THOMAS J. GREEN, M.D., a skillful and popular physician of Salem, is prominent among the medical practitioners of Marion County, where his success in the treatment of the various forms of disease to which human flesh is heir has brought him into favor with the people. With his family he occupies one of the finest residences of the city. This is a two-story structure, containing eight rooms, finished in a modern style and furnished with an elegance that betokens the refinement of the inmates. The Doctor has spent his entire life in the city where he now resides, and the house in which his eyes first opened to the light stood on the site just south of the Broadway Hotel. He is the son of S. W. Green, a native of Tennessee, who came to Illinois more than sixty years ago and settled in Salem. During the Civil War he enlisted in the Union army, becoming a member of Company B, Sixty-sixth Illinois Infantry, and serving with valor for more than two years. He was killed in the battle of Spring Hill, Tenn., when fighting valiantly for the Stars and Stripes. The mother of our subject was in her maidenhood Martha Evans, and was a native of Tennessee. In her childhood she accompanied her father, Obcdiah Evans, to Illinois and settled three miles south of Salem. She is still living, and notwithstanding her advanced years (seventy-one) she enjoys excellent health and the possession of her mental faculties unimpaired. In her family there were thirteen children, of whom three are now living, namely: Thomas J.; Martha J., who is married and lives in St. Louis, and Mrs. Belle Watson, whose home is in Salem. Three sons grew to maturity and all served in the Civil War. William R. was a member of Compaq' H, Fortieth Illinois Infantry and died April 14, 1894; S. W., Jr., enlisted in Company G, Twenty-first Illinois Infantry, and under General Grant participated in many hard-fought battles. At Cliickamauga he was taken by the enemy, and for fourteen months was held a prisoner in Belle Isle, Libby, Andersonville and other prisons. Shortly after his return home he died from paralysis. The youngest of the sons, Thomas J., was born February 28, 1846, and grew to manhood in Salem, attending the schools of this place. When a mere lad his attention was directed to the medical profession, and upon completing his literary studies he commenced to read medicine under the preceptorship of Dr. William Hill, now of Bloomington, 111., with whom he remained for four years. At the opening of the Civil War Dr. Hill entered the Union service as surgeon of the Forty-eighth Illinois Infantry, and upon going to the front took our subject with him. After the battle of Shiloh his preceptor resigned and both returned home. In the fall of 1862, when a youth of but sixteen years, our subject enlisted as a private in Company A, One Hundred and Eleventh Illinois Infantry, and accompanied his regiment to tiie front, participating in every skirmish and engagement in which they took part prior to his capture. On the 22d of July, 1864, in front of Atlanta, Ga., he was shot by a musket ball in the right limb above the knee. At the same time the Confederates charged, and while his comrades were helping him from the field they were hard pressed by their foes. Fearing for the safety of his friends he asked them to leave him, and this they did, with the exception of one comrade, David Ravens, who stayed by his side. Both were captured by the forces of the opposing armies and were taken to Atlanta, where the wounded lad was placed in a hospital. A few days later he was taken to Macon, Ga., and thence twenty days later was conveyed to Audersonvillc Prison, where he spent seven months, enduring all the horrors of that infamous place. From one hundred and sixty-six pounds he was reduced to ninety pounds, and was a mere shadow of his former self at the expiration of the eight months and five days of his imprisonment. Released by parole March 18, 1865, our subject was sent to Vicksburg, landing in that city March 27. From there he went to St. Louis, and thence returned home on a furlough. He rejoined his regiment at Springfield, III., and after a service of two years and nine months was honorably discharged, June 9, 1865. He now receives $8 per month as a pension. In 1866 he went to Bloomington, 111., and resumed his medical studies under Dr. Hill, with whom he remained for four years. Later he spent one year at the Chicago Medical College, after which he was obliged to discontinue his studies until he earned money sufficient for their further prosecution. In 1875 the young Doctor opened an office at Philipstown, White County, and began the practice of medicine. In June, 1883, he came to Salem, where he has since conducted a lucrative practice. He is prominent in the Grand Army of the Republic, and is surgeon of Chandler Post No. 102, at Salem. In politics he is a firm adherent of Republican principles, and while not desirous of official honors, he nevertheless maintains a quiet interest in public affairs. His beautiful home is presided over by his accomplished wife, with whom he was united May 12, 1877. Mrs. Green, who bore the maiden name of Mary Hoon, was born in Roxbury, Morgan County, Ohio, February 20, 1858, and is well educated and popular in social circles as well as prominent in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, to which she belongs. Four children blessed this union, of whom the survivors are, Edward Homer and Lulu. Arthur Clyde and Allie Gertrude are deceased.
Source: "Portrait and Biographical Record Clinton, Washington, Marion and Jefferson Counties, Illinois"
Chapman Publishing Co, Chicago, 1894
Pages 262 - 264
Submitted by Sandy (Whalen) Bauer