Edgar R. Greene, son of Ray and Lucy Ann Maxson Greene, was born November 11, 1830, in Berlin, on the farm where Denio Greene, his brother, lives, and passed away quietly last Tuesday morning, February 12. He was one of a family of thirteen children, being the oldest of the boys, but only two of the children are now living, - Mr. John T. Greene and Mr. Denio Greene, hoth of Berlin, N. Y. Mr. Greene's great-grandfather, John Greene, came from Rhode Island and bought a large tract of land in Greene Hollow. He gave his six sons, - John, Winter, Amos, Varum, Wantom, and Nicholas, - farms which were located opposite each other on either side of the road up Greene Hollow. It was from this that the hollow took its name.
Mr. Greene has been intimately connected with the business, social, and religious interests of Berlin for at least seventy years and he has been actively engaged in mercantile pursuits in the village for fifty-five years. When he was about seventeen years of age, he began work for Mrs. Greene's father, Mr. Schuyler Greenman, who was engaged in the shirt business. After working for him as a clerk for about four years, he with Hiram Hull, his brother-in-law, and Mr. Greenman formed a partnership in the shirt and store business, making shirts to be sold in connection with the store business. The.shirts were made in several different places in the village, one place being upstairs in the store building now occupied by his son, Mr. Arthur E. Greene. The first floor of the building was used as the store of the company. This building has been standing for sixty years. With the exception of two years, during which time he bought and lived on the farm now owned by Mr. Whitney, he was in the mercantile business until he retired at the age of seventy-two years. Since his retirement from active business life, he has spent his winters in Daytona, Fla.
On March 18, 1848, when he was seventeen years old, he and Mrs. Greene, who was then Miss Eliza Greenman,' Mr. and Mrs. James Greene, Mr. and Mrs. David K. Greene and many others, were baptized by Elder James Scott in the creek north of the parsonage, and were united with the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church, making him a member of the church for about seventy years.
He was united in marriage to Miss Eliza Greenman, May 10, 1851, making about sixty-seven years of happy married life. To them were born four children, - Mrs. Harvey Dennison, of Riverside, Cal., Mrs. Langworthy, of Daytona, Fla., Mrs. Arthur Cowee and Mr. Arthur E. Greene, both of Berlin, N. Y. He was a trustee of the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Church and clerk of the board of trustees for upwards of fifty years, holding these offices at the time of his death. He was also invited by the church to become one of its deacons but he felt that he rather not accept that office.
When we came here to live, five years ago the 4th of next June, Mr. Greene was one of the people to meet us at the station, and I remember the warm welcome he gave us. Many times have we been cheered by his kindness and thoughtfulness. Often, during the summers that have passed, have we heard someone drive up to the back door. Many times have we looked out and found that it was Mr. Greene with some garden stuff for us in the back of his buggy as a token of his kind and thoughtful nature. His presence will be missed in the home, the village, and the church where his prayers were wont to ascend to the throne of God and where his labors were given so willingly for the advancement of the church and the Kingdom of Heaven. We trust he has already heard the voice of Jesus saying, "Come, ye blessed of the Father, and inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."
The funeral services, which were conducted by his pastor, Rev. Herbert L. Cottrell, were held from the residence of Mr. Arthur E. Greene, Thursday afternoon, February 14, 1918. The text of the pastor's remarks was Revelations 14: 13. The interment was made in the Berlin Seventh Day Baptist Cemetery.
H. L. C.
