Putting the Greene family tree together is quite complicated, like a jigsaw puzzle in which we don’t have all the pieces, but we do have a lot of information, especially in wills. This information cross links to form an apparent family structure with which all of the data fits (see image below). It seems to reveal a three or perhaps four or even more generations medical family that served the population of Newmarket for the bulk of the 17th century (see The Greenes-Fraser chain). Not all of the links are proven, especially in the earlier generations, but the complex web of interrelated facts all fits with the following suggestion. I’ve tried to make it as lucid as possible, but it’s complicated! However, if you get bogged down and give up with the bulk of this page, before you abandon it don’t miss the story of Susan Greene née Hammerton, whose life is outlined in the final paragraph below. Her life sums up a fascinating family who lived through an eventful century.
The apparent structure of the Greenes’ family tree, with the medics shown in red (see below or click image for source and acknowledgements etc., ref. Image 1).
There was a Greene family in Newmarket going back at least as far as the early 15th century, for example Henricus Grene is mentioned in the 1412 manorial records. In the earlier records Grene seems to have been the more favoured spelling (see note in the references below regarding spellings). It’s very likely that these Grenes were earlier ancestors of the later medical Greenes, but there’s no evidence that the earlier generations were medics. They appear to have been quite a prominent Newmarket family. The earliest document of apparent relevance to the medical Grene/Greenes comes from the Elizabethan High Court of Chancery records of 1589. It’s a law suit that mentions the four children (Henry, Robert, Thomas and Haggas) of Richard Greene deceased, a grocer, and a fifth apparently older son named Richard, in relation to malting, possession of the Swan Inn at Newmarket, and some land. This Richard Greene ‘deceased’ had died three or four years earlier (so 1585/6). That’s interesting, because the Newmarket manorial records seem to distinguish between a Richard Grene senior and junior in the 1580s, up until about 1584. Later simply Richard Grene/Greene is mentioned. He’s last mentioned in 1614, which was the year before the death in 1615 of Richard Greene ‘chirurgian’, the first of the medical Greenes (see The history of medical treatments, training, qualifications and regulation for the meaning of ‘chirugrian’). So it’s very likely that this medical Richard Greene was the Richard Greene/Grene junior of the 1580s, the son of Richard Grene senior the grocer. That’s very interesting, given the link between grocers and apothecaries (for example see the page on Henry Veesy). It’s possible, therefore, that Richard Grene/Greene senior had a medical repertoire too, hence the ‘perhaps four or even more generations’ mentioned above.
As far as we know, however, Richard Greene ‘chirurgian’ was Newmarket’s first resident medic. Likely he was born in the late 1550s or early 60s, given that he appears to have had younger brothers Robart baptised in 1569 and Thomas in 1572 (no Newmarket baptismal records survive before 1567, after which patchy contemporary transcripts survive that were sent to the Archdeacon of Sudbury each year; the original registers survive from the 1630s). Alongside this younger Richard Greene the manorial records show a Thomas Grene/Greene from about 1595, a Robert Grene/Greene from 1605 and a Lambert Greene also from 1605 (Lambert is last mentioned in 1611 when he died, defined as a yeoman in his will). Given the later use of the name Lambert in the medical Greene family, it’s likely that these records show Richard Greene the medic, his younger medical brother Robert, their other brother Thomas (not medical, as far as we know) and a close relative named Lambert, whose baptism we don’t have recorded. Lambert had a brother who was a yeoman of Little Thurlow, who had property in Newmarket according to his will of 1618, in which he mentions his late brother Lambert of Newmarket, who likewise mentions William of Thurlow in his earlier 1611 will. Richard Greene was buried in the chapel of All Saints, Newmarket in 1615 – the only reference to his occupation.
