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Local figure

William Mercer Green

William Mercer Green (1798–1887) went to St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough in 1825, where he also directed the Hillsborough Female Seminary, and later returned to the University of North Carolina as chaplain and professor of belles lettres. His efforts produced the Chapel of the Cross in Chapel Hill. In 1850 he was consecrated first Episcopal bishop of Mississippi.

Source: NCpedia (Dictionary of North Carolina Biography): Green, William Mercer

1798–1887 · Dates from the Library of Congress · On the Friends’ Local Authors roster → · Library of Congress authority record ↗

2 works about William Mercer Green are indexed here, as are 2 works by Green.

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William Mercer Green, portrait published 1897
William Mercer Green, portrait published 1897

Life and Orange County connections

Storylines this person is part of, in date order. Each has its own page.

StorylineSt. Matthew's Parish and Hillsborough's old church, 1752–18241752–1824 · 26 events · From 1752 St. Matthew's Parish was Orange County's established Anglican church, with chapels at New Hope and St. Mary's and, from about 1768, a church in Hillsborough. Its rector, George Micklejohn, preached to Tryon's troops in 1768 and stayed loyal to the Crown in 1776. Its church served as an army hospital, an academy and the meeting place of the 1788 convention, and in 1797 the Assembly ordered the ruinous building sold. Episcopal worship came back through St. Jude's and St. Mary's in 1818 and 1819, and in 1824 the reorganized parish left the old lot to the Presbyterians. StorylineJoseph Caldwell’s last years and the choice of David L. Swain, 1833–18371833–1837 · 9 events · When illness forced President Joseph Caldwell to ask for help in December 1833, the trustees gave the senior professor, Elisha Mitchell, power to act in his place. Caldwell died on January 27, 1835, and a Hillsborough town meeting agreed to wear crape for thirty days. Mitchell was named president pro tem, and the trustees put off electing a president until December while raising the president's salary. That November Caldwell's body was taken up so that the artist Alfred S. Waugh could make a plaster cast of his face. In January 1836 former governor David L. Swain moved to Chapel Hill as president. A sandstone shaft the trustees raised to Caldwell in 1837 soon crumbled and never bore a name. StorylineChapel Hill's congregations build their churches, 1840–18591840–1859 · 17 events · Between 1842 and 1859 Chapel Hill's Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists and Baptists built churches in the village, with enslaved people among the builders and the worshippers. From about 1843 the Methodists met above Jesse Hargrave's store in a room Charles F. Deems named Bethesda. People William Mercer Green enslaved worked on the Episcopal church, consecrated as the Chapel of the Holy Cross in 1848 with a wooden gallery for enslaved worshippers. The Presbyterians dedicated a small church in 1849 and the Methodists their first church in 1853. A Baptist branch of Mount Carmel opened its brick meeting house in 1855, and its first baptisms were of five people enslaved by William Barbee. In 1859 the Presbyterians installed their first pastor. StorylineBuilding the Orange County courthouse, 1842–18461842–1846 · 7 events · Orange County's new courthouse at Hillsborough was disputed from the start, because western voters saw it as a move to fix the county seat and block a division of Orange. In February 1844 the county court voted to build instead of repairing the old courthouse and laid a tax of $8,000. The building commissioners let the contract privately to John Berry of Hillsborough without public notice, and western critics attacked the bargain. Masons laid the cornerstone that September, and Berry's Greek Revival temple-form building was standing by May 1845. The old wooden courthouse became a church, and by mid-July 1846 the repaired town clock was striking the hours from the new cupola. StorylineLosing old Franklin Street buildings, and the Preservation Society, 19661966 · 7 events · In 1966 fire twice gutted the Patterson Building on East Franklin Street, which the Daily Tar Heel had called the only building left of the original town, and its ruins were torn down. The Mary Manning house, where Arthur Nash had boarded, was razed, the Presbyterians sold their 1840s manse, and old buildings on West Franklin Street came down for a shopping center. In September about 50 citizens met at Town Hall to form a Chapel Hill Preservation Society and a committee to save the manse.

