Israel Green, who died at Mount Vernon, Ohio, was a druggist at Findlay, in Hancock County, of that state; and associated with his apothecary shop is an incident of national historical significance. When Lincoln and Douglas, in 1858, concluded their great debates in Illinois, Mr. Green read the speeches in the newspapers, and being greatly impressed by Lincoln’s personality, as described therein, and by what he had said, he wrote a letter to the Cincinnati Gazette telling just how the matter appealed to him. This communication was the first of any kind known to have been published in the United States proposing the name of Abraham Lincoln for president of the United States, and for that reason has given the writer a unique position in our national annals. It was written on November 6, 1858, in Israel Green’s drug store, by Israel Green, and published in the Gazette on the tenth of the month. Israel Green made an autograph copy of the letter as it appeared in the newspaper, and it is still preserved by his nephew, Col. Robert Green, who prizes it as an historical keepsake.

The same Israel Green assisted in organizing the Republican party in Ohio, on June 17, 1854, being a delegate from Morgan County, and later serving as a delegate from the congressional district embracing Muskingum, Washington and Morgan Counties, to the memorable Philadelphia national Convention, on June 7, 1856. He then voted for the nomination of Fremont as the first president of the young and vigorous Republican party, and the masterly speeches of Lincoln convinced him that the latter was the very man the Republican party should nominate in 1860. As a leader high in the councils of the party, Israel Green was a close friend of General Morgan, Frank Hurd, and General Banning.