Note: Green had typhoid fever when in his teens and became quite 'spindly.' For this reason his parents decided that he should have a good education. He attended Marietta College and West Virginia University. He became a school teacher and was teaching in St. Marys elementary schools when he met Sallie McTaggart. Sallie had a lovely soprano voice and was singing in the church choir where Green sang bass.
For some years Green and Sallie lived on a farm near Parkersville, now Belmont. It was here that William Johnson was drilling for oil in January 1886 when he struck a large flow of natural gas. The roar of escaping gas could be heard in St. Marys, some miles away.
In about 1901 Green took a job of salesman for the Citizens Wholesale Supply Co., Columbus, Ohio. His territory was the central part of West Virginia, and they lived in Clarksburg, West Virginia. Green sold for this firm some 35 years or more.