Robert Greene was licensed to practice medicine and surgery in 1617, which is the only reference we have to him being a medic. Gaining a licence aged 47 might seem a bit late, but there are good reasons why that might have been the case (see the page on Robert Greene). A Robert Greene died and was buried in Newmarket on 9th April 1640, leaving everything to his wife Alice. This was probably Robert Greene the medic, although his will mentions no occupation. No children are mentioned in the will either, but it’s a very short will written less than a month before he died (Floyd Peck’s death bed will is similar a couple of centuries later). However, Robert’s wife Alice died in 1649, and her will provides much more detail about the family. She mentions three children: Robert, Lambert (baptised in 1611 according to the archdeacon’s transcripts, ‘son of Roberti’ – note, the same year that Robert’s presumed close relative Lambert died, mentioned in the paragraph above) and Joyce (married to Christopher Rowe – Joyce was described as Aunt Rowe by the medic Lambert Greene later – see below). She also mentions two grandchildren: Robert (son of Robert) and Alice Rowe (daughter of Joyce and Christopher Rowe). Also, the marriage of Joyce Greene to Christopher Rowe in 1621 supports the dates relating to Robert Greene and Richard Greene above. Given that Joyce was the daughter of Robert and Alice, a date of birth for Robert Greene of 1569 would be about right (just over 25 years per generation). So the entry in the records for Robart son of Richard Grene being baptised in 1569 fits perfectly not only with this fact but also the medical occupation continuity in the family (see more below), and the patterns observed in the manorial records described in the paragraph about Richard Greene above. There were also possibly two other sons of Robert and Alice Greene (both called William), who died in infancy, both mentioned in the 1619 archdeacon’s transcripts.
In 1648, the year before Alice’s death, her son Lambert had married Susan Hammerton. Unfortunately Lambert himself died in 1650, but not before they’d had two children, Alice born in 1649 (who died in 1651) and Lambert Green born shortly before his father’s death in 1650, who grew up to become the Newmarket medic mentioned above (see more below). Interestingly the probate of Alice’s will went to Susanne Greene ‘Relict et executuiri testamenti Lamberti Greene’, confirming the family structure further. Susan’s husband Lambert’s will in 1650 does not mention his occupation, which is unfortunate. It’s certainly possible that he was a medic too, perhaps even likely. Predictably in it he mentions his wife Susan, his son Lambert and daughter Alice. He specifically mentions two separate acres of land that he left to his 1 year old son, which Lambert in turn mentions in his will of 1678. Interestingly, Lambert the father requested burial ‘amongst my ancestors in the parish church of St Maries’, suggesting that the medical Greene’s were indeed part of the longerstanding Newmarket Grene/Greene family as considered above. Although the theological preamble of the father’s will is short, it’s the first hint of the family’s reformed Christian position that becomes much more strongly evident with the later Greenes. He bequeathed his, ‘soule unto my most gracious god, fully hoping for eternall life through the meanes and mediation of my dear and blessed saviour Jesus Christ’ (see further mention of that below).
Things then take an interesting twist. Susan Green (widow) married Francis Greene on 30th October 1651 at St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Francis Greene is the next in the chain of Newmarket medical Greenes – calling himself an apothecary (see the page on Francis Greene regarding possibly why he chose this terminology). Clearly he must have been a member of this medical Greene family, but his genetic relationship to Robert Greene is unclear (surely Francis must have been Robert’s apprentice at least though, and perhaps even business partner to the recently deceased Lambert, if the latter were a medic as speculated above). Francis could not have been Robert’s son, or he would have been mentioned in Alice’s will. Perhaps he was a cousin of some form, or even a nephew? Intriguingly, in his will of 1611, Lambert senior the yeoman mentions a daughter Frances but no sons, likewise William Greene the yeoman of Little Thurlow had a daughter Frances! Anyway, it’s likely that Francis Greene was the son of a brother or close relative of Robert Greene given these very strong naming and occupational patterns, but probably not of Thomas. That’s because Francis Greene mentions only two brothers in his will of 1672, William and Robert, and there are a number of sons attributed to a Thomas Greene in the Newmarket archdeacon’s transcripts between 1615 and 1630, none of whom were called Francis, William or Robert.