Dated events connected with this person, in date order. See these 39 dated events in the chronology →

During their lifetime

  1. A gunpowder bomb explodes outside tutor John Patterson's door Apparently in revenge for the Shepard suspensions, someone filled a brass door knob with powder, lit a match fuse and left it at Patterson's door. A student picked it up and dropped it moments before it went off, and no one was hurt. People: William Mercer Green Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: John PattersonSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 237
  2. Bishop Ravenscroft makes his first visitation to Orange County Newly elected and consecrated, the bishop came to Orange the year before St. Matthew's was reorganized under William Mercer Green. A notice in the Hillsborough Recorder dated June 8, 1823 announced that he and another clergyman (the name is garbled in the scan) would attend at St. Mary's Chapel on the fourth Sunday of the month, June 22, to hold confirmation and the Lord's Supper. People: William Mercer Green Place: Orange County · Also named: Bishop Ravenscroft · Also mentions: St. Matthew'sSearch the index · A Celebration of 250 Years of Anglican and Episcopal Witness in Orange County (2003), scan p. 10 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, June 11, 1823, p. 3
  3. Hillsborough Episcopalians organize St. Matthew's Church After decades without a resident minister, Hillsborough's Episcopalians organized a parish again and founded the present St. Matthew's on Thomas Ruffin's gift of land, with William Mercer Green as first rector. People: William Mercer Green, Thomas Ruffin, William Norwood, Francis L. Hawks Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Pauline O. Lloyd and Allen A. Lloyd, History of the Churches of Hillsborough, N.C., ca. 1766-1962 (1963), scan p. 69
  4. Francis L. Hawks buys the house at Churton and Orange streets William H. Phillips sold the house to Francis Lister Hawks, then reporter to the state supreme court. While living there Hawks left the law to study theology under William Mercer Green of St. Matthew's and was ordained deacon in 1827; he later became a noted Episcopal clergyman and historian. People: William Mercer Green, Francis L. Hawks Place: Ruffin-Roulhac House, Churton and Orange streets, Hillsborough · Also named: William H. Phillips · Also mentions: St. Matthew'sSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Ruffin-Roulhac House, National Register nomination (OR0017), p. 4
  5. St. Matthew's in Hillsborough is admitted into union with the diocesan convention At the 1825 convention William Mercer Green asked that the newly organized St. Matthew's be received into the diocese, and it was admitted with Thomas Carney seated as its delegate. Green reported that a church building had been started in Hillsborough, and the convention assessed St. Matthew's, St. Mary's and St. Jude's together toward the bishop's salary. People: William Mercer Green Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough · Also named: Thomas CarneySearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 20 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, May 18, 1825, p. 3
  6. Hillsborough Female Seminary opens under Lavinia Brainerd A female seminary was to open in Hillsborough on August 1, 1825; a notice put the start of classes back to Monday, August 8. It was taught by Lavinia Brainerd under the supervision of the Rev. William M. Green. DNCR says the Hillsborough Female Academy had been incorporated apart from the male academy in 1824. People: William Mercer Green Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Lavinia BrainerdInternet Archive: Charles L. Coon, North Carolina Schools and Academies, 1790-1840: A Documentary History (1915) · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, July 27, 1825, p. 3
  7. St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough is consecrated under its first rector, William Mercer Green William Mercer Green became first rector of the reorganized St. Matthew's parish in 1825, the year work began on its brick church; state architect William Nichols and brickmaker John Berry were among the builders. Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft consecrated the church on May 21, 1826, during the diocesan convention it hosted. People: John Berry, John Stark Ravenscroft, William Nichols Place: Hillsborough, St. Matthew's Episcopal ChurchSearch the index · St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough: From the Abundance of God's Grace: A Brief History of St. Matthew's Parish, 1752-2017
