George Green: A Self-Made Man

“He is a woman!” The voices of James McLaughlin, Jesse Barnes, and R.J Hardy rang out on March 21, 1902 in Ettrick, Virginia.¹ Close friends of the Green family, the men were tasked with preparing George Green’s body for burial, as is tradition in the Catholic faith. However, when they uncloaked the body, they found that Green was biologically female.² The community of Ettrick was shocked by this revelation. Neighbors of Green remark that he “always associated with men and engaged in pursuits and diversions common to men,” like using tobacco and shaving.³

It is not known when George Green transitioned to male, and little is known about his childhood. However, it is known that he was born in England as a triplet and his mother sadly died during childbirth. At some point, Green immigrated to Canada.⁴ His path to the United States started in New York and he then moved to Pennsylvania.⁵ In the 1900 Census, his official immigration date is listed as 1865.⁶ However, the earliest time that Green appears on records is in 1870, in the Erie, Pennsylvania Census, alongside his wife, Mary.⁷

Mary Gibbons was born to James and Alice Gibbons in the early 1840s. The Gibbons family first appears on records in 1850 in Somerset, Ohio, where Mary was born. There are other children listed on this record, and it is possible that Mary had siblings. The Gibbons lived in Somerset, Ohio, until moving to Erie, Pennsylvania, where Mary met George.⁸ Mary was well-educated and could read, write, and speak English.⁹

Mary and George got married in 1866; Mary being a 25-year-old widow.¹⁰ The ceremony was done “according to the Catholic faith.”¹¹ Little is known about her previous marriage to John Biddles, but she had a child with him named Alice, who is often referred to as Lizzie. Lizzie’s last name was changed to Green after the marriage, and George became her adoptive father.¹² Mary and George’s courtship only lasted “a few months,” and George did not share his secret with Mary until they had wed. Mary “promised…that [she] would keep the secret” of his identity.¹³

George, Mary, and Lizzie lived together in Erie until moving to Cary, North Carolina, in the 1870s.¹⁴ By trade, George was a farmer, and by 1891, he owned 135 acres.¹⁵ There is little known about the Greens’ life in North Carolina, but it appeared to be prosperous.

In December of 1879, Lizzie married John Coover in Wake County, North Carolina, when she was 18 years old.¹⁶ The couple had at least seven children together, one named George.

A few months before his death, George and Mary Green moved to Ettrick, Virginia. The couple moved in with a family member named “Mrs. John Moriarty.”¹⁷ The Green family and George were laborers, working in cotton mills in Ettrick. It was here, surrounded by family members, that George died.¹⁸

While the community of Ettrick was shocked by the revelation about George, many approached the situation with kindness and curiosity. After the family friends found the body, they “proceeded with the utmost care to examine and prepare the body, and so it was dressed in its accustomed masculine apparel and was ready to the undertaker.”¹⁹

The media’s reaction to Mary was varied. Some report her being “trapped” in a marriage with George, but I think her words speak for themselves: “It has been the sacrifice of my life…but I believe I am happier now for the sacrifice.”²⁰ Newspapers often imagine Mary as “grief-stricken,” with one account goes as far to say that “No sorrow more profound or deeper was ever seen.”²¹ Mary’s feelings for George were apparent to newspaper journalists at the time and is reflected deeply in their writing. Mary adds that she is “not afraid to put my hand on him. He was a Christian, and I believe his soul is now with Christ.”²² George was buried on March 22, 1902, in St. Joseph’s cemetery, where he remains today.²³

The story of George Green is sometimes told in tandem with that of William Howard, who died the same year and was from New York. Howard also worked as a farm hand and lived with his wife and kids in Canandaigua.²⁴

Sadly, the year after his death, Lizzie Coover, George’s step-daughter, also passed away.²⁵ The Green’s farmland was reallocated to Lizzie’s husband, John, and he eventually sold it.²⁶

After George’s death, Mary remarried to David Stafford and moved back to Erie, Pennsylvania, until her death in 1914.²⁷

What stands out to me about this story is that there is nothing remarkable about George Green. George was a normal person, who owned land, who was a husband, father, and friend, and who lived his life without spectacle. No one was interested in him until his death, which is when he became a story.

The majority of the research I have done on George Green was through newspapers. I found that while archival information was helpful in creating a timeline of events about Green, newspapers provided me with a clear understanding of the thoughts and feelings of the people of Ettrick. I also was able to glean firsthand accounts and quotes from people, most notably Mary Green. This helped to place George’s life in a social context. In some cases, multiple news sources can provide different accounts of the same situation.

The Library of Virginia has access to several online newspaper databases. Some are created in-house, and others we offer access to through subscriptions at the Library. In addition, the Library has access to newspapers on microfilm, and in rare cases, in print format.

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? You can use the Library of Virginia’s Interlibrary Loan system  to borrow materials from other libraries.