Francis Greene thus acquired Lambert Greene as his step son when the latter was just 1 year old, later training him up as an apothecary like himself, the next in the chain of Newmarket medical Greenes. Francis and Susan had two further children, Francis born in 1653 and Susan in 1656. Francis junior died in 1672 at just 19 years of age, shortly followed by his father in 1674. Their memorials are back to back at St Mary’s church in Newmarket, and very interesting; Francis Greene, like Lambert (i.e Susan’s first husband), seems to have held sound religious beliefs (see the page on Francis Greene for more details, and also further mention below). Lambert Greene junior appears never to have married, dying in his late 20s in 1678. As already mentioned above, his will is particularly useful in piecing together the Greene family structure, in that it mentions his Aunt Rowe, and also it makes reference to the two acres of land left to him by his father Lambert 28 years earlier; it also mentions his brother and sister Fraser. These Frasers are the final link in this chain of medical ‘Greenes’. Susan and Francis Greene’s daughter Susan married a ‘surgeon’ named Thomas Fraser in 1676. He also appears to have held very clear sighted religious beliefs, supporting the impression gained from the historical records that this was a medical family of devout Christians, certainly the lower branches seem to have been, with reformed leaning sympathies. Susan and Thomas Fraser had a son John who died as an infant in 1679, and two daughters, Susanna and Elizabeth, the main beneficiaries of their grandmother Susan Greene’s will of 1693 and their father’s will of 1696.
Thomas Fraser died in 1696, and so ends the fascinating chain of related individuals who appear to have provided medical services to the population of Newmarket for over a century, as surgeon-physician-apothecaries. This mixing of terminology is particularly interesting too, suggesting that they likely all had a general medical role not unlike the physicians of old, just choosing different designations (see The history of medical treatments, training, qualifications and regulation for further discussion).
A fascinating central character in all of this is Susan Greene née Hamerton (or Hammerton). She appears to have been the daughter of Richard Hamerton, who himself has an interesting place in the general history of Newmarket. The royal patronage of Newmarket began in 1605, when King James I ‘discovered’ the town (note this was their February 1604, our February 1605 – see New Year change). A few years later, in 1608, the king acquired The Griffin Inn on Newmarket High Street, taking over the lease from Richard Hamerton, and turning it into his Newmarket Palace (see the page on Kingston House also). Richard Hamerton was appointed keeper of the king’s house for a while, but was no longer in that role (which he held until 1612) when his daughter Susan was baptized in 1626. She had an eventful start to life, since her mother Mary would have been pregnant during the Newmarket plague epidemic of 1625! Her drama filled journey through life continued as it started. Her late teens and early 20s would have been dominated by the English civil war. Towards the end of the civil war she married into the Greene family, first to Lambert in 1648 (as detailed above), then a year after his death to Francis Greene the apothecary in 1651. The famous ‘great’ plague took place in 1665 whilst they had a young family (Lambert aged 14, and his younger half-brother Francis aged 11 and sister Susan aged 9). This must have been a concern, but fortunately on that occasion the plague didn’t reach Newmarket. The capital was hit again the following year by the great fire of London. The fragile and uncertain nature of life must have seemed very real to Susan and family. Sixteen years later widow Susan Greene, her son-in-law Thomas Fraser and family would have witnessed Newmarket’s own great fire of 1683. The St Mary’s parish register records, ‘a great part of this parish was consumed to ye value of 20,000’ – millions of pounds in today’s money. They would have been helped during these difficult and unpredictable times by their apparent clear spiritual understanding, mentioned above and discussed further on the pages about Francis Greene and Thomas Fraser in particular. A couple of years earlier unpredictable drama had taken place in the church itself even. Susan Greene, Thomas Fraser and young family were likely present when Robert Cooke the 17th century rector of St Mary’s died whilst preaching in 1681 (what a wonderful way to be transported into eternity; not to be chosen but, perhaps from his perspective now, fitting and quite a testimony! – click here for that story and its relevance to the existence of this website). Susan Greene née Hamerton lived on until 1693, when she died at the age of 67, having outlived both of her husbands and all four of her children, Alice (d.1651), Francis (d.1672), Lambert (d.1678) and Susan, who it appears died before her mother since she’s not mentioned in her mother’s will of 1693. So the remarkable life of Susan Greene née Hamerton came to an end in this world, leaving the bulk of the Greene estate to her grandchildren Susanna and Elizabeth Fraser, daughters of Thomas Fraser the ‘surgeon’. Only 3 years later they were orphaned by the death of their father, whilst still at most teenagers. Nevertheless they’d been blessed it seems with a significant material and spiritual heritage. I’ve attempted to trace them without success. If anyone knows what became of Susanna and Elizabeth Fraser please do make contact using the details via the footer below (although note the intriguing reference to Elizabeth two centuries later in another Newmarket document from 1862 in the references below).