  8. The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina holds its convention in Hillsborough for the first time Bishop John Stark Ravenscroft, eight clergy and lay delegates from ten parishes met in Hillsborough in May 1826, gathering in the newly finished St. Matthew's Church, which was consecrated on the Sunday of the session. St. Matthew's sent Thomas Ruffin, William Norwood, Francis L. Hawks and James S. Smith as its delegates. People: John Stark Ravenscroft, William Mercer Green, Thomas Ruffin, William Norwood, Francis L. Hawks, James Strudwick Smith Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 25
  9. The Rev. William Mercer Green builds the first house on the land later called Montrose Around 1827 the Rev. William Mercer Green, rector of St. Matthew's, built the first house on land he had bought that May from William Kirkland, who had acquired it in 1821; the tract had first belonged to James Hogg. William A. Graham bought it in 1842. People: William Kirkland, James Hogg, William A. Graham Place: Montrose, 320 St. Mary's Road, Hillsborough · Also mentions: St. Matthew'sSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Montrose, National Register nomination (OR0050), section 8 · Also: NC State Historic Preservation Office: Hillsborough Historic District Additional Documentation, National Register
  10. Bishop Ravenscroft consecrates Salem Chapel, built by Duncan Cameron near his home Duncan Cameron paid for a chapel near his residence in Orange County for his household and neighbors, standing by 1825 and still unfinished when the bishop preached in it in May 1826. After Cameron executed the deeds, Bishop Ravenscroft consecrated it as Salem Chapel on Sunday, October 7, 1827, assisted by Mr. Wright of Salisbury and by William Mercer Green, who served it from Hillsborough. People: Duncan Cameron, John Stark Ravenscroft, William Mercer Green Place: Salem Chapel, near Duncan Cameron's residence, Orange County · Also named: Bishop RavenscroftSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 31
  11. St. Matthew's adds a tower to its church Rector William Mercer Green told the 1830 convention that a tower had been added to the Hillsborough church during the past year, four years after its consecration. The parish then counted 40 communicants and 61 Sunday school scholars. People: William Mercer Green Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 34
  12. William Mercer Green delivers the literary societies' oration before commencement On June 22, 1831, the day before commencement, William Mercer Green delivered an oration at Chapel Hill on the influence of Christianity upon the welfare of nations, under the annual appointment of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. Dennis Heartt printed it in Hillsborough the same year. People: Dennis Heartt Place: Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina · Also mentions: Dialectic and Philanthropic SocietiesSearch the index · Internet Archive: The influence of Christianity upon the welfare of nations: an oration, delivered at Chapel-Hill, on Wednesday, June 22, 1831 (Hillsborough: Dennis Heartt, 1831)
Show all 37 dated events
  1. Godfrey and Isabella marry at St. Matthew's The Rev. William Mercer Green married Godfrey and Isabella, the first couple in St. Matthew's register of people of color. Their infant son Milton Alexander was baptized there in November 1835. People: William Mercer Green Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Godfrey, Isabella · Also mentions: St. Matthew'sBurwell School Historic Site Task Force: Antebellum Hillsborough, Slavery, and Enslaved and Free People of Color who Worked at the Burwell School, 1837-1857 (2019), p. 75
  2. New bishop Levi S. Ives confirms thirty at St. Matthew's on his first visit to Hillsborough Two weeks after leaving New York for his new diocese, Bishop Levi S. Ives reached Hillsborough and preached four times in St. Matthew's over a weekend, giving communion to some fifty or sixty people and confirming thirty. Eleven of those confirmed were men, seven of them University of North Carolina students. People: William Mercer Green Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough · Also named: Levi S. IvesSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 34
