Post by Moon Seeker on Apr 12, 2007 11:37:26 GMT -5
LONG ISLAND
Theodore Green, 79, American Indian historian
BY JENNIFER BARRIOS
jennifer.barrios@newsday.com
Theodore Green earned many names in his 79 years. Professor. Doc. Chief Blue Medicine.
The Setauket resident constructed buildings, raised four children and more than a dozen foster children, and chronicled the history of his American Indian tribe.
Green died Sunday from complications of cancer.
Friends and family remembered him as a devoted father and tireless historian.
"He didn't blow his own horn," said Frank Turano, past president of the Three Village Historical Society, of which Green was a board member. "He was always remarkable in how much he was able to accomplish."
Green worked to keep the historic Bethel AME Church Cemetery in Stony Brook - filled with the marked and unmarked graves of slaves and freed men and women - free from development. As a result, Brookhaven Town granted the cemetery a special landmark status in 1994.
He also chronicled the history of the Setalcott tribe, a small American Indian community with fewer than 500 members. Green was a member of the tribe.
The tribe's medicine woman, Joy and Happiness of Running Water, said Green's work helped to coalesce the tribe into a locally recognized group, although the Setalcott are not formally recognized by the federal government.
"Through his love, the tribe has been openly recognized as an existing clan, and we are not dead, but fully functioning and alive," she said.
He also started the tribe's annual Corn Harvest in Setauket, she said.
About eight years ago, the tribe named Green chief. He received a new name - Chief Blue Medicine - that signifies the corn harvest that's gained when a coyote howls at a blue moon.
Green was born on Oct. 25, 1927, and grew up in Setauket. Carlton Edwards, who has known Green for 70 years, said while growing up, the other boys lived in admiration of their quick-witted friend.
"His classmates used to call him 'Professor,' because he was very, very smart in school," Edwards said.
His twin sons, Terrance Green and Theodore J. Green, said their father fibbed about his age and entered the Army at 17, both to fight in World War II and to escape the limited opportunities available to people of color in Setauket at the time.
He earned a degree as a dental technician from the New York Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, prompting the moniker "Doc" from Edwards.
Green was steeped in history at birth. His great-grandmother, Rachel Holland Hart, was featured in an 1845 William Sidney Mount painting titled "Eel Spearing at Setauket."
Green was commander at the local American Legion post for 25 years. The month of his 79th birthday, much to his friends' surprise, he climbed up a ladder to fix the roof of the aging post building.
"He was very skilled in everything he did," Edwards said.
In addition to his sons, Green is survived by his daughters, Torri Janis and Tanya Cox; two brothers; a sister; and four grandchildren. His wife of 39 years, Ella, died in 1998.
A wake will be held today from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. at the Bryant Funeral Home in Setauket. The funeral will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Bethel AME Church in Setauket. Burial will be at the Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton.
www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-ligree125167957apr12,0,1532786.story?coll=ny-linews-print
Theodore Green, 79, American Indian historian
BY JENNIFER BARRIOS
jennifer.barrios@newsday.com
Theodore Green earned many names in his 79 years. Professor. Doc. Chief Blue Medicine.
The Setauket resident constructed buildings, raised four children and more than a dozen foster children, and chronicled the history of his American Indian tribe.
Green died Sunday from complications of cancer.
Friends and family remembered him as a devoted father and tireless historian.
"He didn't blow his own horn," said Frank Turano, past president of the Three Village Historical Society, of which Green was a board member. "He was always remarkable in how much he was able to accomplish."
Green worked to keep the historic Bethel AME Church Cemetery in Stony Brook - filled with the marked and unmarked graves of slaves and freed men and women - free from development. As a result, Brookhaven Town granted the cemetery a special landmark status in 1994.
He also chronicled the history of the Setalcott tribe, a small American Indian community with fewer than 500 members. Green was a member of the tribe.
The tribe's medicine woman, Joy and Happiness of Running Water, said Green's work helped to coalesce the tribe into a locally recognized group, although the Setalcott are not formally recognized by the federal government.
"Through his love, the tribe has been openly recognized as an existing clan, and we are not dead, but fully functioning and alive," she said.
He also started the tribe's annual Corn Harvest in Setauket, she said.
About eight years ago, the tribe named Green chief. He received a new name - Chief Blue Medicine - that signifies the corn harvest that's gained when a coyote howls at a blue moon.
Green was born on Oct. 25, 1927, and grew up in Setauket. Carlton Edwards, who has known Green for 70 years, said while growing up, the other boys lived in admiration of their quick-witted friend.
"His classmates used to call him 'Professor,' because he was very, very smart in school," Edwards said.
His twin sons, Terrance Green and Theodore J. Green, said their father fibbed about his age and entered the Army at 17, both to fight in World War II and to escape the limited opportunities available to people of color in Setauket at the time.
He earned a degree as a dental technician from the New York Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences, prompting the moniker "Doc" from Edwards.
Green was steeped in history at birth. His great-grandmother, Rachel Holland Hart, was featured in an 1845 William Sidney Mount painting titled "Eel Spearing at Setauket."
Green was commander at the local American Legion post for 25 years. The month of his 79th birthday, much to his friends' surprise, he climbed up a ladder to fix the roof of the aging post building.
"He was very skilled in everything he did," Edwards said.
In addition to his sons, Green is survived by his daughters, Torri Janis and Tanya Cox; two brothers; a sister; and four grandchildren. His wife of 39 years, Ella, died in 1998.
A wake will be held today from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 10 p.m. at the Bryant Funeral Home in Setauket. The funeral will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Bethel AME Church in Setauket. Burial will be at the Calverton National Cemetery in Calverton.
www.newsday.com/news/printedition/longisland/ny-ligree125167957apr12,0,1532786.story?coll=ny-linews-print