William Greene (governor)  William Greene Jr. (August 16, 1731November 29, 1809) was the second governor of the state of Rhode Island, serving in this capacity for eight years, five of which were during the American Revolutionary War. From a prominent Rhode Island family, his father, William Greene Sr., had served 11 terms as a colonial governor of Rhode Island. His great-grandfather, John Greene Jr. served for ten years as deputy governor of the colony, and his great-great-grandfather, John Greene Sr. was a founding settler of both Providence and Warwick. Greene served the colony for many years as a Deputy to the General Assembly, a justice and chief justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and then as governor. As a governor during the American Revolutionary War, his biggest concerns were the British sacking of the Rhode Island towns of Bristol and Warren, and the British occupation of Newport, which lasted for three years. After eight years as governor, Greene, who supported the use of hard currency, was defeated in the May 1786 election by John Collins who was an advocate of paper money. Greene married a second cousin, Catharine Ray of Block Island, and the couple had four children, of whom Ray Greene became a United States Senator and Rhode Island Attorney General. Governor Greene died at his estate in the town of Warwick in 1809, and is interred at Governor Greene Cemetery in Warwick, where his parents were interred. Born August 16, 1731 in Warwick in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, William Greene was the son of William Greene Sr. who had served for 11 one-year terms as the governor of the Rhode Island colony, and the great grandson of John Greene Jr. who had served for ten years as the deputy governor of the colony. His great great grandfather was John Greene Sr. who came from County Dorset in England in 1635, was one of the original proprietors of Providence with Roger Williams, and later became one of the founding settlers of Warwick. Governor Greene is also descended from early Rhode Island settler and Warwick founder Samuel Gorton, as well as from Frances (Latham) Dungan, the "mother of governors." Greene's mother was Catharine, the daughter of Benjamin and Susanna (Holden) Greene, and also a descendant of Warwick founder John Greene Sr.. She also descends from Randall Holden who was a follower of Anne Hutchinson and signer of the Portsmouth Compact in 1638, establishing the first government in the Rhode Island colony.