Life History

Notes

• 1850 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi, 24 October, District 13, p 686 (344), Hse/Fam #532
  Thos F Butler 48 M Farmer $2000 Real Estate b North Carolina [born abt 1802]
  Mary Butler 40  Virginia [born abt 1810]
  George W Butler 11 M b Alabama [born abt 1839]
  
  By 1860, both George's parents have died, and he and his three younger brothers are in neighboring family homes.  George is working as an Overseer on the farm of W D Kimbrough.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi, 10 August, Page 44, House/Fam #289
  W D Kimbrough 40 M Farmer $0 Real or Personal Estate Reported b Tennessee [born abt 1820]
  E A Kimbrough 34 F    b Tenn [born abt 1826]
  John Kimbrough 21 M b Miss [born abt 1839]
  James Kimbrough 8 M b Miss [born abt 1852]
  Joseph Kimbrough 6 M b Miss [born abt 1854]
  William Kimbrough 4 M b Miss [born abt 1856]
  Samuel Kimbrough 2 M b Miss [born abt 1858]
  Mary Kimbrough 10 F b Miss [born abt 1850]
  ** G W Butler 21 M Overseer b Tenn [born abt 1839] **
  Samuel C Williamson 28 M Teacher of English $0 Real or Personal Estate b S Carolina [born abt 1832]
  M L Williamson 16 F b Miss [born abt 1844]
  M J Williamson 14 M b Miss [born abt 1846]
  
  George's younger brothers are in the household of innkeepers, the Wells family.  Robert is working as a Merchant's Clerk.
  
  1860 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi, 11 August, Page 45, House/Fam #300
  F M Wells 34 M Hotel Keeper $0 Personal Estate $2200 Personal b Miss [born abt 1826]
  C C Pence 26 F    b SC [born abt 1834]
  E B Wells 60 F b Virginia Cannot read or write [born abt 1800]
  W S Wells 23 M House Carpenter b Alabama [born abt 1837]
  Thos Butler 10 M b Miss [born abt 1850]
  John Butler 8 M b Miss [born abt 1852]
  Robert Butler 17 M Merchant's Clerk b Miss [born abt 1843]
  
  U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles
  North Carolina Troops 1861-65, A Roster
  George Washington Butler
  Occupation: Farmer
  Age at enlistment: 24, Est Birth Date 1838
  Enlistment 7 Oct 1862 Henderson County, NC
  Private, Company D, North Carolina 60th Infantry Regiment on 10 Jul 1862
  State Served: North Carolina
  Survived the War?: Yes
  
  1870 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi, 30 June, PO Friar's Point, p 28, Hse #250, Fam #252
  Butler, Geo W 30 M W Farmer $No Real Estate Value Rptd $300 Personal Estate b Alabama [b abt 1840]
  Butler, Sallie 22 F W  Keeping House b Mississippi [born abt 1848]
  Butler, Baby 4mos [sic] F W b Mississippi born October [sic] [b abt 1869]
  
  The age of the "Baby" is very interesting.  This census reports she is 4 months old, yet reports she was born in October!  There is no mistaking either of these very clearly written and preserved entries.  This census date was 1 June and actually taken here on 30 June.  If she was born in October 1869 she would have been 7 months old on 1 June.
  
  The baby is Mary,  Later census reports don't help us much on specifying when she was born.  In 1880 she is reported as 9 years old, which would require her to be born after the census date of June 1870!  The 1900 census is also a year late, with birth reported as March 1871!  Memory failed in these later cases, reporting her born after the 1870 census shows she was already there.  And either the enumerator or the parents were wrong in 1870 on either the age or the birth month.
  
