Samuel Harrison Greene (December 25, 1845 – September 7, 1920) was an American Baptist pastor, church leader, and university official.

Early life

Samuel Harrison Greene was born in

Enosburg, Vermont Enosburgh is a town in Franklin County, Vermont, in the United States. The population was 2,810 at the 2020 census. Enosburgh includes the village of Enosburg Falls and the settlements of Bordoville, East Enosburgh, North Enosburgh, Sampsonvil ...

on December 25, 1845. He was educated in local schools. At 21, he was elected as the Superintendent of Schools in Montgomery, Vermont. In 1873, he graduated from

Colgate University Colgate University is a Private university, private college in Hamilton, New York, United States. The Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York ...

in Hamilton, New York, and in 1875 from Hamilton Theological Seminary. He is descended from John Parker.

Pastoral positions

In 1875, upon graduation from seminary, Greene became pastor of a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

church in

Cazenovia, New York Cazenovia is an incorporated Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Madison County, New York, United States. The population was 6,740 at the time of the 2020 census. The town is named after Theophilus Cazenove, Theophile Cazenove, th ...

. In 1879, he was called to Calvary Baptist Church in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he served until his death in 1920. He led Calvary to become one of the major churches in the nation's capital. Under his leadership, the church grew to over 1700 members and became a model of the Baptist

Sunday School ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

movement. In 1903, he gave a lecture to the

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...

on the Calvary's Sunday School program, which grew to approximately 2300. The secretary of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...

's Sunday School Board described Calvary's program as "one of the great Sunday Schools of the world." In 1907, the

Northern Baptist Convention The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline Protestant and Baptist Christian denomination. It is a reorganization from 1907 of the Triennial Convention. The Triennial Convention was renamed as the Northern Baptist Convention in ...

had its founding meeting at Calvary, and Greene was elected vice president of the convention. The president of the convention was then

New York Governor The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ha ...

Charles Evans Hughes Charles Evans Hughes (April 11, 1862 – August 27, 1948) was an American politician, academic, and jurist who served as the 11th chief justice of the United States from 1930 to 1941. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

who joined Calvary in 1911 after he was appointed

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is a Justice (title), justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the J ...

Education

From 1889 until 1912, Greene served on the Board of Trustees of Columbian University, now the

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

. He served as Acting President twice, 1894–1895 and 1900–1902.

Death

Greene died at his home in Washington on September 7, 1920. He was buried at

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth (Washington, D.C.), Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greene, Samuel Harrison 1845 births 1920 deaths Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School alumni Colgate University alumni George Washington University faculty People from Enosburgh, Vermont Presidents of George Washington University Baptists from Vermont Religious leaders from Vermont 19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States 20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States