The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-04
GEN. GREENE'S NEW BIRTHDAY
MIR. OTIS AsHMORE POINTS OUT
BIOGRAPHERs' MISTAKES.

Historians and BIOGraphers Have
Given the Date of the Revolution
airy Hero as May -, May 20 and
June o, 1742-Mr. sshmOre Says 1t
Is July ~, I742, Old style or Au-
gust Z. New styIe-The Real Date
Deducted From "A Manuscript His
tory of the Greene Family-Mis-
takes Have Arisen From COnfOund-
ing civil and Historical Year, the
Former Beginning in March, the
of the Quakers in Reckoning
Time.
The April meeting of the Georgia His
torical Society was held az Hodgson hall
last night. Vice President Col. George
A. Mercer presided. The reports of the
standing and special committees were
read and approved. The report of
the library committee, recommend
ing the purchase of a number of new
books, was followed by the passage of a
resolution directing that the books be
bought.
At the conclusion of the regular bust
ness, DR.. R. ]. Num- suggested that the
a paper he had prepared relative to the
actual date of the birth of Gen. Nathaniel
Greene, matter long in dispute among
historians and biographers, and as 90
which there has existed a wide diversity
OF opinion. The chairman stated that he
ba he cria
to Mr.. Ashmore and the paper was ac-
cording.y read 1t is as follows:
Concerning the exact date of the birth
of Gen. Nathaniel Greene of revolutionary
fame, there are certain discrepancies in
the various reference books upon biog-
raphy that deserve notice, and, if posi-
bic. correction. The date given by most
of these authorities is May o. 1742 Some
give June 6, 1872 while one, at least (Sav-
age, gives May %, 1742. Other dates,
which seem TO be evident errors, are also
noted"
In view of the fact that there has been
preserved a MS. Genealogy of the Greene
Family, compiled by Cen Greene, l am
told by a member of the family though
the Endorsement says by Gen. Greene s
father; (see Life of Maj. Gen. Greene, by
G. w. Greene, Vol. 1, q. 4, note, also p. $50,
il would seem that this authority would
at once set the matter at rest but certain
apparent Inconsistencies in the dates given
in this genealogy still leave the matter in
doubt until more light is thrown upon the
subject. This authority which we would
naturally accept with the most confidence,
says that Nathaniel Greene was porn the
twenty-seventh day of the fifth month,
1742 about one or two O'Clock in the aft
ernoon of the third day of the week.
Gen. Greene's father, as is well known,
was Quaker preacher, and in this entry
We recognize the Well-known numerical
nomenclature given by that religious sect
to dates. Here we have the date of Gen.
Greene's birth stated with apparently
great eXactness; viz. Tuesday May q,
1742. according to our mode of expression"
The difficulty, however, is In the fact that
May q, 1742, did not fall on Tuesday, but
on Thursday If we reckon, as we doubt
less should do in the old style, the new
style not being adopted in this country till
1852 If we reckon In accordance with
the new style May q, 1742, fell on Sunday,
which also does not agree with the record.
Where then, is the error? Is there a
clerical or typographical error in this par
ticular entry in the record? Let us exam
inc this point.
This same genealogy gives the dates
of several of the births of Gen. Greene S
brothers with the same exactness, and also
the date of the death of Gen. Greene's
mother. This last entry Is given in new
style" which is specially significant as
indicating that the previous entries were
very probably made In old style. This is
all the more probable because the new
style was not adopted in this country till
1852. The record is expressed in each case
in the usual numerical custom noted above.
but the following tabulated statement
will show more conveniently the compari-
son of dates. The year. month, day of
the month, and day of the week are taken
from the record The days of the week,
written in the columns under the head
ings new style and "od style" are
those which have been found by calcula-
ton to correspond with the days of the
months opposite them"
Taken from the records: