Windham

GREENE, Reuben

Men of Vermont: Illustrated Biographical History of Vermonters & Sons of 
Vermont. Ullery. Brattleboro: Transcript Publishing Company, 1894, part III, 
pp 11-12 of 20 unnumbered leaves

Reuben GREENE, of Boston [Suffolk County, Massachusetts], was born 18 
February 1817 in Whitingham [Windham County, Vermont], son of Alfred and 
Clarissa (SMITH) GREENE, and came from a long line of sound New England 
stock, and of the fourth generation from Robert GREENE, who settled in Wales 
[Hampden County], Massachusetts, in 1743. The family is believed to be of 
Devonshire origin in England, though it cannot be traced with certainty back 
of Robert GREENE. Nathan GREENE, son of Robert GREENE and the grandfather of 
Reuben GREENE, was one of the earliest settlers of Whitingham, to which he 
came in 1780, soon after his marriage to [Miss?] Sarah SHIELDS of Monson 
[Hampden County], Massachusetts. Nathan GREENE was a prominent man in the 
early history of the town. He had great energy, ambition and decision of 
character, which appears in many of his descendants. He reared a family of 
eleven children, of whom the second, Alfred, the father of Reuben GREENE, 
born 21 November 1783 in Whitingham [Windham County, Vermont], was the first 
male child born in the town.

Reuben GREENE received the best education afforded by the public schools and 
the academy of his native town. His mother was from a literary family, four 
of her brothers being clergymen. His parents and friends were all anxious 
that Reuben should study for the ministry, but the boy's natural inclinations 
were toward medical practice, and finding that he was determined to become a 
physician, they did not oppose him. He entered upon the study of medicine 
and attended lectures at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York 
City. In pursuing his studies and becoming more acquainted with physicians 
and their different modes of practice, and believing there was in progress a 
great reform, or advance in medical science, he decided to take his degree at 
the Worcester Eclectic Medical College. After graduating he spent three 
years in travel and study, and in 1845 settled in practice in West Acton 
[Middlesex County], Massachusetts.

In this new field of practice he soon won the respect and confidence of the 
people, and by their special request he was appointed postmaster and justice 
of the peace. The young doctor served the people acceptably in these 
different capacities, but he soon recognized that to satisfy his professional 
ambition his undivided attention would be required. He therefore resigned 
these offices, and ever since has refused political preferment. Being 
ambitious and realizing that the field of medicine was too vast to be 
thoroughly comprehended and developed by any one mind, Dr. GREENE decided, so 
far as he was concerned, to divide the practice of medicine into specialties 
and confine himself to the study and treatment of nervous and chronic 
diseases. The success which followed such concentrated efforts in special 
practice was wonderful and soon attracted to his office difficult cases from 
various parts of the country. This extraordinary success demanded a broader 
field for his investigations, so he removed to Boston in 1850, and 
established medical office and laboratories in the heart of the city, where 
for nearly forty years he maintained a reputation as an eminent physician and 
a skillful surgeon, with a widespread practice throughout New England, and 
whose monument is now the enormous medical practice of his sons at 34 Temple 
Place, Boston. Dr. GREENE was one of the first to recognize the fact that 
the practice of medicine was too large and too comprehensive to be embraced 
in the study and practice of one man; in other words, he was one of the 
founders in establishing specialties in medical practice.

Dr. GREENE has manifested some literary talent and has written much on topics 
connected with his profession. His style is simple and straightforward with 
a faculty of forceful illustration and weight of sincerity and earnestness 
that make his writing especially effective. His best known work is "The 
Problem of Health," published in 1876, but besides he is the author of many 
minor articles that have appeared in pamphlet form and in medical journals on 
different diseases and their treatment. In 1885 he published a genealogical 
sketch of the GREENE family. Dr GREENE is a member of the United States 
Medical Society; the New England Medical Society of Specialists; the Vermont 
Association; and has never joined any of the secret societies, although he 
has always been an active worker in the various benevolent enterprises of the 
day. HE was present at Whitingham's centennial celebration in August 1880, 
and as a native of the town, was called upon and made one of the happiest 
speeches of the day. He has always been a strong temperance man; never used 
tobacco or alcoholic liquors; and [has published] thoughtful and earnest 
articles on temperance and against the use of alcoholic stimulants as 
medicines.

Dr. GREENE is a well preserved old gentleman, as will be seen by the 
accompanying likeness, and although seventy-eight years old, retains much of 
the vigor and sound common sense which have won for him the remarkable success 
of his life. He retired from active practice 01 January 1884, leaving his 
extensive business to his sons, and now he is enjoying a well-earned leisure 
in the serene sunset days of a life so largely devoted to the welfare of his 
fellowmen. Dr. [Reuben] GREENE has been twice married, first, 30 October 
1842 to Lydia WASTE of Whitingham, who died 14 June 1868, and second, 06 July 
1869, to Rebecca L. TILTON, who died 17 August 1893. His first wife bore him 
his eight children, of whom six survive. Three of his sons are engaged in 
the practice of medicine in Boston, and another is a dentist in Worcester, 
Massachusetts. His daughter, Ella, married Dr. Albert J. MARSTON, of 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Flora, the younger, married George W. ARMSTRONG, 
of Boston.

Submitted by Cathy Kubly