Farnifold Green was born on May 30, 1674 in Northumberland, Virginia. Green moved to North Carolina in 1697, settling in Perquimans Precinct. Before long he moved south, claiming land along the northern side of the Neuse River in Bath County near the Tuscarora town of Nonawharitsa. In Bath, he and several other colonists submitted a petition requesting the colony's support against a group of American Indians who opposed their settlement. A captain in the North Carolina militia, he helped maintain a garrison for colonists during the Tuscarora War. During the war, Green was appointed as the army commissary for Bath County, meaning he was responsible for supplying the troops in that region. In 1714, possibly due to his leadership position, a group of American Indians launched a surprise attack on the Green homestead, destroying his home and killing Green along with one of his sons, a white servant, and two African Americans.