General Notes

ALEXANDER de GREENE de BOKETON. b: c1180 d: 1236.
*"Alexander, a Knight at the King's Court, was the great-grandson
of one of the Norman nobles who invaded
England with William, the Conqueror in 1066. *Baron de Greene de
Boketon. *1202: King John bestowed
the estate of Boughton in Northhampton. *King John knighted him
at the Court. SURNAME: *The custom
of the time was the use of first names. Sir Alexander assumed his
surname after his chief estate, which was
already in exsistence when he went there.
+Wife Unknown. *REF: La Mance;v3,pg 21,22,24,27. Quotes from La
Mance.
>2. Walter DE BOKETON/1207.
There are a number of books on the early family and a lot of data that
may or may not be true. I will give you the baisc outline so you will
know what you are looking for. The great granson of one of the
Knights who came to England with William the Conqueror, was given the
ancient estate of Boketon in about 1202. His name was Alexander no
last name at that time. When last names were required, this family
took the name of their estate, so his son was known as Sir Walter de
Boketon, and his son was John de Boketon who was supposedly killed in
Palestine during the Crusades in 1271. His son, Thomas de Boketon is
supposed to have adopted the name Green because of the beautiful
estate where a county fair was established that lasted for over 500
years. While this story may be true, many researchers do not believe
this was accurate. Some believe that Thomas de Boketon may have
inherited the estate and changed his name, as was the custom when a
man inherited the estate of his wife. What ever the case, his son
Henry Greene became one of the largest land holders in England and
became the Lord Chief Justice of England. It was this Henry Greene
that purchased the estate of Norton in 1352 and this was when it
became Green's Norton. It was the custom, in fact the law, that the
eldest son inherite the estate, but Sir Henry Greene had a second son,
also named Henry Greene, and he got permission from the King to divide
his estate between his eldest son, Thomas Greene and his second son,
Henry Greene. This second son, Henry Greene, born about 1343 also
became Lord Chief Justice of England, and also became the most
powerful man of his day, since a "committee" was formed to oversee the
acts of the King. When the King reversed his decision to allow a
cousin to inherite his father's estate, the cousin took the Crown by
force and beheaded Sir Henry Greene in 1399 in Bristol, England.
Things got really bad in England after that, and the War of the Roses
caused many records to be destroyed, not to mention the people who
were killed during this time. It is believed that Surgeon John Greene
and John Greene of Quidnessett descended from this Greene line.