HENRY BUTTER (1816-1880) PART 2

Henry Butter (1816-1880) Part 2

     Census records for Henry Butter and Family

     Henry first appears in the United State census in 1850 in Rapides Parish, Louisiana.  Page 31 (written), page 66 (stamped).  20 September 1850.  Dwelling number 417, Family number 418.

Henry Butter        Age 33  male    Occupation: Sadler     Place of Birth England

Susan   "                     16  female                                                          Alabama

William "                     6/12 male                                                           Louisiana

Asa Hamilton              14  male                                                             Louisiana

John Bass                   45  male                                                             Louisiana

(At this time it is not known who Asa Hamilton and John Bass are but possibly they are hired hands to help in Henry's tanning and saddle business or with farming.)

Note: Henry and Susan are living next door to her parents, William and Margaret O'Neal.  William is listed as a Tanner.  Two houses down and next to the O'Neals is another daughter (Susan's sister) Nancy Virginia and her husband Randell Eldred.

1860 Census Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Page 90.  9 July 1860.  Dwelling and Family number 622.

Henry Butter         Age 44     male           Merchant                               England

Susan E. "                    25     female                                                      Alabama

William   "                    11     male                                                         Louisiana

Ann        "                     7      female                                                      Louisiana

Sarah     "                      5     female                                                       Louisiana

Ellen      "                      3     female                                                       Louisiana

Henry    "                      2     male                                                          Louisiana

Henry O'Neal              17    male                                                          Louisiana

Note: Henry O'Neal is the younger brother of Susan E. O'Neal Butter

1870 Census Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Page 157 (written).  Spring Hill Ward.  8 July 1870. Dwelling number 1250; Family number 1378.

Butter, Henry              54     male              Farmer                                    England

           Susan              35     female            Keeping House                       Alabama

           Sarah              15     female             At home                                 Louisiana

           Ellen                12     female                "                                                "

           Henry              11     male                   "                                                "

           Susan              10     female                 "                                                "

           Warren             5      male                   "                                                "

           Eugene           2/12   male                    "                                                "            Born April

1880 Census Rapides Parish, Louisiana. Page 106, Enumeration District 40.  Spring Hill.  29 June 1880.

Dwelling number 1036; Family 1070.

                                                                                                 Born       Father        Mother

Butters, Henry           63     male            Farmer                      England     Scotland     England

             Elisa             46     female         Keeping house           Alabama   N. Carolina N. Carolina

             Henry           21     male                                             Louisiana   England       Alabama

             Virginia        20     female                                                 "               "                   "

             Sarah           18     female                                                 "               "                   "

             Eugene         12     male                                                   "                "                  "

             Charles          7     male                                                    "                "                  "

The 1880 census  for Henry and family was taken on 29 June 1880. Henry died later that year in November 1880.  There is no 1890 census so it is twenty years later, in 1900, that we see Susan and daughter Ellen Virginia.
1900 Census Rapides Parish, Louisiana..  Sheet number 20, Enumeration District 127. Spring Hill Ward 4. 18 June 1900.
                                                           Born
Butter, Susan E.    Head    Female    Feb. 1834     66 widow      Alabama    S. Carolina    Alabama
   "       Ellen V.     Daughter Female  Mar 1865     35 single        Louisiana    France          Alabama

     It is interesting to note that while Henry Butter was alive, his place of birth was always listed as England.  Only in the 1900 census did his daughter, Ellen Virginia, have France as her father's birthplace.  We should always keep in mind that it is not known who gave the family information to the census taker.  In 1900 it could have been Susan or Ellen.  There is one other document that states Henry's birthplace as France which will be discussed later.  There is speculation that Henry's father was in the British military or foreign service and stationed in France at the time of Henry's birth.  In his lifetime, Henry wanted it known that he was of English heritage. 

----------------*****************-----------------****************----------------

Next Post: Henry and Susan's children

HENRY BUTTER, IMMIGRANT ANCESTOR PART 1

HENRY BUTTER, IMMIGRANT ANCESTOR

Part 1

     Until recently there have been only a few people researching or interested in our Henry Butter. Now his name appears on more family trees but he is still not being widely researched. Henry Butter is the ancestor that first captured my interest all those years ago. It has been a frustrating journey as his ancestors are still not known. In the following posts, I will present what is known about Henry and will back up that knowledge with sources; additionally, I will try to separate fact from fiction.