  3. Job, later Rev. Job Berry, is baptized at St. Matthew's Job, enslaved by George W. B. Burgwyn, was baptized at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church by William Mercer Green and confirmed the next April. As Job Berry he later led Hillsborough's first Black congregation. People: William Mercer Green, Job Berry Place: Hillsborough · Also named: George W. B. Burgwyn · Also mentions: St. Matthew's Episcopal ChurchElizabeth Keckly Center research database: Job Berry
  4. Samuel Iredell Johnston and William W. Spear are ordained deacons in St. Matthew's Bishop Ives returned to Hillsborough and made Samuel Iredell Johnston and William W. Spear deacons in St. Matthew's Church, with William Mercer Green reading prayers and the Rev. Mr. Freeman preaching. Johnston had been baptized as an adult in the parish, and Spear had spent part of his boyhood in it. People: William Mercer Green Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough · Also named: Levi S. Ives, Samuel Iredell Johnston, William W. SpearSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 37
  5. St. Matthew's adds a gallery for Black worshippers under William Mercer Green In 1835, during William Mercer Green's rectorship, a gallery was added to St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough to seat Black worshippers. Green also held monthly services at Duncan Cameron's Salem Chapel, where he gave instruction to enslaved people. People: Duncan Cameron Place: Hillsborough, St. Matthew's Episcopal ChurchSearch the index · St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough: From the Abundance of God's Grace: A Brief History of St. Matthew's Parish, 1752-2017
  6. Hillsborough citizens meet to mourn university president Joseph Caldwell A town meeting chaired by Frederick Nash resolved to wear crape for thirty days in memory of Dr. Joseph Caldwell and asked the university's executive committee to have an alumnus deliver a eulogy at Chapel Hill before the next commencement. William M. Green offered the resolutions and Hugh Waddell spoke. People: Frederick Nash, William Mercer Green, Hugh Waddell, Joseph Caldwell Place: HillsboroughSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, February 6, 1835, p. 3
  7. The diocesan convention meets in St. Matthew's for the second and last time The Episcopal convention met at St. Matthew's in Hillsborough in June 1835 while Bishop Ives was in Europe for his health; by 1890 it had not returned, though Hillsborough was chosen again several times. Newly ordained deacon Moses Ashley Curtis arrived on June 4 and preached that night, probably his first sermon, from the chancel he would later serve for many years as rector. People: William Mercer Green, Moses Ashley Curtis, Walker Anderson Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 37
  8. St. Matthew's pays off the debt on its church Rector William Mercer Green reported in 1836 that St. Matthew's was free of the debt it had carried since the church was built, that the plan of weekly offerings was still working well, and that the parish was raising money for an organ. People: William Mercer Green Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, HillsboroughSearch the index · Joseph W. Murphy, A Sermon-Sketch of the History of St. Matthew's Parish, Hillsboro, N.C. (1900), scan p. 38
  9. University Lodge dedicates its new Masonic hall at Chapel Hill on St. John's Day Members of University Lodge and visiting Masons marched with a band to the College Chapel, where the Rev. William M. Green of Hillsborough gave the oration, then returned in procession to their new hall, which was dedicated to Masonry. The day ended with a dinner at the Eagle Hotel. People: William Mercer Green, Isaac C. Patridge Place: College Chapel and the new Masonic Hall, Chapel Hill · Also mentions: Eagle Hotel, University LodgeSearch the index · Columbian Repository (Chapel Hill), July 2, 1836, p. 3
  10. Henry H. Prout becomes minister at St. Matthew's Henry H. Prout took charge at St. Matthew's after William Mercer Green left for Chapel Hill. The parish's unbroken run of vestry records begins the same year. People: William Mercer Green Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough · Also named: Henry H. ProutSearch the index · Pauline O. Lloyd and Allen A. Lloyd, History of the Churches of Hillsborough, N.C., ca. 1766-1962 (1963), scan p. 69
