Green-Hess Family

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The archives at the First United Methodist Church of Fort Worth donated the Green-Hess Family Collection to the Tarrant County Archives. The collection was named for the family represented in the materials. William Marvin Green and his brother, Frances L. (Roy) Green, settled in Fort Worth in 1909. Their families were active in local Methodist churches, public schools, and the U. S. military. Much of the collection pertains to the lives of William, Roy’s wife, Jessie, and Roy’s daughter, Martha Jane Hess.

Frances L. (Roy) Green was born in Roanoke in 1872 to William Pinkney and Jane Elizabeth (Wolff) Green. He married Jessie Josephine Mitchell (1874-1959) in 1895 and became a farmer like his father. Roy and Jessie moved to Fort Worth in 1914 with their five children: Martha Jane, Frances J. Joseph Paul, Charles William, and Anna Belle. Jessie was a lifetime member of Boulevard Methodist Church and the Woman’s Society of Christian Service (WSCS). Her husband died after being hit by a car in 1936, and she got remarried to William S. Casebolt in 1942. William died in 1953 followed by Jessie in 1959.

Roy’s brother, William Marvin Green, was born in Roanoke in 1884. He studied education at different colleges throughout the U. S., then he moved back to Texas and taught grade school. In 1909, he made his final move to Fort Worth where he continued teaching grade school until being elected Fort Worth Superintendent of Public Schools in 1931. Along with his academic work, he was a member of the First Methodist Church, Rotary Club, Fort Worth Club, and Moslah Shrine. He served as superintendent until his death in 1946. His wife, Lucy Kate (Melton), worked with the scholastic community to honor his life’s work in 1960 with the dedication of William Green Elementary School.

Martha Jane (Green) Hess also had a lifelong career in the Fort Worth public schools. She earned a master’s degree in elementary education and retired as an elementary school teacher. Along with teaching, she was a member of the WSCS and a Social Welfare Aide for the American National Red Cross. She married Linn S. Hess, and they had one daughter, Linda Jane Hess. Their daughter died young in 1940 followed by Linn in 1944 and Martha Jane in 1983.

Martha Jane (Green) Hess with her students at Denver Avenue Elementary School, Fort Worth, 1950

SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The Green-Hess Family Collection contains records and photographs that document the personal and professional lives of the family. The materials include grade school and college records, church newspapers, church and funeral programs, family photographs, military photographs and records from World War I and II, and vital records. The items are dated 1890s to the 1960s. Please note, the items listed below marked with an asterisk are restricted from researcher use because they contain personally identifiable information.

Materials in this collection consist of the following:

