~~LAUDERDALE*FOLEY~~
Lewis GREEN, Sr. was born in 1710 in Prince George County, Virginia. He died in October of 1784 in Blue Spring Road, Lincoln County, Virginia, (Present day, Glasgow, Barren County, Kentucky). He was on the Vestry of Bristol Parish. Between 1756 and August of 1757 he was enlisted in Captain Robert McKensie's company from the Dinwiddle County, Virginia at the age of 30. Rank of Private in the French and Indian War. He was also in the Revolutionary War in Virginia. He was stationed at Fort Nashboro in Nashville, Tennessee. His occupation was that of a carpenter. In March of 1774 he owned 41 acres of land adjacent to Porters Fort. His residence was Blackmore, on the Clinch River, Virginia. It is uncertain at this time as to who exactly the father of Lewis Green was. This is still being researched. Researchers have different theories. Many list him to be the son of Robert Green. It has been said that Robert Green had sons over 6 feet tall with red hair. The description of Lewis Green Sr. was that of about 5'10" tall, dark (olive ) in complexion with dark hair and eyes. There has even been speculation that he was from Romanian/Gypsy descent or even Melungeon. Lewis Green Sr. married Elizabeth Sarah LAUDERDALE, NOTE: Some researchers say that it is not a proven fact that Elizabeth Sarah Lauderdale is a descendent of the Lauderdale line and some researchers think that it is VERY likely that she is a descendent. They had several children one of them being Elizabeth GREEN who married Moses FOLEY Sr. (See FOLEY page). The FOLEY'S included Talitha Ann FOLEY who married Moses Samson WILSON (See WILSON page). Their daughter Flonnie Ree WILSON was my grandmother. It is her rich family history that started me on the road to researching my family tree and my husband's family tree so that our children will know how all of these fascinating families came together.
There are several articles written about Lewis Green Sr. and one in particular recounts an attack by a bear as told by Daniel BOONE. This information is listed below along with other facts about Lewis GREEN Sr.
LEWIS GREEN, SR, 1724-1784
From: Draper Manuscripts "HISTORY OF SCOTT COUNTY"
By Addington pages 6869
The story of Lewis Green Sr. runs like this, and was told by many people, including Daniel Boone who lived in this area (Wise, VA) at the time it happened. Must have occurred about 1774.
Green and a brother-in-law, who resided near Blackmores on Clinch about 15 miles below Captain Gass' place, where Boone was sojourning, went out some considerable distance among the mountains, to hunt. They selected a good hunting range, erected a cabin, and laid up in store some jerked bear meat. One day when Green was alone, his companion being absent on the chase, a large bear made his appearance near camp. Green shot and wounded the animal, which at the moment seemed to be in a sort of a sink hole at the base of a hill. Taking a circuit to get above and ahead of the bear, there being a light snow upon the ground covered with sleet, Greens feet slipped from under him, and in spite of all his efforts to strip himself, he partly slid and partly rolled down the hill until he found himself in the sink hole. The wounded bear, enraged by pain, flew at the poor Green, tore and mangled his body in a shocking manner, totally destroying one of his eyes. When the bear had sufficiently gratified his revenge by gnawing his victim as long as he wished, he sullenly departed, leaving the unfortunate hunter in a deplorable condition all exposed, with his clothing torn in tatters, to the severities of the season.
His comrade, at length, returning, found and took him to camp. After awhile, thinking it impossible for Green to recover, his companion went out on a pretense of hunting for fresh meat, and unfeelingly abandoned poor Green to his fate, reporting in the settlements that he had been killed by a bear.
