NEBRASKA STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY MANUSCRIPT FINDING AID
RG4239.AM: Green Family
Papers: 1856-1871; 1878-1921; n.d.
Albion, Boone County, Neb.: Homesteaders
Size: 1 box; 0.25 cu.ft.
BACKGROUND NOTE
Job E. Green was born in Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois on October 5, 1848. His father died when Job was nine years old and, as the oldest of the five children in his family, he helped his widowed mother run the family farm. At the age of sixteen, Green served in Company I, 147th Illinois Infantry from February-May, 1865. After his civil war service, Green returned to his Illinois home. He was married to Eliza R. Knowlton of Milwaukee, Wisconsin on December 2, 1869. Their first year of married life was spent in Illinois after which they moved to Eliza’s hometown of Milwaukee. Quickly tiring of city life, Job decided to homestead in Nebraska, planning to settle near Grand Island.
Green, along with Charles Downs, left Milwaukee on April 12, 1871 traveling overland. Hearing other emigrants discuss the good land available in northeast Nebraska, Green and Downs decided to locate in Boone County. Green took his homestead on land two miles west of what would become the town of Albion. Eliza joined Job in Nebraska in 1872. After early years of struggle as homesteaders, with Job hiring out for wages and Eliza teaching school in the 1870s, the Greens eventually prospered after farming for thirty years, the Greens retired in 1901 and purchased a home in Albion. Eliza died there on March 15, 1923. Three years later, Job married Emma Knowlton. He died in Albion on September 24, 1933.
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE
This collection consists of one box of manuscript material arranged in two series: 1) Diaries, 1871 and 1917-1923; and 2) Miscellany 1856, 1878-1921 and undated. This material relates primarily to the early history of Boone County as seen through the eyes of two of its earliest settlers, Job and Eliza Green.
Series 1 contains diaries kept by Job and Eliza Green. Of particular interest is the 1871 diary kept by Job Green during his trip to Nebraska. In this record of events covering April and May, Green recorded his impressions of various towns, conditions of travel, and other travelers met along the trails. In Nebraska, Green describes the Genoa Indian School and recounts his efforts to secure a homestead. The other diaries in this series were kept by Eliza Green, during the couple’s retirement years in Albion, 1917-1923. She notes trips taken, local news, chores, and social calls.
The miscellany of Series 2 includes a volume of Eliza Green’s writings, particularly her poetry, while residing in Albion, Nebraska, 1878-ca. 1921. Of particular interest in this series are two histories about early Boone County. “Incidents in the Early History of Boone County” written by Eliza Green, recounts hardships faced on the frontier, particularly blizzards, and lists early county officers. “The Early History of District No. 2” written by Job Green, provides additional information on pioneer days in Boone County and on other early settlers, as well as detailing the organization and early years of that particular school district. Also in this series is a typescript of a September 18, 1856 letter written by Phebe (Mrs. E. H.) Clark from Fort Calhoun, Washington County, Nebraska in which she describes life and her home in Fort Calhoun.
INVENTORY
Series 1 – Diaries, 1871; 1917-1923
Box 1
Volume/folder
- 1871 diary of Job E. Green
- 1917 (Eliza’s diary)
- July 20, 1920-1922 (Eliza’s diary)
- 1922-February, 1923 (Eliza’s diary)
- March, 1923 (Eliza’s diary)
Series 2 – Miscellany, 1856, 1878-1921, n.d.
- Writings (poetry) of Eliza Green, 1878-1921, n.d.
- “Incidents in the Early History of Boone County” by Eliza R. Green
“The Early History of District No. 2” by Job E. Green
1856 letter written by Phebe (Mrs. E. H.) Clark from Fort Calhoun, Nebraska
Subject headings:
Albion (Neb.) — History
Boone County (Neb.) — History
Clark, Phebe A. (Mrs. E. H.), 1835-1917
Fort Calhoun (Neb.) — History
Green, Job E., 1848-1933
Green, Eliza R. (Knowlton), 1848-1923
Green family
Homesteads and homesteading — Nebraska — Boone County
Schools — Nebraska — Boone County
Washington County (Neb.) — History
AIP/ksa 01-1990
Encoded TMM 04-07-2010
