Catharine Littlefield Greene

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When Greene followed her husband during the war, she left the five children she bore during the war at home.<ref name="WAMS" /> In 1779, she had three children and was pregnant with their fourth child when Nathanael was made commander of George Washington's [[Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|southern forces]]. Greene was not able to join her husband in [[Charleston, South Carolina]] until 1781.<ref name="GA Enc" /> By this time, her children were George, Martha, Cornelia, and baby Nathanael Ray. Their fifth child, born by the end of the war, was Louisa.<ref name="GA Enc" />	When Greene followed her husband during the war, she left the five children she bore during the war at home.<ref name="WAMS" /> In 1779, she had three children and was pregnant with their fourth child when Nathanael was made commander of George Washington's [[Southern theater of the American Revolutionary War|southern forces]]. Greene was not able to join her husband in [[Charleston, South Carolina]] until 1781.<ref name="GA Enc" /> By this time, her children were George, Martha, Cornelia, and baby Nathanael Ray. Their fifth child, born by the end of the war, was Louisa.<ref name="GA Enc" />
When the war ended, Greene looked forward to having Nathanael home to share in the responsibility of raising the children and handling business and household affairs.<ref name="WAMS" /> His presence at home "brought a peace of mind unknown to her since the conflict began."{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}	When the war ended, Greene looked forward to having Nathanael home to share in the responsibility of raising the children and handling business and household affairs.<ref name="WAMS" /> His presence at home "brought a peace of mind unknown to her since the conflict began."{{sfn|Stegeman|1986|p=109}}
===Recover funds from the war===	===Recover funds from the war===
At the urging of a trusted adviser, she personally presented to the [[United States Congress]] a petition for indemnity to recover funds that Nathanael had paid to Charleston merchants. On April 27, 1792, President [[George Washington]] approved and signed an act that indemnified the Greene estate.	At the urging of a trusted adviser, she personally presented to the [[United States Congress]] a petition for indemnity to recover funds that Nathanael had paid to Charleston merchants. On April 27, 1792, President [[George Washington]] approved and signed an act that indemnified the Greene estate.{{sfn|Stegeman|1986|pp=153–154}}
In a happy letter to a friend, she wrote:	In a happy letter to a friend, she wrote:
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==Plantation==	==Plantation==
After the war, Nathanael was given land in Georgia and elsewhere for his military service.<ref name="GA Enc" /> A [[slave plantation]] on the [[Savannah River]] called [[Mulberry Grove Plantation|Mulberry Grove]], in [[Chatham County, Georgia]], granted to him by the [[Georgia General Assembly]] in gratitude for his services during the war.<ref name="WAMS" />	After the war, Nathanael was given land in Georgia and elsewhere for his military service.<ref name="GA Enc" /> A [[slave plantation]] on the [[Savannah River]] called [[Mulberry Grove Plantation|Mulberry Grove]], in [[Chatham County, Georgia]], granted to him by the [[Georgia General Assembly]] in gratitude for his services during the war.<ref name="WAMS" />
Nathanael decided to move the family, with the children's tutor Phineas Miller, in the fall of 1785.<ref name="GA Enc" /> Here, he hoped to make a living and pay off their debts<ref name="WAMS" /> from what they earned on their [[rice]], and by selling their other lands when the markets proved favorable.	Nathanael decided to move the family, with the children's tutor Phineas Miller, in the fall of 1785.<ref name="GA Enc" /> Here, he hoped to make a living and pay off their debts<ref name="WAMS" /> from what they earned on their [[rice]], produced with slave-labor. Nathanael set aside his anti-slavery beliefs to operate the plantation.{{sfn|Stegeman|1986|p=113}}
Greene, living on the frontier, far away from her family in Rhode Island, had to adjust to being the mistress of a struggling plantation.<ref name="WAMS" /> According to Stegeman, "her dream of wealth and leisure, once the war was over, had been shattered; she could no longer count on even the most basic security."	Greene, living on the frontier, far away from her family in Rhode Island, had to adjust to being the mistress of a struggling plantation.<ref name="WAMS" /> According to Stegeman, "her dream of wealth and leisure, once the war was over, had been shattered; she could no longer count on even the most basic security."{{sfn|Stegeman|1986|p=113}}
