Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-12-01
Greene's Career of Adventure.
Wealth and Perjury.
p~hilsdelpbis press.l

Philadelphia Press.l
Over thirty years ago Jonathan II,
Greene was known as one of the most
expert gamblers in the country. He
was familiar with all the arts calcu-
lated to deceive even the most skillful,
and had the faculty Of winning money
wherever he went. Possessed Of a
fair education, he supplied what was
deficient by natural shrewdness quick
ened by rough knocks from q heartless
world, and he passed as q man Of
learning. His skill with cards was
almost phenomenal, and in the fifteen
years he devoted to gambling he han
died hundreds Of Thousands of dollars.
He came in contact with the most
noted professionals Of his day; he Wis.
tied all the principal cities Of the
union, passing as a man of means,
which he spent like a prince, and
dressed in the most fashionable style;
his society was courted and he was
popular with all whom he met. To
DAY he lives in a small house in the
lower part ofthe city. which isnot even
supplied with the necessities of life,
with a family Of seven children lock
ing to him for support, aud destitute
Of the means of supplying them. In
fact. Johnathan Greene, who once
had a bank account, which could be
reckoned by thousands, is a suppli-
cant for charity. His family have
barely the means to keep body and
soul together. In personal appearance
Greene is striking. Tall and cOmpactly
built, with an eye but little dimmed
by his seventy years Of life, a rich,
melodious voice and a bearing that
tells one that in times gone by asso
ciated with those who were gentlemen
in bearing, at least.
HIS CAREER.
The career Of Greene has been a
remarkable one. First he acquired a
reputation as a professional, and then
he became known as one Of the most
ardent advocates OF the laws enactedin
Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland
and Ohio to make gambling a criminal
offense. He was born in Marietta,
Ohio, in July, 1913, in what was
known as the Campus Martius,a stock
ade built by the colony that had
emigrated to Marietta county. His
father had emigrated there with his
family Of six children, four others te-
ing born there, of which Jonathan
was the youngest. His father had
been a soldier in the revolution and
was an architect and builder, 1t was
he who drew the plans and built the
Blenncrhassett mansion, twelve miles
below the Muskingum river in Vir-
ginia, occupied by the man SO init
mately associated with Aaron Burr,
whose intimacy with his wife in after
years gave rise to a suit that scandal
lied society. The family soon after
moved into the territory of Indiana,
and here, when he was six years of
age, his mother died. "0n her death
bed" said be, "she asked me never to
drink intoxicating liquors. | gave
her my word, and In a few minutes
she died, with her hand upon my head
and a blessing on her lips. That
pledge | have never broken" And
he Involuntary brushedsa tear from
his eye. From that time until he
wa sixteen years of age he became a
wanderer, his associates being the
Indian tribest that hen held possession
ofthe western country, the principal
ones being the Cherokee, Choctaw
and Creeks, most Of the time being
in the Red river as high up as Fort
Towson, going up the Red river and
cutting a way through solid RATS to
get there. IL was while leading this
wild, careless life that he acquired his
taste for gambling, and on returning
to his old home in 1881, then grown
to respectable proportions, belaunchcd
forth into the current chat has carried
80 many down to ruin.
A CARD SHARPER.
But success met him at every point,
and he soon became credited as q
gambler from whom Il was an honor
to win a stake. He could read the
cards by the backs almost as readily
as by the face; he was the first man TO
deal the cards from the bottom of the
pack, and he was the inventor Of four
Of the advantage" boxes used in faro.
Following this up successfully for
twelve years, his winnings were natur-
ally large, and his operations extended
to all the principal cities Of the
United States. Coming to Philadel.
phia, in 1885, he met a party Of well.
kn0wn gamblers, among whom were
Pendleton, of Washington; Campbell
Of Baltimore, and Hopkins, Of New
York, all experts. He played Will
them three consecutive days, and
walked out of the saloon at Sixth and
Chestnut;streets richer by $4,000 thar
when he entered. In 1872 be re.
nouneed the gaming table and de
cided 10 lead q more honorable life
Beginning in this city, he started on
featuring tour, and went to Harris
burg, where, after o heavy
outlay OF money anu NuNcI
time, he had passed the gam.
ing laws now on the statute books
On the rostrum he exposedthe trick,
of gambling,an startled his audience
by the adroitness with which h,
handled the cards. After having Ia,
law passed in this state he went t.
Kentucky, then to New York, then t
Ohio and Maryland. where be had
similar laws enacted. During the
course OF his lectures here a well
known professional from South Caro-.
lima, named Freeman, denounced him
as a fraud, a cheat and a humbug.
He insisted that Greene could not do
the tricks he claimed, and challenged
him to publicly debate the subject.
This Greene accepted. and the Chinese
museum, then at Ninth and Chestnut,
was selected as the place, The Rev