Thomas Edward Green was born on the 27th March 1862, to parents George Green and Mary (nee Stringer). In the spring of 1895, Thomas Edward married Lillie Miers, in the Wetherby district. Lillie was the daughter of John Miers, oil manufacturer and his wife Jane. The 1901 census shows Thomas and Lillie living at Willow Grove, Cluntergate. They had two sons by this time, Edward Valentine aged 3 and Alan Roy aged 2. By the time of the 1911 census, Thomas and Lillie also have a daughter, Florence Maris aged 6 years. This census paints a picture of an affluent family. Willow Grove has nine rooms and the family employs two live-in staff, Nora Wild 18, a cook and Emma Jowett 16, a housemaid.
A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, T E Green took an abundance of photos of Horbury during the early 1900s, many of which were produced as postcards. Historians owe a debt of thanks to this local photographic pioneer. In 1918, the Wakefield Express described him as ‘one of the foremost amateur photographers in the Kingdom’.