KNOWN FACTS ABOUT HENRY BUTTER

Born 3 July 1816

Married to Susan Eliza O'Neal 30 December 1847

Baptized 5 September 1849 Pleasant Hill Baptist Church

Became a U.S. citizen 12 November 1850, Alexandria, Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Died 20 November 1880, Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana

Buried Butter Cemetery, Forest Hill, Rapides Parish, Louisiana

     There are no official vital records to substantiate any of the above events; however, there are two passages that reference all of Henry's life events. The first is the minutes from the Springhill Baptist Church entered by Henry's eldest son, William Butter, after his father's death. All spelling and punctuation are as they appear in the orignal quotes.

          “We mourn the loss of our beloved Bro H Butter Deac of our Church called from                            us by our Heavenly Father Born July the 3 1816 a native of Great Britton Baptised on the 5 Sept 1849 Adopted as a citizen of the South in 1850 and died Nov 20^th 1880..........” Signed Wm Butter Clerk

     The second source, to anyone's knowledge, does not actually exist any more; this was a family Bible that had belonged to Henry and Susan Butter. Before the Bible disappeared, a family member copied the following information.

          “Henry Butter a native of Great Britten (sic) was born on 3^rd day of July 1816.    Baptized on 5^th day of September 1849 and was received as a citizen of the United States in District Court of Rapides Parish on November 12 A.D. 1850. Henry Butter and Susan Eliza O'Neal were united in marriage by Rev. H. Roberts in Rapides Parish on 30^th day of December A.D. 1847.”

     The first question that should come to mind is why don't we have his naturalization papers? The simple and tragic answer is that on May 13, 1864 the town of Alexandria, Louisiana was burned to the ground by Union troops as they left the area. Before the town was burned, the court house was raided and documents were strewn in the street and some were set afire. All legal transactions including land, marriages and naturalizations were destroyed. Rapides Parish records now start in 1865.

     Although there are no primary sources for Henry's life events, the Church minutes and the Bible quote plus his tombstone in the Butter Cemetery all agree and give good secondary strength to the information.

Next post: Part 2 Henry Butter

WELCOME TO MY BUTTER FAMILY BLOG

     Welcome to my genealogy blog about the above named families. After many years of searching out elusive ancestors, I will attempt to share what I have found along the way. In doing so, I hope to attract other researchers to my blog who will want to collaborate. By sharing our information maybe a complete picture can be put forth on a particular ancestor or even a complete line. My dream would be that everyone will eventually post the same information on their trees. No small dream!!

      For this first post, I will introduce myself, tell how I began this journey and present a tribute to my mentor.

      My name is Virginia Butter Fields (Ginny). My husband and I are retired with three adult children and five grandsons. We live in Texas and since retiring have enjoyed living aboard and cruising our boat both in the Pacific Northwest and Mexico. I have put trips to Salt Lake City on my agenda on a fairly regular basis. My cousin and I also do road trips seeking all that we can find on our ancestors; these trips are fondly known as our Dead Relative Tours. Our husbands are delighted with our connection for this hobby as they do not have to accompany us through dusty courthouses and weedy cemeteries. My goal is to leave my descendants the most complete family history possible.

     My genealogy journey began when a letter addressed to my Dad arrived at our house in about 1960. The person was asking my Dad where he was originally from and if he knew anything about his family history. She was researching the Butter surname and had found my Dad in the phone book while passing through our city. My Dad and Mom replied to her with what he knew about his ancestors. This was fairly easy as he was born and raised in a tiny Louisiana rural area where his great grandfather had settled when he arrived from England in the 1840's. Once the letter was mailed, my Dad realized who the sender was – a relative also from his home place of Forest Hill, Louisiana. Her name was Corrie Butter and I was hooked on family history. Corrie and I consulted many times over the years and Corrie was always gracious and anxious to share her information. Our last visit was the end of November 2013 when I visited Forest Hill. She and her niece gave me a tour of the house built by our immigrant Butter ancestor. It was a great day and a great visit. Sadly, Corrie passed away on January 3, 2014 at the age of 93. Her passing leaves a void in my genealogy life; her great love of family and history and her willingness to share have been an inspiration for many years.

 

     Next post: Henry Butter (1816-1880) immigrant ancestor.