..

t
e- C
0 OJ
~
""'Vl
.~
""'
0
c
o

:r: E)

0
~

"'­
QJ
~

-.,J
en
C
C

.'"

.
a: '"
u
~
Q)

e
.­ .0

8
C
~ -J
0 ·"
t- =
~
.­u
-&

...
c
tA .c
0:

0 ';';
o ~ c .0
.-
...
~

~
w :::
...x .';.
~
g)

.­
£..
(J)
'­ "'t' ~
E

.s

~ rtj V)
OJ ~
~

~
C

~
U
E

0
-0
~

c:
Q
~
r\j

- --

 DEATH OF DR. GREEN

Dr. John Green, our venerable and honored towns­

man, died at his residence in this city yesterday.
in the eighty-second year of his age. His last
illness. which was comparatively a brief one. as­
sumed a dangerous form about a fortnight ago; but
he survived his own anticipations and the fears of
his friends till four o'clock yesterday afternoon.
when he passed away quietl y and wi t hou t pain . Dur­
ing these few days. when the great change seemed
very near to him. he assured his friends that it
was easy to die. and in the full possession of his
senses awaited death wi th composure and perfect
t rus t .

Dr. Green was born in Worcester on the 19th of A­

pril. 1784. He was the fourth in descent from a
line of physicians not less distinguished in the
theory and practice of medicine than himself. The
first of them was the Rev. Tho mas Green, one of the
original proprietors of the township of Leicester,
HEALING and one of the chief promoters of its settlement.
He acquired the knowledge of medicine and surgery
ART from surgeons of English buccaneers. who had sur­
rendered und er offers of pardon from their govern­
ment. and made their homes with his father. He
communicated · his knowledge 0 f the healing art to
his son . the first Dr . John Green. who remo ve d in
early life to Worcester . and began practi c e he re
something over a century ago. His e l des t s on,
bearing the same name. inheri ted the t a s tes and
talents of his father and grandfather. a nd acquired
throughout all this region not only extensive pro­
fessional employment, but an honorable reputation
for accurate and skil lful practice . He died in
1808, worn out by hard service in his profession
before passing his forty-fifth year.

His son, whose kindly presence and engaging manners

have now been familiar to two generations of our
townsmen. and whose profes sional success during
that long period was worthy of such an ancestry,
succeeded at once to his father's practice. He
graduated at Brown University in 1804. Lemual Wil­
liams. Esq . • of this city, Judge Williamson of
Maine, Judge Randall of Rhode Island, and Gov. Mor­
ton of Massachusetts were among his classmates. He

1
 received the degree of Doctor of Medicine from both fidelity with which that purpose has been fillfiUed.
Brown University and Harvard College in 1826. His We trus t that we violate no confidence in saying
professional training was careful and thorough. He that he continued to regard this library with af­
had great respect for books. and good knowledge of fectionate interest almost to his last hours, and
them. - accumulating during the active period of that he has provided for its future increase by a
his practice a professional library of upwards of generous and noble endowment.
two thousand volumes. But he relied most on ob­
servation and his own good sense. Experience was
to him the most trustworthy of teachers. He in­
herited an almost intuitive perception of disease,
and in the application of remedies his judgment and
his memory were almost never at fault. In rare and
extraordinary cases his counsel was often sought.
and his treatment attended with remarkable success .

Ten years ago. feeble heal th and increasing age

compelled him to re l i.rq ui sh the active duties of
his profession. The doctor's gig, which had long
been one of the "institutions" of Worcester, and
the characteristic dress and manner. the sight of
which acted like a tonic to the afflicted for nearly
half a century. was less often seen on its profes­
sional rounds. Aside from his own practice he had
always been interested jn whatever concerned the
general welfare of the profession. He was at dif­
ferent times president of the Worcester district
medical society. councillor of the Massachuset t s
medical societ~ and vice president of the American
medical association. He was also. we believe, the
first president of the Worcester county horticul­ Free Public Library-I 861
tural society, councillor of the American antiquar­
ian society. and member or officer of other asso­
ciations of a literary or scientific character. He
found time even under the pressure of these private Dr. Green presented his library to the city in No­
and public duties which he never allowed himself to vember, 1859. containing at that time not far from
neglect. to lay the foundation of the great public seven thousand volumes. Under his constant and
benefaction, which will preserve his name and mem­ CHOICE devoted care it has nearly doubled. and now repre­
ory as long as the ci ty i tsel f has a place among sents the best that has been written in nearly every
the municipalities of the commonwealth. Of department of human thought and experience. His
knowledge of books. like his perception of disease.
He early formed the purpose to devote a liberal BOOKS was intuitive. His quick and extraordinary insight
portion of his fortune to founding a free public into personal character extended to books also. and
library. which should ultimately pass into the pos­ he detected shams at sight. His first object in
session of the ci ty , with an endowment sufficient making a library seemed to be ability; second, va­
NOBLE to ensure its preservation and enlargement for many riety; third. completeness. But he never lost
generations to come. The Green library. numbering sight of the fact that it was to be a public li­
ENDOWMENT at this time upwards of twelve thousand volumes. brary. and should be so constructed as m be of the
many of them rare and costly books. selected and greatest public interest and value. In the choice
presented by his own hand, are the evidence of the of books he relied upon his own judgment. and that

