John Green was born in Chowan County, North Carolina in about 1707. A resident of Edenton, he had established himself as a prominent local carpenter and joiner by the 1760s and also operated a local inn or tavern. A staunch advocate for the Patriot cause during the American Revolution, Green served as a member of the Edenton Committee of Safety in 1775. He signed a bond promising that Thomas Hoskins would appear before the Edenton District Superior Court in May 1778. He died in Chowan in about November 1779.