James B. Green, the son of Samuel Green and Jennie Owen, was born in Iowa in 1868. His father moved from New York to Des Moines in 1857, and opened an iron foundry there in 1869. James B. and his brother Frank O. eventually became partners in their father's business, under the name S. Green & Sons. James married a woman named Fannie in 1895 and they had at least three children: Samuel Chase, Frederick R., and Doris.
From the guide to the James B. Green letters, Green, James B. letters, 1892-1893, (William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan)