Born on October 17, 1812, Charles Green was one of eleven children growing up in New London. Six months after turning thirteen, he enlisted as an apprentice midshipman in the U.S. Navy and received an ad hoc education over the next several years. In 1837, his apprenticeship was completed and he was formally commissioned as a lieutenant. In 1840, he married Sophia Tudor. By 1848, he had been deployed to Lake Erie aboard the Michigan, the first iron-hulled warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy. By 1855, he had been promoted to commander, and following the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 was placed in command of the sloop-of-war Jamestown, to take part in the blockade of Confederate ports on the East Coast. The Jamestown captured several Confederate ships over the course of the blockade, and Charles was promoted to captain during this time and placed in command of the Ohio until the end of the war. In 1867 he was commissioned as a commodore before retiring from the service. He lived with his wife in South Windsor and later Providence until his death on April 7, 1887.
660 Main Street was originally the location of the home of Elihu Tudor, before being purchased by Samuel Green in 1838, who later tore it down. A “Victorian Gothic cottage” was designed and built on the site by Alexander Jackson Davis in 1851 and was inhabited by Charles Green and his family until 1874. The house remained in the Green family until 1963, when it was sold to the Mahr family. The house remains an excellent surviving example of the Gothic Revival style.
This collection is a half-box of photographs, photo negatives, correspondence, and news clippings related to the Green family and 660 Main Street. The collection spans two series and twelve folders, with material dating from 1862 to 1959, although a number of photographs are undated.
Personal or Family Papers, Photograph Collections
Tags: 660 Main Street, Green Family, Main Street South Windsor