Henry Green: Birth in 1867 to Emigration in 1887

Henry Green
b. 7 October 1867       Brampton, Derbyshire, England
m. 9 December 1891   Logan, Cache, Utah
d. 10 May 1941 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
b. 13 May 1941 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah
Wives: (1) Mary Isabell Pettit; (2) Eliza Turner Green
Father: William Green; Mother: Lucy Marsden

This history of “Henry (Harry) Green” includes a number of pictures of Leone Green Layton and her family, so the history may have been written by Leone.

It was the height of the Industrial Revolution, during the reign of Queen Victoria. Prime Minister Disraeli was leading the fight to pass the Reform Bill of 1867, which would give many factory workers the right to vote. America was just recovering from the Civil War. On October 7, 1867, in the small town of Old Brampton, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England, a boy was born to William and Lucy Marsden Green. Henry, or Harry, as he was called, was the first son and the third child in a family of ten.

William Green

Lucy Green

“Birth Place of The Green’s”

Brampton, England

William Green, a potter, was a good provider and he and his wife made a happy home for their large family. Lucy Green was a good member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, having joined as a child with her family. She taught her children the principles of the Gospel and instilled in them a testimony of Jesus Christ. The death of her infant daughter, Lucy, and of her mother in 1877 made her realize the importance of the Gospel; she had her four oldest children baptized (and herself rebaptized) in 1879 when Henry was twelve. Henry’s father was tolerant of the Church, but his grandmother, aunts, and uncles were very bitter, and persecuted the Church members. In contrast, his mother’s family, the Marsdens, were active. An uncle James in Zion sent money for Henry’s two older sisters, Elizabeth (a school teacher) and Ann to emigrate to Utah.

Harry and his brothers and sisters were well-educated. After attending Brampton Boarding School and passing government examinations, on December 4, 1883, age sixteen, Henry became a pupil teacher. The headmaster wrote of him, “Henry Green is honest and industrious. I’m sorry to lose.” An excellent penman and a good writer, he expressed himself very fluently.

Henry grew up to be a tall (about 6'2"), handsome, fine young man—very mature and responsible. Brother B. B. Nichols (who traveled with Henry to America) wrote to William Green and said, “Let me say, Mr. Green, your boy [Henry] is all right, and the blessings of God shall be with him, for he is a noble young man.”

The steamship Wisconsin

It was a sad, but exciting day in June, 1887, when Harry, at age nineteen, said good-bye to his family and his sweetheart, Sarah, and set sail from Liverpool on the boat Wisconsin. He vividly described his voyage, the wretched accommodations, poor food, terrible stench in the letters he wrote. People from many nationalities made the voyage—even three American Indians. As they arrived in New York harbor, he wrote, “This is a lovely place, grand morning, and everything is lovely to the extreme. We are going to try to catch a 10 o’clock boat for Norfolk—Excuse haste.” They went from Norfolk to Chattanooga, Kansas City, and Denver by train. He eagerly experienced his first watermelon, fireflies, the countryside, and a 4th-of-July celebration. In Denver he confronted a “confidence man,” was almost swindled, and learned a good lesson.

To be continued...