More On Dr. Green

I received an email from John Allen up in cold, snowy New Hampshire. John included a death announcement for Dr. John Wynantz Greene from the January 7, 1898 edition of the New York Times obtained from Ancestry.com. Unfortunately, the quality of the reproduction leaves much to be desired, but it is readable.

New York Times - January 7, 1898

The article sheds a bid more light on the circumstances of Dr. Green's death and the subsequent actions of his wife regarding the disposition of the body in a manner against the wishes expressed in his will (See the February 25, 2011 Blog entry).

It seems that the good doctor had married a second time later in life, after the death of his first wife. This was a winter-spring marriage, with the doctor about sixty years old and his bride but twenty at their wedding which occurred twelve years prior to his death along the Wading River. After about six years of marriage, the young Mrs. Greene, unable to cope with the doctors eccentricities, left him and took their young son to live at her mother's home.

I guess their short relationship wasn't sufficient to produce a bond whereby the young Mrs. Greene felt particularly obligated to follow Dr. Greene's last wishes regarding his burial beside the Wading River. On the other hand, perhaps she genuinely was in love with her husband and felt that his eccentricities grew greater over his last few years resulting in his increasingly bizarre behavior during his last days. I guess we will never know what was in her heart.

I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has other thoughts regarding this unique situation.

Pete S