  11. The St. Matthew's vestry grants William Mercer Green's request to be buried in its churchyard On resigning as first rector to move to Chapel Hill, William Mercer Green formally asked the vestry that he be buried in St. Matthew's churchyard when he died, and the vestry recorded a resolution granting it. Place: St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Hillsborough churchyardSearch the index · Joseph Blount Cheshire, An Historical Address Delivered in Saint Matthew's Church, Hillsboro, N.C. (1925), scan p. 32
  12. William Mercer Green leaves St. Matthew's to become university chaplain and professor William Mercer Green accepted a post at the University of North Carolina as chaplain and professor and gave up St. Matthew's in Hillsborough the same year. The Hillsborough congregation had grown from seventeen communicants in his first year to sixty-seven when he left. Place: Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina · Also mentions: St. Matthew'sSearch the index · Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. 1 (1907), pp. 455-456 · Also: The Chapel of the Cross: Parish Archives
  13. Maria L. Spear heads the Hillsborough Female Seminary When the Hillsborough Female Academy's session opened on January 14, 1839, it was under its principal, Miss Maria L. Spear, whose work over several years past, the trustees said, had met their highest expectations. Her sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, taught music, drawing and painting. William M. Green's last announcement for the school had run in 1838. People: James Strudwick Smith, Cadwallader Jones, Hugh Waddell, William Mercer Green Place: Hillsborough · Also named: Maria L. SpearLefler and Wager, Orange County, 1752-1952 (1953), p. 136 · Also: Hillsborough Recorder, February 14, 1839, p. 3
  14. Chapel Hill Episcopalians buy a church lot from the university William Mercer Green told the 1842 diocesan convention that the new Chapel Hill congregation, then fifteen communicants, had bought a lot from the university for its church and had let a contract for part of the building materials. People: William Mercer Green Place: Chapel of the Cross, East Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · NC State Historic Preservation Office: Chapel of the Cross, National Register nomination (OR0005), p. 4
  15. William Mercer Green organizes an Episcopal parish in Chapel Hill In May 1842 William Mercer Green presided over the organization of the Church of the Atonement, an Episcopal parish in Chapel Hill with fifteen communicants, which met in members' homes for five years while its church was built. A record of subscribers for building the church, dated 1843, survives in Green's papers. Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel of the Cross: Parish Archives
  16. William A. Graham buys the Eno River house that became Montrose Senator William A. Graham bought 59 acres on the Eno River east of Hillsborough from John U. Kirkland, with the house the Rev. William Mercer Green had built there, paying $3,200 plus his town residence and three lots. Graham named the place Montrose, and his son and grandson lived there after him until 1977. People: William A. Graham, John U. Kirkland, William Mercer Green Place: Montrose, 320 Saint Mary's Road, Hillsborough · Also named: Susan Washington Graham · Also mentions: Eno RiverSearch the index · National Register nomination: Montrose, Orange County (2001), pdf p. 11
  17. People enslaved by William Mercer Green work on the Church of the Atonement Green contributed to the building through the labor of several people he enslaved and a pair of his mules. He also meant to give a kiln of bricks made on his land, but had the fires put out at midnight on a Saturday to keep the Sabbath, and the half-fired bricks, worth about $250, were lost. Place: Church of the Atonement (Chapel of the Cross), Chapel HillSearch the index · Archibald Henderson, The Church of the Atonement and the Chapel of the Cross at Chapel Hill (1938), scan p. 42
  18. Eagle Lodge Masons lay the cornerstone of the new Orange County courthouse Masons of Eagle Lodge, with brethren from University Lodge, laid the cornerstone of the new courthouse in Hillsborough, with Dr. James S. Smith acting as deputy grand master. The Rev. William M. Green gave the oration in the old courthouse nearby. People: James Strudwick Smith, William Mercer Green Place: Orange County Courthouse, 104 East King Street, Hillsborough · Also mentions: Eagle Lodge, University LodgeSearch the index · Hillsborough Recorder, September 12, 1844, p. 3 · Also: Chapel Hill Weekly, July 3, 1953, p. 3
