George Greene

George Greene (April 15, 1817 – June 23, 1880) was a lawyer, justice of the Iowa Supreme Court, railroad entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist, and one of the founders of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Early life Greene was born in Alton, Staffordshire, England on April 15, 1817 to Robert Greene and Sefer Woodward. His parents were natives of Staffordshire, as were his two younger brothers William and Joseph. The family moved to the United States when he was two years old. They settled in Buffalo, New York. His father died in 1825, and his mother returned to England by herself, in hope of obtaining some property that she believed owned to her. She died in England in 1827 and George, at the age of 10, became an orphan with his brothers. During the next four years he had to provide for himself and his younger brothers. Then he attempted to return to England to recover the property his mother failed to secure. He had to work for his passage to England, and find employment once he got there. He did not reclaim the property and had to work for his passage back to the United States. When he returned, he decided that he would focus on his education, hoping that it would help him gain what he could not through inheritance. He studied one year at Carysville Collegiate Seminary, a year at Aurora Seminary, and two years at French's Collegiate Institute in Geneva, New York. During these four years he taught school as well, and did any other work he could find. He then took up the study of law, with the intention of making it his life profession. He studied with the Hon. George P. Baker in Buffalo, New York. He assisted in Baker's office and was bookkeeper for Dr. Chapin—whom he lived with—to meet his expenses during that time. He was re-elected to the following year to the Fourth Legislative Assembly. He served from November 1, 1847 to January 9, 1855. In 1872, he changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. Greene was also a Mason and was first Past Master of Crescent Lodge #25, Cedar Rapids (1851–52). In 1870 he along with a few others are credited with the founding of Mount Hermon Lodge No. 263 in Cedar Rapids, IA. He died in his home in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on June 23, 1880, and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery.

Placenames Greene Square Park, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Greene's Opera House, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Greene Brothers’ Store, town's first major department store, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Greene Residence Hall at Coe College, Coe's first Board President, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Greene mansion, now part of Mount Mercy College, Cedar Rapids, Iowa Greene Avenue NE, between I and J Avenue NE Cedar Rapids, Iowa Greene, Iowa

Family On May 30, 1838, Greene married Harriet Merritt. Harriet was from Buffalo, New York and was the daughter of Jesse Merritt and Harriet Hilton. They had four children: George W. (b. April 4, 1839), Susan H. (b. March 3, 1841), Mary Ely (b. June 7, 1843), and Edward Merritt (b. March 29, 1845). George W. and Mary Ely died as infants. Harriet died in Dubuque on April 25, 1850; Greene remarried on January 25, 1855 to Frances R. Graves, who was from Cooperstown, New York. Her parents were Clavin Graves and Fanny Carlisle. They had eight children: Calvin G. (b. February 18, 1856), Fanny C. (b. January 19, 1858), George (b. December 28, 1859), William J. (b. November 28, 1861), Elizabeth (b. August 13, 1864), Robert C. (b. December 22, 1867), Francis (b. May 14, 1870), and Woodward K. (b. August 2, 1873).