2 3
 was unfailing and inexhaustible. He sought the
earliest and best published books of travel and
voyages . He looked for those which were rare and
not easily attainable. lest the Li brcr y might not
have them af ter his care should be wi thdrawn from
it. In certain departments of history. especially
in the history of Great Britain. of British India.
and 0 f America. he aimed at completeness; and in
these departments. whoever con s ult s the library
will find not only many of the best histories. but
the best editions of them attainable. Illustrated
books of art and archi t ect ure , and works on natural
history . and natural science interested him. and
his collection is rare and valuable.
He desired also to leave a fair and liberal repre­
sentation of the religious thought of present and
past times. His choice of books was marked wi th
the utmost catholicity. The various phases and
STRIVING controversy, the old and the new lights, the ortho­
dox and the heterodox. provided only they were
FOR wri tten wi th ability. and showed evidence of striv­
ing for the truth. he never passed by without in­
TRUTH spection, and rarely wi thout purchasing. In the
, general literature of our language, and chiefly in
that departmen t which passes under the general des­
ignation of the English classics. the doctor's eye
was unfailing and his shelves bear wi tness to the
thoroughness and fid e li ty wi th which he cared for
t his i n t e r es t i ng department. In ma ny o t he r ways.
of whi c h we cannot i n this notice speak as we de­
s i r e. t he pres e n t and many f u t ur e generations of
readers wi ll have occasion to remember gratefully
the thoughtfulness. the taste. and the li be rali ty
of the citizen to whom this library is an imper­
ishable monument.
Dr. Green was a man of simple and inexpensive
tastes. He cared little for an "establishment,"
and nothing for personal display . He never was
ostentatious in giving. His name was never con­
spicuous on subscription papers . But he was of a
liberal nature, and gave away much out of personal
regard. or for personal relief. He often concealed
his chari ties, and many of those whom he helped
never identified their unknown friend . He was the
friend of the friendless .
He was kind to his tenants and to all creditors.
4 5
of whom it was his custom to have many. But he was
also jus t. He gave to every man his due; bu t he
expected the same return . His modesty never left
him. After his statue wcs placed in the library,
KIND though wi thout action on his par t , he wished to
have it removed. as it suggested while he lived a
AND kind of arrogance which he did not feel. He mar­
.} ried in early life Dolly Curtis. daughter of David
MODEST Curtis of Worcester. but survived her many years.
~ They had no children. While she was still livina
he began the public work with which his name is i­
dentified. After her death he prosecuted it with
greater earnestness. He lived long enough to gath­
er the first fruits of the tree he planted. and to
see what public blessings were sure to mul tipl y
within its grateful shade .
From the Worcester Daily Spy. 18 October 1865.
In Worcester, Oct. 17th. 1865. Dr. John Gree n . aged
81 years. 5 mont hs and 28 day s.
Funeral at 1st Unitarian Church. (Rev . Dr. Hi l l's .)
on Saturday. 21st inst. at 3 o' c l ock P.M .
From the Worce s t er Dai l y Spy.
DR. JOHN GREEN: Strik ing figu r e . six feet tall .
slight and s tooping; eyes keen and obs e rving . Born
in Worcester. April 19. 178 4 . Re ce i ve d hono r a r y
THUMBNAIL degrees in medicine from Harvard and Brown Univer­
sities in 1827. Books and book collecting his hob­
SKETCH by . Endowed Worcester Free Public Library with hi s
private collection of over 7000 volumes when it was
established. December 23. 1859. Later supplemented
this by nearly 5000 volumes. Died 1865 an d in hi s
f will left City of Worcester $30.000 as an endowme nt
for a department created by him in that institu­
tion .
From The Story of Worcester. Massachusetts by Al­
bert Farnsworth and George B. O'Flynn. Page 210.
Worcester. The Davis Press. Inc .. 1934.

