Greene Smith

Greene Smith. . Born April 12, 1842 in Peterboro, NY, Greene Smith burst into a very special life, raised among world-famous abolitionists and radical thinkers. A rambling, rambunctious boy, Greene was sent to be schooled in New Jersey by the renowned Theodore Dwight Weld and Angelina Grimke, friends of his parents. His father’s letters implored him to discipline and self-control. , He left Harvard after two years, and by May of 1863, barely 21, Greene had designed and “raised” his Bird House. Here began his pursuits of life as an expert naturalist and world-class citizen-scientist. , In 1864, however, Greene eagerly joined the 14th New York Artillery and served with distinction in the Battle of the Crater outside of Petersburg, Virginia. Once home, Greene became a popular leader among sportsmen regionally and nationally, was respected in local politics, and dedicated himself to conservation of threatened natural resources. , Greene married Elizabeth Fitzhugh, from a prominent Baltimore family. They traveled regularly in America and abroad, and Greene made extensive hunting and fishing excursions - ever adding to his collections. Greene became an extraordinary citizen - scientist, an expert ornithologist who lectured at Cornell University. A gifted taxidermist, he worked with the Smithsonian Institution’s collections as well as his own. By all accounts, he was a man of action, great energy, and high spirits. , Tragically stricken with “consumption,” degenerating slowly against all efforts, Greene died on July 23, 1880, shortly after his 38th birthday. He had moved into his beloved Bird House for the last three weeks of his life, dictating final notes for the scientific catalogue of his remarkable ornithological collection. Elizabeth eventually donated the collection keeping a few favorite birds for herself, and retained her rights to the Bird House until her death in 1918.