John was born on September 2, 1812 in Charlestown RI. He was the son of Isaiah Green (1771-1841) and Elizabeth Tefft Green (1776-1854). John married Clarissa Jane Denison (born 1820) of Groton CT on October 28, 1835 The 1850 census report for Stonington CT where the family lived records John as age 37 and occupation “sailor”, Clarissa as age 30, and five children. The report for 1860 shows John as “sea captain” and now eight children. By 1870 John is a “farmer” and there are four children. The names and ages of the children are inconsistent from report to report, making it unclear whether children were born, left the family house, or died between reports.
John was master for one voyage on one ship with New London as home port:
JONES (AS1723): (ship, altered to bark in 1839, 336 tons, length 98 ft., broken up in New London in 1842). JONES sailed on March 4, 1839 for the east coast of Patagonia, returned January 10, 1841. John left the ship under unknown circumstances and was replaced by Elias Dart (AM1503). Decker, unlike other sources,records Elias, not John as the master. AOWV shows Thomas W. Williams as agent while Decker shows Haven & Smith. Dennis Wood Abstract 1-279 lists both firms as agents. AV07844.
AOWV shows that John was master for two voyages on two ships with home port other than New London: PACIFIC (AS2129, home port New Haven CT) for its 1836 voyage, but Decker shows John as master of this voyage; and ENTERPRISE (AS1311, home port Stonington CT) for its 1840 voyage, shown as a sealing voyage.
John died on August 10, 1874 in Stonington. Clarissa predeceased him, dying there on December 26, 1872. Both are buried in Elm Grove Cemetery in that town. Find A Grave contains a photo of their adjacent gravestones. John’s gravestone records his dates of birth and death, his name preceded by “Capt.”, and above the writing a bas relief carving of the “fouled anchor”, the traditional navy emblem. Find A Grave lists the name of five children, Phebe (1839-1903), Lyman (1843-1864), Sarah (1847-1928), Elam (184-1849), and John (1860-1861). Only Phebe and Sarah survived their parents.
Sources used: see sidebar and sources cited in text.
George Shaw
American Institute for Maritime Studies
Mystic Seaport Museum
December 2025