'"
!-P.':211 11!i1
~~
JOHN GREEN
No one of the men upon my list had a more marked
and decided character than Dr . John Green. Never
in public position, giving his whole life to the
FAMILY practice of his profession, no man was better known
OF
in the town and county than he. He came from a
family of Doctors, all eminent i n their calling.
stands by and sees the battle.~
His father was Dr. John Green, of Worcester. His
OOCTORS grandfather was Dr. John Green, of Worcester ; and
his great-grand father was Dr . Thomas Green , of
Leices ter, who added to his pro fession of Doctor
that of Baptist elder and preacher. The subject of
our notice was born in Worcester, April 19th, 1784.
6 7
I
He graduated at Brown University, in the class of
1804, of which Governor Marcus Morton, Virgil Maxey,
and Chief Justice RandalL of Rhode Island, were
members. Among his contemporaries at college were
the great American Publicist, Henry Wheaton, John
Whipple, of Providence , one of the ablest lawyers
of New England, Mr. Justice Metcalf, late of our
Supreme Court , Chief Justice Williams, of our Court
of Common Pleas, and the modern apostle to the gen­
tiles, Rev. Dr . Judson . Dr . Green studied medicine
wi th his father and commenced practice in Worces­
ter , in 1807. In 1826 he received medical degrees
from both Harvard and Brown. His grandfather had
commenced practice at the age of 20 or 21, his fa­
ther at the age of 18 and the last of the line at
the age of 23 . His father dying the year af t er
Dr . Green had finished his studies, he en tered very
soon upon a large practice, which was continued
for more than half a century
Few men have reached greater professional eminenc e
or acquired more largely the pub l i C trust and con­
fidence. He was a born doc tor. Poets, orators and
statesmen may be made, but to be a good doctor or
PUBLIC lawyer a man must be born to the work. Dr. Green
could never have been called a great student . His
TRUST early and large practice and a feeble physical con­
stitution forbade it. Yet he somehow contrived to
AND keep pretty well abreast with the learning of his
time . Then he had such careful microscopic habits
CONFIDENCE of observation that nothing escaped hi s scru tiny.
He had large caution and prudence, al mos t to a
faul t . He had in the way 0 f his calling an in­
stinctively sound judgment and understanding, and
the range of his experience was so large and var i ed
that it afforded of itself a safe field for induc­
tion . He realized Thomas Fuller's idea of a good
physician. "He hansels not his new experiments on
the bodies of his patients, letting loose mad rec­
ipes into the sick man's body, to try how well na­
ture in him will fight against them; whilst himself
.
In village, town and city, the name of Dr. John
Green became a household word. For many years he
was, by general consent, at the head of his profes­
sion in the county . No man reaches such position
who has not got the mat ter in him . A good Aunt
Nancy sort of a man, may be a good nurse; to be a
 good physician r eq ui r e s large and peculiar gifts
of nature, supplemented by careful culture and
wide and varied experience.

Most of the present members will recollect 0 r.

Green. his slight and stoop i ng figure, his strik­
ing, intelligent face, his keen. observing eye. his
INSTINCTIVE quiet, simple. almost diffident manners . Not to
have seen him as und er that brown. broad-brimmed.
SAGACITY soft hat. he rolled from side to side in that old.
time-honored gig. through the streets of the vil­
lage. town and city, was to have missed one of the
most striking institut ions of Worcester . To have
seen him in the sickroom, when, seemingly failing
to observe. nothing escaped his observation, whe n
his calm, quiet manner. begat instant confidence
and trust, when his instinctive sagacity seemed to
probe the disease as wi t h the keen edge of the
l a nce. was a benediction .

Dr. Green, in his later years. was touched by the

gentles t and most fascinating of the forms of men­
t a l dise a s e - bibliomania. This passion led hi m
to coll e c t a library 0 f rare and val uable books ,
COLLECT I NG which fina ll y he gave towards the foundation of
the ci ty p ub li c library. To this ins ti tu tion he
A also gave by his will the sum of thirty thousand
dollars . In the next generat ion he will be known
LIBRARY only by this munificence. Though the life of the
good physici an is a daily and hourly benefaction.
yet, unless he has made his mark as a medical wri t­
e r , his memory passes away wi th the generation
whose suf f e ri ngs he has relieved. whos e sorrows he
has soo thed, and for whom. "when he can keep life
no l ong e r in, he makes a fair and easy passage for
it to go out . "

From Reminiscences of past members of the Worces­

ter Fire Society. in an address by Hon. Benjamin
Franklin Thomas. at the annual meeting in January.
1872; and cont inued in an address at the quarterly
t{
meeting in April. 1874. by Hon. Isaac Davis. Pages
22-25. Worcester : Printed for the Society. 1874.