Person:Ambrose Green (1)

The Green family fill a large page in the history, not only of the town, but of Herkimer County. The writer is gratified to be able to present a sketch of this family by one of its members. He gladly incorporates, verbatim an article written by Willis L. Green of Indian Castle, only regretting that Mr. Green had not expanded it to greater length, and hoping that he may in the future work the rich historical mine "In the Valley" for the benefit of those who are interested in the struggles and triumphs of the fathers who in years past have borne the "White man’s burden." In the spring or early summer of 1795 Ambrose Green and his wife, Gula Elma Lester, came to Danube from Schodack, Renssalaer County and bought a farm one mile south of the Indian Castle Church and now owned by Moses Weldon. His family consisted of three sons and four daughters. John L. Green married Ruth Barker; Ruth married George McMullen; Amy married Zacheus Swift; Rachel married Daniel Carpenter; Elizabeth married Henry Nellis; Felix married Helen Herkimer; William married Hannah Cronkhite and lived at home, and at his father’s death in 1837 kept the farm, and was succeeded by his son, William who lived there until some time about 1890. John Lester Green, oldest son of Ambrose was married and had two small children when he came from Rennselaer County. He bought the farm adjoining his father’s on the west and his family increased until there were eight sons and two daughters. He and his wife spent sixty years of married life together and fifty-five on the same farm. When the wife died in 1850 all of her ten children were at the funeral and all but two lived within three miles of the old home. Ambrose Green, the oldest son of John worked at blacksmithing near home for a short time. In 1820 Ambrose married his second wife, Martha Frazier and moved onto a farm in German Flatts, three miles south of Mohawk. Gilbert Green married Ann Pomeroy and bought a farm south of his father's in the town of Danube. About the year 1870 he moved to Mohawk where he died in 1882. Peter, Felix and Lyman own farms around the Indian Castle church. Peter's house stood back from the main road, where Romain Doxstater now lives on the farm owned by Warren Fox. He was appointed postmaster in 1848 and the post-office is still kept by his granddaughter, Mrs. Abbie Smith, and she says she has not always voted on the winning side. Felix's farm was farther east and his son, Lester is still on the place. Willis Green's Indian Castle farm is the farm bought by Lyman Greene, his father. The house and greenhouses occupy the site of the old stockade or Indian Castle. A slight depression a few rods north of the house marks the spot where Brant's house stood. Some of the smoke stained boards from the old house are to be seen in the roof of the corn house. In colonial days this farm must have presented different phases of social live from the present. Lester and Zenas Greene, the youngest sons married Emily and Ann Herkimer, grandnieces of the brave old general. They run the lock grocery store fore several years but sold out in 1860. In 1859 Lester was sent to the legislature and after that made his home in Little Falls where he died in 1863. Zenas Green moved to Herkimer from Danube and was elected county Clerk, which office he held six years. Died in Herkimer in 1891. Henry was made a cripple by an accident, while still a young man. He lived on the home farm until 1852 when he removed with his family to Henry, Ill. Sophia married Rev. John DuBois. Mary never married but after the death of her father lived with her sister, Mrs. DuBois. In 1850 John L. Green had thirty-seven grand children and most of them were living in the town of Danube. But now they are scattered from the Green Mountains to the Golden Gate. Lester and Willis, the only ones now living in Danube. Soon after the Green family came to Danube it became a grave question how they were going to satisfy their "home made" appetites until harvest time. Their Mohawk Dutch neighbors had wheat, but they were suspicious of the "Tam Yankies" (a pet name they gave to any one from the east) and most of them would not run the risk of being the victims of some game. But a Mr. Frey sold them two bushels. John and Felix carried it to the nearest mill at St. Johnsville, about ten miles there and back. When the wheat harvest was ready they paid for the wheat, one with a cradle, the other raking and binding, which was as much a surprise to them as the reaper was to their sons fifty years later, for they had never seen a cradle before which did the work of ten men with a sickle. "To Mr. Greene's account I will add that Alonzo H. Green, son of Lester H. Green was in 1886 elected the first police justice of Little Falls and that his brother, Horace L. Green was for many years the able editor of the Mohawk Valley Register at Fort Plain. Felix Green, son of Ambrose Green, lived between Indian Castle and Stafford farm. Jacob E. Fox purchase the farm in 1877 of Felix's son, Herkimer. The latter passed the most of his remaining years in the town of Warren. George Green, M. D., a son of Felix, practiced in St. Johnsville; two other sons, Augustus and James went to western New York and a daughter, Lydia married George U. Schuyler of Danube."

Source: "Papers Read Before the Herkimer County Historical Society Covering the Period From September 1902 to May 1914, Volume 3"Compiled by Arthur T. Smith, Secretary of the SocietyCitizen Press, Herkimer, 1914

1.   Rootsweb chart of Dan Stonecypher: Seventh Seal. (http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:3107099).
2.   Rootsweb chart of Kelly Michaels: Kelly's Tree. (http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=keland71).
3.   William Irving Walter of St. Johnsville, NY. A Sketch of Some of the Prominent Families of the Town of Danube. (Delivered before the Herhimer Co. Historical Society, April 11, 1903).