Who Was Dr. John Green?

In 2017 the Worcester Public Library received a $30,000 grant earmarked to preserve a portion of the 7,000- volume collection of  given to the city by Dr. John Green in 1859,  for the purpose of establishing a public library.  This small donation, estimated to be worth $10,000 at the time, was the seed from which the holdings of the Worcester Public Library grew.  So, who was Dr. John Green?

Born in 1784, Dr. Green was the son, grandson, and great-grandson of physicians who practiced medicine in first in Leicester, then in Worcester for over 100 years.  His grandfather, also named John Green, is cited in the Worcester town records as having petitioned the town for permission to establish a “pesthouse” for housing victims of smallpox in the 18th century.   Green grew up in the sprawling family home on what is now Green Hill Park surrounded by 10 brothers and sisters. His extended family included Andrew Haswell Green who is considered the “father” of modern New York City, Samuel Swett Green long-time Head Librarian at the Worcester Public Library and renowned pioneer in the field of public librarianship, and Dr. Samuel Fiske Green who practiced medicine in what is now Sri Lanka for many years. Less illustriously, his grandmother’s sister, Bathsheba Spooner was convicted and hanged for murdering her husband in 1777. She is believed to have been buried on Green Hill, although her body has never been found.

In comparison, “our” Dr. John Green and his wife Dolly lived a quiet albeit busy, life.  Green was a well-respected physician whose faithful services were indispensable to the welfare of the burgeoning Worcester community.  For recreation he enjoyed rowing on Lake Quinsigamond but his real passion was collecting books.  In an article published in the Worcester Sunday Telegram in 1964, writer Ruth Frost says “The slight, stooped figure was a familiar sight in bookstores of the early 19th century.  In Boston the man haunted Cornhill shops.  In Worcester…he’d be seen in Clarendon Harris store.  Always the keen eyes were alert for new titles.  You could tell he respected books by the way he handled them…as if they were precious gems. “ 

Unfortunately and perhaps inevitably Dr. Green’s “precious gems” have suffered a good deal of wear and tear since he made his initial donation, and it is in order to honor his legacy that we have committed to preserving the Green Collection.  

 TO BE CONTINUED