Image 1: Diagram drawn in 2019, by the author of talkingdust.net (modified in 2023 in light of new informtion from the 1589 reference below, suggesting that Richard Greene junior was the older brother rather than father of Robert Greene).
Note: see comments regarding images and copyright © etc. on the Usage &c. page as well.
Note: the references here relate to the family structure in particular. Further references not relevant to the family structure per se might be found on the pages relating to specific individuals.
Note also, there are a few other scattered Greenes in the Newmarket records of this period, likely more distant cousins of the medical Greene family – only information likely relevant to the medical Greenes or the account above are included here.
Note also, the spelling of names, especially the surname Green(e) is quite variable. Name spelling variation was normal in the 17th century. Francis’ name is spelt Green on his memorial and Greene in his will. Susan Greene is variably called Susan or Susanna, and in her will both names are used of her in a single document; also her maiden name is spelt both Hammerton and Hamerton (as on this website and page!).
Note also, there is an interesting feature in the parish register entries that is also seen with other Newmarket medics later (and in other parishes). Often when medics are referred to, even their wives, they are given the title Mr or Mrs, whereas the rest of the entries have no title. There is the occasional use of Mr or Mrs with names for which there is no further evidence that they are medical, e.g. 1661, 15th April: Mr George Stearne married Mrs Grace Bridgeman. The title Dr was not typically used of generalist medics until the late 19th century (see the section about that on The history of medical treatments, training, qualifications and regulation page). The use of the title Mr here appears to denote some form of status that was typical of medics, although not exclusive to them, and not universally applied to all entries relating to them. See the pages on William Raby, Edward Harwell and Wotton Braham for other examples of this in Newmarket and elsewhere.
1412: Henricus Grene. Newmarket manorial records. Reference: 1476/1, roll 43, third paragraph from the end, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1569, 24th December: Robart son of Richard Grene baptised, ‘The register of Newmarkett’. Reference: J502/2, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1572, 20th March: Thomas son of Richard Grene baptised, ‘The register of Newmarkett’. Reference: J502/2, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1589: Law suit in the High Court of Chancery brought by Henry, Robert, Thomas and Haggas Grene, the children of Richard Grene, a grocer, who had died three or four years earlier, whose wife was called Margaret(t), and who had another son Richard (apparently older), both mentioned in the documents. Reference: The National Archives, Greene v Goodwyn, Plaintiffs: Henry Greene, Robert Greene, Thomas Greene… C 2/Eliz/G5/44, (see https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C5700237). [Note: I originally referenced this to Hoare JP. The History of Newmarket and Annals of the Turf. Vol 1. London: AH Baily and Co.; 1886;1:123-124 (referenced to Chancery Proceedings, Elizabeth, G. g. No 44. ms., P.R.O.), but subsequently have kindly been provided with a transcript of the original document by Rachel Wood, which provided the details regarding Richard Grene senior’s approximate date of death, his occupation, his wife’s name Margaret, and that he had an extra son Richard, none of which JP Hoare mentions.]
1608: King James I acquired the lease of the Griffin Inn from Richard Hamerton, and appointed him keeper of the king’s house. Reference: Hoare JP. The History of Newmarket and Annals of the Turf. Vol 1. London: AH Baily and Co.; 1886;1:144,147,289&291.
1611: The will of ‘Lambert Greene of Newmkitt in the countie of Suff, yeoman’. Reference: R2/48/16, on microfilm, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: there is also a will in the 1611 Newmarket manorial records. Reference: 359/7, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).]
1611, July: Lambert son of Roberti Greene baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J502/14, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1614: Richard Greene last mentioned in the Newmarket manorial records. Reference: 1476/6, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1615, 15th October: Richard Greene Chirurgian buried, the chapel of all Saints, Newmarket. Reference: archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: see an image of this on the page about Richard Greene.]
