He was admitted to the bar in 1854 and commenced practice in Washington, D.C. before engaging in agricultural pursuits at his Warren County, North Carolina plantation, Esmeralda, in 1859.

[1] During the Civil War, Green enlisted in the Confederate service in 1861 and rose through the ranks to lieutenant colonel of the Second North Carolina Battalion.

One of Green's daughters, Sarah, married wealthy industrialist Pembroke Jones of Wilmington, NC, in 1884.

With the help of their close friend, art collector and railroad president Henry Walters, they created a lifestyle some claim made them models for the saying, "Keeping up with the Joneses."

[2] This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress