Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Greene, Nathaniel

GREENE, Nathaniel, editor, b. in Boscawen, N. H., 20 May, 1797; d. in Boston, Mass., 29 Nov., 1877. He was left early in life dependent upon his own resources, and in 1809 became an apprentice in the office of the “New Hampshire Patriot.” Three years later he became editor of the “Concord Gazette,” and in 1814 removed to Portsmouth, where he had charge of the “New Hampshire Gazette.” After this he settled in Haverhill, and for two years managed the “Haverhill Gazette.” In May, 1817, he founded and edited the “Essex Patriot,” with which journal he remained connected until 1821, when he was invited to Boston, and there established the “Boston Statesman,” which first appeared as a semi-weekly and then became the foremost daily Democratic journal of the state. He was postmaster of Boston in 1829-'40, and again in 1845-'9. From 1849 till 1861 he resided in Paris, and on his return settled in Boston. He contributed more than two hundred poems to various Boston journals, which appeared over the pen-name of “Boscawen,” and he published a translation of G. Sforzosi's “History of Italy” (New York, 1856); “Tales from the German” (Boston, 1837); “Tales from the German, Italian, and French” (1843); and “Improvisations and Translations” (1852). — His brother, Charles Gordon, journalist, b. in Boscawen, N. H., 1 July, 1804; d. in Boston, Mass., 27 Sept., 1886, was sent to the Bradford academy by Nathaniel, in whose care he was placed on the death of his father in 1812. Subsequently he entered his brother's office in Haverhill, and, following him to Boston, became his assistant on the “Statesman.” In 1825 he managed and for a time edited the “Free Press” in Taunton, Mass., and after publishing the “Boston Spectator” in 1826, removed in 1827 to Philadelphia, where, with James A. Jones, he bought the “National Palladium,” the first daily newspaper in Pennsylvania, to advocate the candidacy of Andrew Jackson. A year later he became connected with the “United States Telegraph” in Washington, and in 1820 he returned to Boston, succeeding his brother as proprietor and editor of the “Boston Statesman.” He founded, in November, 1831, the “Boston Morning Post,” which he conducted until he sold it in 1875. Mr. Greene was on several occasions a Democratic candidate for office, at one time a member of the state legislature, and naval officer of the port of Boston for two terms, having been appointed in 1853 by Franklin Pierce, and reappointed by James Buchanan in 1857. — Nathaniel's son, William Batchelder, author, b. in Haverhill, Mass., 4 April, 1819; d. in Weston-Super-Mare, England, 30 May, 1878, was appointed to the U. S. military academy from Massachusetts in 1835, but left before graduation. He was made 2d lieutenant in the 7th infantry in July, 1839, and, after serving through the Florida war, resigned in November, 1841. Subsequently he was connected with the Brook Farm movement, after which he studied theology, and was graduated at the Harvard divinity-school in 1845. He then became a Unitarian clergyman, and for several years was settled in Brookfield, Mass. Later he went to Europe, but returned in 1861. Although a Democrat, he was a strong abolitionist, and at the beginning of the civil war became colonel of the 14th Massachusetts infantry, afterward the 1st Massachusetts heavy artillery. In 1862, while stationed with his regiment in Fairfax, Va., he was recalled and assigned by Gen. McClellan to the command of an artillery brigade in Gen. Whipple's division. He resigned his commission in October, 1862, and returned to Boston. Mr. Greene was a member of the Massachusetts constitutional convention in 1853, was active in all reform movements, and was specially zealous for perfect freedom of speech. He was a fine mathematician, and was versed in Hebrew literature and in Hebrew and Egyptian antiquities. He published numerous pamphlets, including “Sovereignty of the People” (Boston, 1863); “Explanations of the Theory of the Calculus” (1870); “Transcendentalism” (1870); and “The Facts of Consciousness and the Philosophy of Mr. Herbert Spencer” (1871); and in book-form, “Remarks on the Science of History, followed by an a priori Autobiography” (1849); “Theory of the Calculus” (1870); and “Socialistic, Communistic, Mutualistic, and Financial Fragments” (1875).