Immediately after graduating, he went to Palmyra, Wisconsin, where he taught school until June 1865, at which time he removed to Waukegan, Illinois, where he taught for one year. In the Fall of 1866, having decided to study for the ministry, he entered the Chicago Theological Seminary, where he remained for one year. From April to June 1867, he taught at Lake Forest Academy in Lake Forest, Illinois, before returning to New England. He then went to the Andover Theological Seminary, where he continued his studies until he graduated in July 1869. In November 1869, he sailed for Japan, as a missionary under the auspices of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. He was the first missionary of the American Board to Japan. He arrived at Tokyo in December 1869, and remained there until March 1870, when he went to Kobe, where he resided and labored until May 1874. The first church was organized at Kobe on April 19, 1874, with eleven members. In 1882 there were nineteen churches with one thousand members. From June 1874, until May 1880, he resided in Yokohama, as a member of the committee for the translation of the New Testament into the Japanese language. After superintending the printing of this version, which was published in June 1880, he returned to the United States, where he spent about eighteen months, traveling through different parts of the country, and preaching in the interests of the American Board. He returned to Japan in November 1881, and was stationed in Kyoto, as an instructor in the Doshisha English School, his principal work being in the Theological Department. In addition to the Japanese version above alluded to, he also edited an edition of the Chinese New Testament, for the use of Japanese readers. He received the degree of Master of Arts from Dartmouth College in course, and also the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Rutgers College in 1879. In politics, he was an independent Republican. He was married July 29, 1869, to Miss Mary Jane Forbes, of Westborough, Massachusetts. They have seven children: Evarts Boutell, born July 8, 1870; Fannie Bradley, born August 29, 1871; Daniel Crosby, born January 29, 1873; Jerome Davis, born October 12, 1874; Mary Avery, born February 20, 1877; Roger Sherman, born May 29, 1881, Elisabeth Grosvenor, born October 20, 1882 and Edward Forbes, born December 22, 1884. He was the father Roger Sherman Greene II and Jerome Davis Greene; the nephew of William Maxwell Evarts and the brother of Evarts Boutell Greene.