  19. William Mercer Green pledges fifteen enslaved people and his Bolin Creek land for a loan To secure 2,500 dollars borrowed from John H. Bryan, with David L. Swain and Duncan Cameron as his sureties, William Mercer Green conveyed to William H. Battle in trust his land on Bolin Creek near Chapel Hill and fifteen enslaved people: Jenny, Nancy, Lucy, Frances, Ellen, Celia, Anne, Julia, Rachel, Margaret, Peter, Sam, Aaron, Cain and Robert. If the debt went unpaid, they were to be advertised in the Hillsborough Recorder and sold at Chapel Hill to the highest bidder. People: William Mercer Green, William Horn Battle, David L. Swain, Duncan Cameron Place: Bolin Creek, near Chapel Hill · Also named: John H. BryanOrange County Register of Deeds: Deed Book 32, p. 118 (deed image) · Also: Orange County Register of Deeds: sales of enslaved people, 1761-1867; Orange County Indexed: the record of Deed Book 32/118, with everyone named in it; Mark Chilton’s abstract of Deed Book 32/118, in Orange County Indexed’s historic deeds
  20. The Rev. William Mercer Green buys an East Franklin Street lot and builds a house Episcopal minister William Mercer Green bought the lot at 513 East Franklin Street in 1847 and had a two-story frame house built there before he sold it, two years later, to Charles Phillips, professor of engineering and mathematics. People: Charles Phillips Place: 513 East Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · NC Digital Collections: Chapel Hill Historic Sites Survey: Final Report (1992), p. 37
  21. The Chapel of the Cross is consecrated Bishop Levi Silliman Ives consecrated the Episcopal church at Chapel Hill as the Chapel of the Holy Cross. Designed by Thomas U. Walter for the parish William Mercer Green organized in 1842, it was built of bricks fired by enslaved people at kilns on Green's farm and included a wooden gallery for enslaved worshippers. People: William Mercer Green Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Thomas U. WalterSearch the index · The Chapel of the Cross: Parish Archives
  22. Albert M. Shipp elected to the new chair of history and English literature When William Mercer Green's retirement opened the faculty, the trustees created a professorship of history and English literature and elected the Methodist minister Albert M. Shipp to it. He held the chair until 1859. People: William Mercer Green Place: Chapel Hill · Also named: Albert M. ShippSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 617
  23. Charles Phillips buys the house William Mercer Green built on East Franklin Professor Charles Phillips bought the house at 513 East Franklin, just east of his father's, from the Rev. William Mercer Green, who had built it a few years earlier and was leaving to become Episcopal bishop of Mississippi. Phillips lived there until his death in 1889. People: Charles Phillips, William Mercer Green Place: Green-Phillips house, 513 East Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 91
  24. Trustees let student church members worship at their own churches Petitions from several denominations reached the board in December 1849 asking to ease compulsory Sunday worship in the college chapel. On January 4, 1850 the trustees voted down a broader plan and adopted Samuel F. Patterson's rule letting communicants attend the church of their choice while all others still attended chapel, a rule that stood about ten years. People: David L. Swain, William Mercer Green, Samuel Finley Patterson Place: Chapel HillSearch the index · Documenting the American South: Kemp P. Battle, History of the University of North Carolina, vol. I (1907), p. 519
  25. Bishop William Mercer Green, builder of the Chapel of the Cross, preaches there on Thanksgiving William Mercer Green, Bishop of Mississippi and chancellor of the University of the South, revisited Chapel Hill and preached the Thanksgiving Day sermon in the Chapel of the Cross, the church his efforts had built. The paper recalled his years as rector at Hillsborough and professor of rhetoric at the university. Place: Chapel of the Cross, Chapel HillSearch the index · The Chapel Hill Ledger, November 29, 1879, p. 3

