ilton Green was born May 1, 1854 in Tuscaloosa Alabama. When he was 24 years old, he married Eliza, who was 15 years old, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She was born June 1, 1863. They were both born into Slavery as were their parents. Although President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863 that declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free", it did not immediately free a single slave.

Despite this expansive wording, the Emancipation Proclamation was limited in many ways. It applied only to states that had seceded from the Union, leaving slavery untouched in the loyal border states. It also expressly exempted parts of the Confederacy that had already come under Northern control. Most important, the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory. (US national archives and records administration).

According to the listing of the 1900 Census Report, the Green Family lived in the 16th Precinct of Western Avenue in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Milton and Eliza owned their own home and had no mortgage. Milton was 46 and was a laborer/coal miner doing government work. He had no schooling and could not read. Eliza was 37 and took in washing to help the family. She also had no schooling and could not read. At the time, she was the mother of nine children; one had died prior to the 1900 census. By, the 1910 Census, Milton and Eliza had 11 children. They were Emily, Mittie, Malinda (Cassie), Mary Elizabeth, Hattie, Caleb, Laura, Walter, Bessie, Charles and Sarah.

Emily, the oldest, born January 1879, was not living at home at the time. She was married to James Green. Emily said that her Grandmother bragged about the fact that she was her first free born Grandchild. Emily and James lived in East St. Louis, MO and had five children: James, Jr., Milton, Fletcher B., Leroy and Lois.

Mittie was the second oldest child was born September 1881. She was a nurse maid. She was educated and could read and write. Mittie married Wes Williams and had two sons John and Prince. They lived in Chicago.

Cassie (Malinda), born June 1, 1884, was 16 in 1900 and was a cook. She also had an education and could read and write. Cassie married Rev. Stephen Pierson June 28, 1905. He was from South Carolina. They had six children: Stephen, Jr., Mildred, Samuel, Thomas, Annie and Doskey. They lived in Tuscaloosa, Dolomite, and Bessemer, Alabama as well as Lynch, KY. After Stephen passed, Cassie lived her remaining years in Chicago, Ill.

Mary Elizabeth, the fourth daughter, was born May 3, 1886. She was 14 and still in school in 1900. She married Mento Taylor and had three children Robert, Ruth and Benjamin. They lived in Birmingham, AL.

Hattie, born February 14, 1888, was 12 years old and was in school. She married Daniel Brown. They had two children, Virginia and Caleb. They moved to Chicago.

Caleb, the first son, was born March 8, 1890. He was 10 in 1900. He did not marry and lived in Chicago.

Laura was born August 3, 1891 and was 8 years old in 1900. She was not in school although there was no mention of a reason. She married twice, first to Turner Johnson. They had no children. She lived in Chicago and then moved to Milwaukee, WI. In Milwaukee, she married William Rush.

Walter was Milton and Eliza’s second son. He was born in August 1894. He was five at the time of the census and not in school. As an adult, he lived in Chicago and was married twice. He and his first wife had two children Walter Lee and Alberta. He and his second wife, Christine had five children: Joan, Sandra, Sarah, Earl, Bradley and Billy.

Bessie, later known as ”Aunt B.”, was born July 1898 and was the youngest at two years old durring the 1900 census. She was married twice, first to a Lewis. They had two children, Andrew and Walter Lee. They lived in Milwaukee. Bessie later married Lovey Couch.

Charlie was born July, 1900. He married and lived in Mobile, Alabama. He had three children: Sara, Leonard and Charles, Jr.

Sarah, the youngest, born Dec. 26, 1904, went to Chicago in 1927 or 1930. She married John Sims. They had no children.

Special thanks to Dorothy Johnson, granddaughter of Cassie Green Pierson and Bill and Sylvia (granddaughter of Hattie Green Brown) McClendon for their research and contributions in preserving our family History.