1617, 17th May: Robert Greene of Newmarket licensed to practice medicine and surgery. Reference: Register of archbishop George Abbot, volume 1, folio 201, (Lambeth Palace Library, London). [Note: see an image of this on the page about Robert Greene.]
1618: The will of ‘William Greene of Little Thurlow in the countie of Suff, yeoman’. Reference: The National Archives, Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/133.
1619, 7th September: William son of Robert Greene buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J502/16, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1619, 12th December: William son of Robert Greene baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J502/16, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1625: A very large numbers of burials recorded in Newmarket (due to a national plague outbreak). Reference: J502/17, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: see the Newmarket plague page.]
1626, 19th January: Susan daughter of Richard Hamerton baptized, Newmarkett All Sts. Reference: J502/17, microfilm of archdeacon’s transcripts, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: this is on the 1625 transcript – see New Year change.]
1640, 13th March: The will of Robert Greene of Newmarket (probate April 1640). Reference: R2/58/132, on microfilm, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: click here for more details.]
1640, 9th April: Robert Greene buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J552/9, microfilm of Newmarket St Mary’s parish register, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1648, 6th February: Lambert Green married Susan Hammerton, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1648, 26th November: The will ‘Alice Greene of New Markitt’. Reference: PROB 11/214/317, on microfilm, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: click here for more details.]
1649, 20th January: Alice daughter of Lambert Green baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1649, 7th May: Mrs Alice Green (widow) buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1650, 6th October: Lambert son of Lambert Green baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference J552/9, microfilm of Newmarket St Mary’s parish register, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1650, 24th October: The will of Lamberti Greene. Reference: The National Archives, Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/215.
1650, 29th October: Lambert son of Robert Green deceased buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1651, 31st March: Alice daughter of Susan Green (widow) buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1651, 30th October: Mr Francis Green married Susan Green (widow), St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1653, 3rd November: Francis son of Mr Francis Greene baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1656, 10th January: Susan daughter of Mr Francis Green baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1664: Francis Greene, apothecary, Newmarket, minted his own farthings. Reference: Williamson GC. Trade Tokens issued in the seventeenth century. London: Elliot Stock; 1891;2:1095. [Note: see the page on Francis Greene for an image.]
1672, 1st August: Memorial to Francis Greene, son of Francis Greene and Susan his wife, who died aged 19. Reference: Memorial at St Mary’s church, Newmarket. [Note: see the page on Francis Greene for further details and an image.]
1672, 3rd August: ffrances Greene buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J552/9, microfilm of Newmarket St Mary’s parish register, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1672, 23rd September: The will of Francis Greene of Newmarket in the county of Suffolk, apothecary. References: IC500/1/126(77) (original) and IC500/2/66/44 (registered copy and probate, August 1674), (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: click here for more details.]
1674, 18th July: Memorial to Francis Green (the father), back to back with the 1672 memorial to his son mentioned above. Reference: Memorial at St Mary’s church , Newmarket. [Note: see the page on Francis Greene for further details and an image.]
1674, 18th July: Mr ffrancis Greene buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J552/9, microfilm of Newmarket St Mary’s parish register, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1676, 6th December: Mr Thomas Phrasier of Whitehall London married Mrs Susan Green (spinster) of Newmarket St Maries at Exning. Reference: J562/31 microfilm transcript, Phillimore WPW, Blagg TM. Suffolk Parish Registers. Marriages. 1910;1:41, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1678, 10th May: The will of Lambert Greene of Newmarket in the county of Suffolk, apothecary. Reference: E3/10/12.2, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: there is also a copy in The National Archives, Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/356/503.], [Note also, click here for more details.]
1679, 23rd October: John son of Thomas ffrasier baptised, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1679, 29th October: John son of Thomas Frasier buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1681, 3rd January: Memorial to Robert Cooke. Reference: Memorial at St Mary’s church , Newmarket. [Note: see the page on Robert Cooke for further details.]
1683, 24th March: Parish register note in the burials section regarding the great fire of Newmarket. Reference J552/9, microfilm of Newmarket St Mary’s parish register, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1693, 9th May: The will of Susanna Green, widow, Newmarket. Reference: R2/72/262, on microfilm, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: click here for more details.]