After their death in 1887

Later events: estates and burials, and the buildings, honors and histories that remember them.

  1. The Presbyterians sell their East Franklin manse to Gordon L. McAndrews After 77 years of ownership, the church sold its manse at 513 East Franklin, the house William Mercer Green built in the 1840s and Charles Phillips later owned, to McAndrews. People: William Mercer Green, Charles Phillips Place: 513 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill · Also named: Gordon L. McAndrewsSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 325
  2. C. D. Spangler Jr. buys the old Green-Phillips house at 513 East Franklin After stepping down as president of the University, Spangler bought the house Walter and Anne Dellinger had owned since before 1973 and began restoring it. The house, built for William Mercer Green in the 1840s, later belonged to Charles Phillips and then served the Presbyterians as their manse. People: C. D. Spangler Jr., William Mercer Green, Charles Phillips Place: 513 East Franklin Street, Chapel HillSearch the index · Bernard Lee Bryant Jr., Occupants and Structures of Franklin Street, Chapel Hill (1998; Chapel Hill Historical Society, 1999), scan p. 385

People named in the same events

People named in the same dated entries as William Mercer Green, those sharing the most entries first. Each line links one of the shared entries in the chronology, where its source is cited. A shared entry shows these people in the same event, not how well they knew each other.

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Indexed works

Works about or by William Mercer Green. Each links to the institution that holds or provides it. Background reading appears below.

By William Mercer Green

The influence of Christianity upon the welfare of nations : an oration, delivered at Chapel-Hill, on Wednesday, June 22, 1831, the day preceding commencement at the University of North-Carolina, according to the annual appointment of the two literary societies belonging to the university

Green, William Mercer, 1798-1887 · 1831

William Mercer Green's oration at Chapel Hill on 22 June 1831, delivered by appointment of the university's two literary societies on the day before commencement, on the influence of Christianity upon the welfare of nations. Printed at Hillsborough that year, it stands among the Orange County imprints of 1831 and among the published addresses of the University of North Carolina.

UNC

William Mercer Green papers, 1843-1887.

Green, William Mercer, 1798-1887 · 1843

Ten items kept as the papers of William Mercer Green, 1798 to 1887, spanning 1843 to 1887, collection 1120-z in the Southern Historical Collection at UNC, in part a typed transcription. The diaries contain travel writing on Baltimore, Washington, Tennessee and North Carolina, Episcopal bishops, and Green's place on the University of North Carolina faculty. A preservation microfilm was made in 1979.

UNC

About William Mercer Green

An Historical Address Delivered in Saint Matthew's Church, Hillsboro, N.C., on Sunday, August 24, 1924

Cheshire, Joseph Blount · 1925

Address by Bishop Joseph Blount Cheshire at St. Matthew's Church in Hillsborough on 24 August 1924, marking the parish's hundredth anniversary. Printed in Durham in 1925 at the vestry's order, with a foreword by the rector. Cheshire discusses George Micklejohn, William Mercer Green and Moses Ashley Curtis.

Included because: Catalog heading in the UNC record: Green, William Mercer, 1798-1887.

UNC Duke Durham DPLA

Places in this person’s story

Buildings, schools, churches and other sites named in the dated events on this page, the most often named first. The map shows the 9 with a known location.

Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors. Site locations from the N.C. State Historic Preservation Office survey, Open Orange, Orange County GIS, OpenStreetMap and a few other published sources named on each site’s page; town and community pins show approximate locations.

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Records of enslaved people

3 records, 1839 to 1846, name William Mercer Green as a party to the sale, gift, trust or other transfer of enslaved people. Each record lists the people named in it, with their ages and family ties.

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Deeds

19 deeds, 1831 to 1853, in the county’s deed books name William Mercer Green as a party, from Mark Chilton’s published abstracts. Each links to the deed-book page at the Register of Deeds.

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Picture: William Mercer Green, portrait published 1897. Public domain. Photograph by Perry, William Stevens; Perry, William Stevens, The bishops of the American church, past and present. Sketches, biographical and bibliographical, of the bishops of the American Church. With a preliminary essay on the historic episcopate and documentary annals of the introduction of the Anglican line of succession into America. New York: The Christian Literature Co, 1897; via Wikimedia Commons

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