William G. Greene

Who was William G. Greene?

William G. "Slicky Bill" Greene, Jr. was a friend of Abraham Lincoln and a businessman in Menard County, Illinois. Greene founded Tallula, Illinois in 1857, and Greenview, Illinois is named after him.

Greene, along with his brother L.M. Greene, and William F. Berry, attended Illinois College in Jacksonville.

By September 1831, Greene's parents lived 2 miles southwest of New Salem; Greene, then age 19, was hired by recent arrival Abraham Lincoln to assist at Lincoln's mill and store. In early January 1833, Greene bought the inventory of Reuben Radford's store in New Salem for $400; Lincoln drew up and witnessed the mortgage. The same day, Greene sold the same inventory to Lincoln and Berry, now Lincoln's store partner, for over $600. When Lincoln had a debt judgement entered against him in 1834, requiring Lincoln to surrender his horse, Greene turned in his own horse instead; this horse was probably the one Lincoln had paid him with in 1833. Lincoln eventually paid Greene back after becoming an attorney.

Greene was also an acquaintance of Richard Yates, and introduced Yates and Lincoln in New Salem; Yates became Governor of Illinois during the Civil War and Lincoln became President.