Family Papers

•  Education records
  • Fort Worth Public Schools North Side High School diploma for Paul Green, 1917
  • Fort Worth Public Schools North Side High School diploma for Martha Jane Green, 1920
  • Diplomas for Martha Jane (Green) Hess from North Texas State Teachers College, 1925; 1934
  • Commencement ceremony for North Texas State Teachers College with Martha Jane (Green) Hess listed as a graduate, programs, August 22, 1934
  • Teachers Permanent Elementary Certificate for Martha Jane Green, ephemera, June 2, 1925
  • College transcripts for Martha Jane (Green) Hess, from North Texas State College, Texas Wesleyan College, and Texas Christian University, 1952; 1956
  • Texas Christian University Enrollment Card for Martha Jane (Green) Hess, ephemera, 1953
  • Texas Teacher Certificate for elementary education, 1955
  • Texas Christian University commencement service, University Christian Church, Fort Worth, Texas, May 27, 1956
  • Program from the dedication of William Green Elementary School, Fort Worth, Texas, February 29, 1960
  • Contract for Employment with Fort Worth ISD, 1962
  • Teacher Retirement System of Texas deposit record, 1966
• *Social Security cards for Charles William Green, Sr. and Charles William Green, Jr.
• Birth certificate for Charles William Green, June 23, 1896, issued by Denton County Clerk February 21, 1942
• Methodist Hospital Birth Certificate for Linda Jane Hess, Fort Worth, Texas, November 14, 1938
• Funeral program for Lynn (Linn) S. Hess, Boulevard Methodist Church, December 12, 1944
• Memorial record for Charles William Green, Sr., Harris Funeral Home, Fort Worth, Texas, September 25, 1950
• Memorial record for William S. Casebolt, Shannon's Memorial Chapel, Fort Worth, Texas, August 31, 1953
• Customer recommendation letter for F. L. Green from the National Livestock Commission Company, December 6, 1922
• *Jessie Green's (Jessie Casebolt) Operator's License (driver license), Texas Department of Public Safety, 1940
• Order to Report for Induction to the United States Army for Charles William Green, Jr., November 13, 1942
• Woman's Society of Christian Service of the Methodist Church Honorary Life Member certificate for Martha Jane (Green) Hess, January 9, 1956
• Birth-Dated Calendar of Boulevard Methodist Church, sponsored by the Woman’s Society of Christian Service, 1956
• Martha Jane (Green) Hess Social Welfare Aide certificate and identification, The American National Red Cross, July 24, 1958
• Letters and cards to Jessie Casebolt, 1934-1958
• Boulevard Methodist Church program, January 21, 1945
• Articles and obituaries related to the Green-Hess family, 1940s-1950s
• Holiday and sympathy greeting cards, 1950s-1960s
• Memorabilia from a trip to Taxco, Mexico, 1955

Images

• Print of a house designed by architect Paul Haberman, 1950s
• Pencil drawing of an unidentified older woman, undated

Photographs and Scrapbook

• Group of men conducting a ceremony, circa 1960
• Snapshots, portraits, and tintypes of unidentified Green-Hess family members and friends, 1890s-1970s
• F. L. (Roy) Green as an infant, 1890s
• Charles Green, Sr. as an infant, 1896
• Charles William (Billie) Green, Jr. as an infant, 1923
• Charles William Green, Jr., 1930s
• Charles William Green, Jr., circa 1942
• Charles William Green, Sr. and Jr. photographed together, circa 1946
• Bennis G. and Paula (Green) Lee's wedding, circa 1955
• Paul Green in military uniform with Frances Green, circa 1917
• United States soldiers and military scenes from World War I, 1917-1918
• Album of the United States military in Europe during World War I, with some snapshots of the Green family in Fort Worth, circa 1917-1920
• Portrait of Jessie Casebolt, undated
• Martha Jane (Green) Hess portraits from Leffler Studio, Fort Worth, Texas, circa 1925
• Martha Jane (Green) Hess portrait from Watkins Studio, Denton, Texas, circa 1935
• Group photographs of students and faculty with teacher Martha Jane (Green) Hess at Meadowbrook Elementary School and Denver Avenue Elementary School, 1930s-1950s
• Martha Jane (Green) Hess snapshots with friends and family, at school, and with students, 1930s-1960s
• Mexico vacation snapshot albums, 1955
• Bird's eye view of Taxco, Mexico, taken by Mary Sue Holmes, November 1955
• High school graduation memory book of Martha Jane Green, North Side High School, 1919

Postcards

• Sites and scenes in Mexico and the United States, 1950s-1960s

Publications

• Bibles, 1917; 1932; 1954
• Comfort Ye My People, by Grace Noll Crowell, published by The Upper Room, Nashville, Tennessee, 1945
• Enthusiasm Will Do Wonders for You, by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, Marble Collegiate Church, published by Sermon Publications, Inc., Pawling, New York, 1954
• Boulevard Methodist, Edition of the Fort Worth Tribune, published by All-Church Press, Fort Worth, Texas, March 20, August 28, September 4, 1959
• First Methodist, Edition of the Fort Worth Tribune, published by All-Church Press, Fort Worth, Texas, November 29, 1963

 *RESTRICTED FROM RESEARCHER USE