1693, 12th May: Susanna Green (widow) buried, St Mary’s church, Newmarket. Reference: J562/69, microfilm transcript, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1695, 25th December: The will of Thomas Fraser, formerly of Newmarket, Suffolk, now of Newington, Middlesex, surgeon/chirurgion (probate 24th April 1696). Reference: E3/10/12.3, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: there is also a copy in The National Archives, Records of the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, PROB 11/431/36.], [Note also, click here for more details.]
1696, 3rd June: The death of Thomas Frazier, free tenant of two tenements, mentioned in the Newmarket manorial records. Reference: 359/10, pg 74, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
1862: Yes, this reference is two centuries later! The 1862 ‘Abstract of the Title of Mr William Parr Isaacson to an Estate at Newmarket late Crockfords’, a complex 46 page document detailing a large amount properly and land, includes the comment ‘Elizth Frazer of London Spr only daur + heir of Frazer late of Newmarket also Surgeon deced + of Susan his wife also deced formy Susan Green daur of Fras Green late of Newkt afod apothecary also deced’. Reference: HB517/A/51, page 10, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: presumably this was copied from an earlier parchment in the possession of the attorney who prepared the abstract of title. It’s nice confirmation that Susan, the daughter of Francis Green the apothecary, married Thomas Fraser the surgeon, and that they had a daughter Elizabeth, who at least at one point was a spinster in London.]
Note: I have used transcript J562/69 for many of the Greene’s references on this page and others. This is a transcript of the parish register made about 1940. The actual register appears to have sustained significant damage between when the transcript was made and when the microfilm was taken, since many of the 17th century entries on the transcript are not readable on the later microfilm of the original. Where it is readable I have referenced the microfilm of the original. Where available I have used the microfilms of the archdeacon’s contemporary transcripts also if appropriate. These are referenced accordingly when used.
May P. The changing face of Newmarket 1600 – 1760. Peter May Publications; 1984. [Note: this book describes the medical Greene family, and describes them as ‘One of the most interesting families of the period, indeed of the whole century’ – a comment with which I would obviously agree! I discovered the book after my researches into the family (see comments on the Robert Cooke page), and its conclusions about the family structure are essentially the same as mine, which was useful independent confirmation (although a little disappointing to discover that someone else had got there before me!). However, I have Peter May to thank for drawing my attention to the existence of Richard Greene and details in the manorial records. Initially I followed his assumption that the Lambert Greene who married Susan Hammerton was the grandson of Richard Greene the ‘chirurgian’, but in fact that Lambert appears to have been the nephew of Richard Greene the ‘chirurgion’ and grandson of Richard Greene the grocer, which was subsequently uncovered by Rachel Wood’s examination of the 1589 court case referenced above, so this website was updated accordingly in 2023. Similarly, Peter May does not seem to have been aware that Robert Greene was a medic, since he was not aware of the Lambeth Palace reference. Also he makes an uncharacteristic error dating the will of Lambert Greene the apothecary as 1668 when in fact it was 1678. He therefore assumes that there was another Lambert Greene son of Francis Greene mentioned in Francis Greene’s will of 1672/4, when in fact that is the same Lambert Greene.]
Newmarket Archdeacon of Sudbury transcripts 1584-1638. Reference: J502/5-22, on microfilm, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds).
Suffolk Medical Biographies. http://www.suffolkmedicalbiographies.co.uk/ (originally accessed pre October 2013). [Note: see comments regarding this website on the Francis Greene page.]
The research notes of Peter May. Reference: HD1584, (Suffolk County Record Office, Bury St Edmunds). [Note: see comments on the ‘May P.’ reference above.]
Note: For published material referenced on this website see the ‘Acknowledgements for resources of published material’ section on the ‘Usage &c.’ page. The sources used for original unpublished documents are noted after each individual reference. Any census records are referenced directly to The National Archives, since images of these are so ubiquitous on microfilm and as digital images that they almost function like published works. Census records are covered by the ‘Open Government Licence’ as should be other such public records (see the ‘Copyright and related issues’ section on the ‘Usage &c.’ page for which references constitute public records, and any other copyright issues more generally such as fair dealing/use etc.).