His little fire soon died away from his inability to provide fuel. Digging with his knife, a hole or nest beside him in the ground floor of his cabin, he managed to reach some wild turkey feathers which had been saved, and with these he lined the excavation, and made himself quite a comfortable bed. With the knife fastened to the end of a stick, he cut down, from time to time, bits of dried bear meat hanging overhead. Upon this he sparingly subsisted. Recovering slowly, he could at length manage to get about. When spring opened, a party of whom Boone is believed to have been one, went from Blackmore's Settlement to bury Green's remains, with the brute of a brother-in-law for a guide, and to their utter astonishment, they met Green plodding his way toward home, and learned from him the sad story of his sufferings and desertion. The party of men were so indignant that they could scarcely refrain from laying violent hands on the wretch guilty of so much inhumanity to a helpless companion. Green, though disfigured, lived many years. Lewis Green Sr. died in 1786.
LEWIS GREEN
By Emory Hamilton
Lewis Green came to the Clinch and settled near Porter's Fort about 1772. He served in Capt. Robert McKenzie's Co. during the French and Indian war, and was listed as "age 30, five feet, ten inches tall, and by trade a carpenter." (VA Magazine of History and Biography, Vol 1, p. 378).
While living on the Clinch, Lewis Green was badly clawed by a bear. Dr. Lyman C. Draper places the date of his occurrence about 1774, and states that the story was known and told by Daniel Boone. Boone lived on the Clinch from 1773 until the spring of 1775, so it is likely that if he knew the story it must have occurred between these dates.
The story, as told by Capt. John Carr, who was born on Carr's Creek in Russell Co. VA in 1773, where his father died in 1782, and he moved with widowed mother, Hanna, in 1784 to the Cumberland settlement of TN. Of course, John Carr had the story handed down to him since he was too young to remember it first hand. In 1852, he wrote from Sumner Co, TN. to Dr. Lyman C. Draper, this story:
"I did not know Green who was wounded by the bear, but frequently heard the particulars related by Green's son, Zachariah Green, and my brothers. Green lived on Clinch. He and two men were hunting on the headwaters of Kentucky (River) or Sandy River where the occurrence took place. He was nearly torn to pieces by a bear. His company or comrades had no idea of his living and ungratefully came off and left him. They reported he was dead, on arriving in the settlement. They left plenty of meat at the camp and by the kind attention of his only companion, a faithful dog who licked his sores, he recovered and after some months he came to the settlements, contrary to the expectations of every person who was acquainted with the circumstances and to the disgrace of the two men that were with him whose names I have forgotten. His son, Zachariah Green, lived and died in this county." (Draper Mss.)
"In 1784 Lewis Green started for the Cumberland settlement in Tennessee, and died on the Blue Spring Road in October 1784 en route to Nashboro." (Statement of his daughter Sarah Payne, wife of Josiah Payne, who was along on this trip.
A will for Lewis Green, Sr. dated January 9, 1784 was probated in Washington Co., VA., August 16, 1985. This will mentions his son, Zachariah Green, and "All my other children." His daughter, Sarah Payne says this will was left with Benjamin Nicholson, by Lewis Green prior to his leaving the Clinch. Upon arrival at Nashboro, several of the group testified that the Washington County will was not to be used and that Lewis Green had planned to rewrite it more favorable to Sarah and Zachariah, if he had lived to reach Nashboro.
GOODLY PORTION OF PERSEVERANCE MADE LIVING EASIER IN 1774
By Helen Price Stacy, West Liberty KY
A newspaper article in TRISTATE TRADER, KNIGHTSTOWN, IN, JAN. 30, 1971
(Reprinted in Tristate Reader Courtesy of Lexington, KY Lender)
Mostly it was a matter of faith. Some say it was having guts enough to tough it out. But it was a way of life back then, and whatever it was it was enough. In 1774 life was better if you had goodly portion of both.
Lewis Green could have told you so, living there in Virginia County, where the woods held everything from a hungry bear to a hungry hunter and where occasionally it was the hunter who had the yellow streak.
But Lewis Green persevered, even when the man with the yellow streak was his brother-in-law. One of Green's hunting companions was Daniel Boone, and the way things turned out that winter almost 200 years ago surprised even Boone. Lewis Green lived on some years after that winter long enough to see his son Lewis Jr. grown, but not long enough to be around when his son, James Green was scalped by Old Chief Benge.
