Author: Greene, Albert Gorton
Biography:
Greene, Albert Gorton (1802-68: WBIS)
He spent most of his life in his birthplace, Providence RI, as a lawyer, public servant, judge, and book collector. His parents were John Holden and Elizabeth (Beverly) Greene; he married Mary Ann Clifford in 1824. He had graduated from Brown University in 1820 and been called to the bar in 1823. His career in public affairs began in 1832, when he was elected clerk of the city council, a post he held until his retirement in 1867; he served also as clerk of the municipal court from 1832 to 1857 and as justice of that court from 1857 to 1867. He was one of the founders of the Providence Athenaeum and President of the Rhode Island Historical Society from 1854 until his death. As a poet, he specialized in light verse and was a contributor to literary magazines and anthologies; he never published a collection of his own work. His library is variously reported as containing 18,000 or 20,000 volumes, including a serious collection of American poetry that eventually became the Harris Collection at Brown University. He died at the home of one of his daughters in Cleveland OH. (DAB; Appleton)
Other Names:
- Albert G. Greene