Greene saw her husband as a "tired, haggard ex-soldier who had given himself to a belief, had signed away his future life, in fact, for that cause."{{cn|date=April 2024}} She earnestly ran the plantation house with their domestic enslaved people. She also "*****" to know members of her community.<ref name="WAMS" />	Greene saw her husband as a "tired, haggard ex-soldier who had given himself to a belief, had signed away his future life, in fact, for that cause."{{sfn|Stegeman|1986|p=122}} She earnestly ran the plantation house with their domestic enslaved people. She also "*****" to know members of her community.<ref name="WAMS" />
===Nathanael's death ===	===Nathanael's death ===
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That same year, Catharine met a young man named [[Eli Whitney]], who tutored her neighbor's children. With her encouragement he took up residence at [[Mulberry Grove Plantation|Mulberry Grove]] to pursue his inventions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lynne|title=The Book of Women|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofwomen300no00grif|url-access=registration|year=1992|publisher=Bob Adams, Inc|location=Holbrook, MA|isbn=1-55850-106-1|author2=Kelly McCann|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofwomen300no00grif/page/2 2]}}<!--|accessdate=9 June 2011--></ref> Within a year he had produced a model for the [[cotton gin]].<ref name="GA Enc" />	That same year, Catharine met a young man named [[Eli Whitney]], who tutored her neighbor's children. With her encouragement he took up residence at [[Mulberry Grove Plantation|Mulberry Grove]] to pursue his inventions.<ref>{{cite book|last=Griffin|first=Lynne|title=The Book of Women|url=https://archive.org/details/bookofwomen300no00grif|url-access=registration|year=1992|publisher=Bob Adams, Inc|location=Holbrook, MA|isbn=1-55850-106-1|author2=Kelly McCann|page=[https://archive.org/details/bookofwomen300no00grif/page/2 2]}}<!--|accessdate=9 June 2011--></ref> Within a year he had produced a model for the [[cotton gin]].<ref name="GA Enc" />
In an 1883 article in ''The North American Review'' titled "Woman as Inventor", the early feminist and abolitionist [[Matilda Joslyn Gage]] claimed that Mrs. Greene suggested to Whitney the use of a brush-like component, which was instrumental in separating the seeds from the cotton.<ref>Gage, Matilda. "Woman as Inventor." The North American Review, Volume 136, Issue 318, May 1883.</ref> Gage provided no source for this claim, and to date there has been no independent verification of Catharine Greene's role in the invention of the gin. Her daughter Cornelia Greene Skipwith Littlefield describes her mother's role in "perfecting" the cotton gin with Eli Whitney in a ''Century'' Magazine article written by her granddaughter.<ref>Martha Littlefield Phillips. "Recollections of Washington and his Friends," The Century. Vol. 55, 1897.</ref>	In an 1883 article in ''The North American Review'' titled "Woman as Inventor", the early feminist and abolitionist [[Matilda Joslyn Gage]] claimed that Mrs. Greene suggested to Whitney the use of a brush-like component, which was instrumental in separating the seeds from the cotton.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gage |first1= Matilda|title=Woman as Inventor|journal=The North American Review | volume=136 |issue=318 | date=May 1883}}</ref> Gage provided no source for this claim, and to date there has been no independent verification of Catharine Greene's role in the invention of the gin. Her daughter Cornelia Greene Skipwith Littlefield describes her mother's role in "perfecting" the cotton gin with Eli Whitney in a ''Century'' Magazine article written by her granddaughter.<ref>Martha Littlefield Phillips. "Recollections of Washington and his Friends," The Century. Vol. 55, 1897.</ref>
===Second marriage===	===Second marriage===
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{{Reflist|30em}}	{{Reflist|30em}}
== Sources ==	==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Stegeman |first=John F. |url=http://archive.org/details/catybiographyofc0000steg |title=Caty : a biography of Catharine Littlefield Greene |date=1986 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-0794-7 |location=Athen}}
== Further reading ==
{{Portal|Rhode Island}}	{{Portal|Rhode Island}}
*Stegeman, Janet A. "Greene, Catharine Littlefield". [http://www.anb.org/articles/01/01-01097.html American National Biography Online], Feb. 2000.	*Stegeman, Janet A. "Greene, Catharine Littlefield". [http://www.anb.org/articles/01/01-01097.html American National Biography Online], Feb. 2000.
	*[[Cokie Roberts|Roberts, Cokie]]. ''Founding Mothers'', New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
*Stegeman, John F. and Janet A. ''Caty: A Biography of Catharine Littlefield Greene'', Athens: Brown Thrasher Books, 1985.
	*Roberts, Cokie. ''Founding Mothers'', New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
*''Record of Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1810, Vol. 2'', Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968.	*''Record of Pennsylvania Marriages Prior to 1810, Vol. 2'', Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1968.

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