The Green tradition of courage lived on in James Green Jr. and his son Robert K. Green. Robert, better known as Uncle Robin, by the time his generation matured in the Elliott County hills, had begun to lean more toward the faith side but according to family history, even he had to do some persevering.
From Lewis Green to Uncle Robin took in several generations and many miles 1774 to about 1850 and the Clinch River country of Virginia to the Little Sandy in Kentucky.
Lewis Green and Boone both were residents of Virginia Green on the Clinch River near Blackmores and Boone on a sojourn at Captain Goss' in the Wise area, 15 miles above. Good hunting grounds were some distance away in the mountains (though hunting game was not the real reason for Boone's visit with Captain Goss).
Green, accompanied by his brother-in-law, struck out one day to hunt bear and they made camp. The brother-in-law followed bear tracks away from camp, but the animal had circled back and was in a hole at the bottom of the hill when discovered by Green. Green attempted a better shooting range, slipped in the snow and slid into the sinkhole with the wounded bear. Then animal attacked the hunter, mangling him and clawing out an eye, then left.
The brother-in-law returned, found the mangled Green and pulled back to camp. Green was almost dead. The brother-in-law left to hunt fresh meat, and kept going.
When he reached the settlement he reported regretfully that Green had been attacked and killed by a bear.
But Green had faith that he would live. His fire died and snow lay on the ground. Inside the crude cabin he used his pocket knife to dig out a hole in the earth which he lined with wild turkey feathers. He then fastened his knife to a stick and used this to cut bits of dried bear meat hanging above him.
Spring came and in the settlement the brother-in-law accompanied by Boone and others desired to go to the camp to bury Green but Green met them on the trail. The brother-in-law was exposed. Though they talked about killing the man, they didn't.
Green, though an ugly Cyclops, badly scarred and disfigured, lived until 1786. It was his son, who, in the tradition of the Long Hunters, made hunting forays into the mountains.
James Green and his hunting party were surprised one day by Old Chief Benge, an Indian to be feared by all pioneers. Only one of the three lived to get back to the village to tell about the scalping of Green and the other hunter.
The man, with a group, returned to the scene of the scalping where they found the two bodies and placed them in the hollow of a giant chestnut tree and closed the opening.
The Greens were a persevering people, and James Green Jr. used to sit by the fire in his Virginia home and tell his young son, Robin, about the courage of his ancestors in the great wilderness.
Robin, who was born June 10, 1811, listened eagerly, not knowing that he would some day be a preacher of a different kind in Elliott County and would be called on to display his own band of courage and faith.
VARIOUS INFORMATION AND SOURCES ABOUT LEWIS GREEN, SR:
From Elliott Co. Genealogical Society:
1. Quotes from J. E. Miller: Lewis Green, Sr. b. 1710, d. 1786. There are indication that he married about 1840, although the name of his wife has not been discovered, unless she can be identified as the person of that given name, Elizabeth, who is found in the records of Washington Co. 1797, as "old and infirm" and gave power of attorney to "my son-in-law Moses Foley"
2. The Greens settled in Washington Co. Va. in 1773 when it was still a part of Botetourte Co.
3. Lewis Green, Sr. left Porters Fort, Va about 1783, for what is now Nashville, TN, in company with his daughter, Sarah Payne, wife of Josiah Payne, and with a Matthew Payne, who was the father of Josiah; also with a son Frederick Green. He took sick and called his daughter, Sarah Payne and others to witness his last will. This was recorded in Court, in Davidson Co. TN Will Book 1, page 26. The date of the recording was April 7, 1785. Only Sarah and Zachariah are named. He stated his children were married and gone from him, and they had already received their portion which he allotted them. This was his second will, the first being probated at Abingdon, VA, January 9, 1781.
GREEN FAMILY
Robert M. and Julia Catherine (Faubus) Green and Family 1902
PHOTO COURTESY OF BONNIE SMITH