Secretary of State

Grant Green

Term of OfficeMay 3, 1854 - September 2, 1855
PartyDemocrat
Governor during his term of OfficeGov. Lazarus Powell
Spouse(s)Kate S. Overton
ChildrenHenry, Eliza, John Taylor, & Grant, Jr.
ParentsJohn & Martha (Dixon) Green
ResidenceKentucky (Henderson County; Franklin County)
OccupationEducator; Banker
Birth Date2/3/1826
Birth PlaceKentucky (Henderson County)
Date of Death7/6/1898
Place of DeathKentucky
Place of BurialKentucky (Frankfort Cemetery, Franklin County)
Other State Offices HeldAssistant Secretary of State (1852-1854); Kentucky General Assembly (1851-1852); Kentucky State Auditor (1859-1863)
County Offices HeldHenderson County Judge (1858-1859); Henderson Co. Deputy Sheriff (1848-1849); Henderson Co. Deputy Clerk (1849-1851)
NoteHe was a member of the Democratic State Committee.

Grant Green was born on February 3, 1826. His parents were John Green and Martha (Dixon) Green who married in 1820. His father’s family came from Virginia to Henderson County, Kentucky, in 1815.

John Green died around 1829, leaving his wife and four children. Grant Green had one brother and two sisters. He began his career as a schoolteacher. He then worked two years (1848-49) as a Deputy Sheriff for his uncle, William Green, who was County Sheriff. He served as Deputy Clerk of the county until 1851. In 1851, he was elected to the General Assembly.

He was appointed Assistant Secretary of State on February 26, 1852, and then Secretary of State by Governor Lazarus Powell; he served until September 3, 1855. He was also a member of the Democratic State Committee. In 1855, he was defeated in a race for Superintendent of Public Instruction. He returned to Henderson to practice law. He was elected County Judge in 1858 and State Auditor in 1859. He resigned his county position and returned to Frankfort. He was narrowly defeated for a second term as State Auditor in 1864.

He again returned to Henderson where he worked several years in the tobacco business before helping form a banking firm around 1866. In 1868, Green was appointed cashier of the Farmers’ Bank of Kentucky and served in that position for twenty-eight years.

Grant Green married Kate S. Overton of Fayette County on February 28, 1855. They had four children: Henry Dixon, Eliza Overton, Grant Green Jr., and John Taylor Green. Grant Green died on July 6, 1898, and is buried in the Frankfort Cemetery.

References:

John M. Gresham, "Biographical Encyclopedia of the Commonwealth," (1896), pgs 604-5;

Edmund L. Starling, "History of Henderson County," (1887), pgs 606-8;

Records of the Frankfort Cemetery