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John Greene "the Fugitive." During the Wars of the Roses, 1455 to 1485, the Greenes were the faithful adherents of the House of York. The Yorkist king, Richard III, was one of the worst kings of England but the Greenes remained loyal to him because he represented the Yorkist House. In July 1485 Richard III plotted to have his two nephews murdered and sent this John Greene to the Earl of Warwick, ordering him to put the two princes to death. The good Earl, Sir Robert, refused to do the deed and sent John back to his king with the answer that he would not do so horrible a piece of work. Here the curtain falls on the too faithful messenger. Two years later Richard III was slain in battle, and Henry, the head of the House of Lancaster, came to the throne after marrying Elizabeth, heiress of the House of York, thus ending the Wars of the Roses. He held a grudge against the House of Greene as one of the supporters of the Yorkists, even imprisoning the old Sir Thomas Greene on the charge of plotting treason. John Greene fled to the continent, where he became famous as the best swordsman in Europe. Homesick for England and family, he ventured back to an English city in which he was a stranger and passed as John Clarke, seeing his family occasionally. Becoming less cautious, as he was not discovered, he was drawn into a bout with the sword and his identity was discovered, from his previous fame in that direction. Again he fled and remained abroad until the death of the king. This story of flight and change of name is the original legend that the family once bore the name of Clarke. In the way of such traditions, the yarn was accredited to a later John Greene who came to America, and to his son, Lieutenant John Greene of Coventry, the details changing to fit the needs and the times. The story was that John Greene of Quidnessett was really a regicidal judge by the name of John Clarke who fled from England in 1660 to escape the wrath of the returning Cavaliers, changing his name to the common Rhode Island name of Greene. This story could fit neither John Greene of Quidnessett, who was in the colonies ten years before Charles I was executed, nor his son, who was not more that four years old when the Stuart lost his head. Additional information: From Sir Thomas 8th are the Gillingham, Warwick and Quidnesset Green's. Between Sir Thomas and Robert 11th of Gillingham are two generations. The name of the 9th is not preserved but there is ample proof of him. He was born 1420 and his son John 10th was born 1450. John was the next to the eldest and a man of prominence in his day. Richard III sent John 11th to the Tower of London with a message to Sir Robert Brackenbury to put the two imprisoned princes to death, but Sir Robert sent Sir John back again with a refusal. Richard III was slain in battle two years later. Henry VIII hated Yorkists and he had spite against the Greene family. Sir John escaped to Europe. He ventured back and passed as John Clark. He saw his family occasionally, a son of John the Fugitive was Robert Greene. He purchased an estate in Gillingham Dorsetshire which was called Bowridge sometimes called Porridge Hill. Most of the subsidy rolls of that century have been destroyed. In 1543 Robert was an elderly man. He had five children, Peter, Richard 12, John 12, Alice and Anne. Peter died without heirs and Richard inherited the estate.
William B.
