter Georgia is 13.  The genealogies that have this family have some children that I have not found in the census reports.  This may indicate that the family in the censuses I have seen, also cited by other genealogies, is not the same Shadrack Green.  If there are two different Shadracks, one married to Benisa Ann Owens and another to Nancy J Parker, it appears several genealogies have mixed or combined the children from two marriages under one wife.
  
  In the 1850 census, also in Forsyth County, Georgia, the family is found, with several children, but the difference in ages of Shadrack and Nancy are greater:  Shadrack (named Shedrick here) is 50, which matches, but Nancy is 36, a difference of 4 years.  Otherwise, it appears to be the same family.  There is only one child who overlaps on both these censuses.  Nancy is 1 in 1850, and is the only one still at home at age 21 in 1870, which matches perfectly.  Note that this husband is 14 years older than the wife.
  
  1850 Federal Census, Forsyth County, Georgia, 13 August, 13th District, page 312, Hse/Fam #162
  Shedrick Green 50 M Farmer SC (b abt 1800)
  Nancy Green  36 F  SC (b abt 1814)
  Susan Green  19 F  GA (b abt 1831)
  Mary Green  16 F  GA (b abt 1834)
  Drucilla Green  14 F  GA (b abt 1836)
  Elias S Green  11 F  GA (b abt 1839)
  Julia A Green  8 F  GA (b abt 1842)
  Majoy [Marjory?] Green 6 F  GA (b abt 1844)
  William Green  3 M  GA (b abt 1847)
  Nancy Green  1 F  GA (b abt 1849)
  
  Only two of these children match those found in genealogies of this family, though all the genealogies differ.  Differences also occur in the dates of birth for these two children.  Nancy census: 1849, genealogy 1852; William:  1847, genealogy 1843.  These are indications that this might be a different Shadrack Green.  The comments by Martha McConnell cited above seem to confirm that the Shadrack in Forsyth County in this 1870 census is a different Shadrack from the one who was son Shadrack Green and Mary Cage (Martha Jones his stepmother) and the was the husband of Benisa (or Beniza) Ann Owens.  Shadrack and wife Nancy are also recorded in the 1870 census in Forsyth, Georgia.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Forsyth County, Georgia, 9 August, Hightower, Post Office Cumming, page 42/18, Hse #336, Fam #301
  Shadrack Green 70 M W  Farmer SC
  Nancy J Green  60 F W  SC
  Nancy Green  21 F W  GA (b abt 1849)
  Joseph Green  17 M W  GA (b abt 1853)
  Georgia Green  13 F W  GA (b abt 1857)
  
  U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006
  Shadrack L Green
  US Army Mexican War
  Birth Date 13 Oct 1800
  Death Date 13 May 1864
  Burial Fairview Pres[byterian] Cemetery, Gwinnett County Newnan [should be Lawrenceville], GA 30265
  
  Shadrack L Green, Sr
  Birth Oct 13, 1800
  Death May 13, 1864
  Shadrack was married twice, first wife buried Shakerag in Fulton County. Second wife. Minisa Ann Owen married 2-4-1855 Gwinnett County.
  Spouse Beniza Ann Owen Green (1818 - 1914)
  Son Shadrack L Green (1855 - 1884)
  Burial Fairview Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Lawrenceville, Gwinnett County, Georgia
  Created by wtmartin Dec 17, 2012
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #102285430, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=102285430
  

Sources

• 1. 1870 Federal Census, Forsyth County, Georgia
  • 9 August, Hightower, Post Office Cumming, page 42/18, Hse #336, Fam #301
• 2. Glenda Pool, William Green Genealogy
  • Name: private, received through Green-Bearden family channels;
• 3. U.S. Veterans Gravesites, ca.1775-2006
• 4. One World Tree (sm)
  • http://trees.ancestry.com/owt/person.aspx?pid=41509312
• 5. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 6. 1860 Federal Census, Gwinnett County, Georgia
  • 16 August, District 544, PO Sweet Water, p 733, Hse/Fam #963
• 7. Martha McConnell, Note on genealogy website, 16 October 2010
• 8. World Family Tree Vol. 13
  • Pedigree #2738
• 9. 1870 Federal Census, Gwinnett County, Georgia
  • 2 July, PO Lawrence, p 42, Hse #279, Fam #282
• 10. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
  • Memorial #30278217, http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=30278217
• 11. Ancestry Trees
  • All Family, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/16327703/person/363280524
• 12. 1910 Federal Census, Johnson County, Arkansas
  • 21 April, King Township, District 60, page 4A, Hse #69, Fam #73