  Since March is the commonality to most reports, it seems likely she was born in March (1 March is suggested by sources) 1870.  This still does not match exactly with the reported age of 4 months for census date 1 June or actual date on the page of 30 June.  The grave date of birth is 1 March 1870.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi, 11 June, Beat 3, District 99, page 14, Hse #88, Fam #99
  Buttler, Geo W  W M  40 Farmer AL TN AL
  Buttler, Sallie A W F 32 Wife Keeping House MS VA MS
  Buttler, Mary B  W F 9 Dau Single School MS AL MS
  Buttler, Ben B  W M 8 Son Single School MS AL MS
  Buttler, Havey [Harvey]  W M 7 Son Single School MS AL MS
  Buttler, Geo W  W M 5 Son Single MS AL MS
  Buttler, Sarah W F 3 Dau Single MS AL MS
  Buttler, Martha A  W F 10 months born Aug 1879  Dau Single MS AL MS
  
  1900 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi, 20 June, Beat 3, District 23, page 14B, Hse/Fam #307
  Butler, George W Head W M Dec 1889  60 Widowed 7 children/7 living AL TN AL Farmer Owns
  Green, Mary Dau W M Mch 1871  29 Single MS AL AL
  Green, Jack B Son W M Sept 1873 26 Single MS AL AL Farm Laborer
  Green, Robert H Son W M Apr 1875 25 Single MS AL AL Farm Laborer
  Green, Sarah F Dau W F June 1877 22 Single MS AL AL
  Green, Martha Dau W F Aug 1880 19 Single MS AL AL
  Green, Dixie Dau W F Sept 1883 16 Single MS AL AL
  
  The last child Dixie is reported born in late 1883.  This is two years after the death of George's wife Sarah A.  The date of death on her gravestone is 23 August 1881.  This is an error, corrected when we find the death record in the family Bible, in the possession of Jack Dodson.  The date of death there is 23 August 1888.  When Sallie was reburied from the original grave on the family land to the public cemetery, the wrong date was inscribed on the monument.  Sallie had another child, Thomas David, born in 1885 and died in 1896.
  
  George's gravestone provides his death date, thanks to the photo by Jack Dodson on his Ancestry.com genealogy.
  
  Gravestone of George Washington Butler Sr, Jonestown Cemetery, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  G W Butler Sr
  Born Dec 23, 1839
  Died Aug 20, 1907
  --  12 December 2009, courtesy of Jack Dodson
  
  Jack Didson shared an article he found in the Clarksdale Library.  Neither the source newspaper nor the date is known.
  
  -------------------------------------
  George W. Butler has followed the calling of a planter the greater part of his life, and as an independent tiller of the soil his career has been a successful one. He was born in Lauderdale county, Ala., December 23, 1839, being the fifth of six children born to Thomas F. and Mary E. (Ingram) Butler, natives of Tennessee and Alabama respectively.  [Family information indicates Mary E Ingram was born in Brunswick County, Virginia]  The father was a very extensive and successful physician, in connection with which he followed planting.
  
  He came to Mississippi in 1840 and located near Sardis in Panola county, where he became an eminent medical practitioner, and resided until his death in 1 51. His paternal ancestors came from England and first settled in Virginia, but gradually became scattered throughout the South and West. George W. Butler bas been a resident of Mississippi from the time he was one year old, and was given the advantages of the schools of Sardis. He began making his own way in the world at the age of eighteen years, and upon the opening of the Rebellion, in 1861, he enlisted in company E, Twelfth Mississippi regiment, Sardis Blues, and took an active part in the battles of Richmond, Seven Pines, second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and many others.
  
  He was captured just before the close of. the war at Selma, Ala., but managed to make his escape and returned home, where he was at the final surrender. Soon after the close of the war he came to Coahoma county and became manager for D. L. Childress, continuing with him for about six years, after which he began opening up his present plantation. Although he began the battle of life with no capital he has done well for himself and family, and is now the owner of eight hundred acres of land, three hundred of which are under cultivation, the most of which he has opened and improved himself.
  
  He is quiet and unobtrusive in manners, and has aspired to no higher honor than to be a good citizen, to follow the teachings of the golden rule and to rear his children to useful citizenship. He has not only been a model citizen but he has also been an exemplary Christian and a faithful and kind husband and father. He was married in 1869 to Miss Sallie A. Brown, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of J. D. and Sarah (Hastings) Brown of Louisiana, by whom he has eight children: Mary B., Benjamin B., Robert H., George W., Sarah F., Martha A., Dixie and Thomas D., all of whom are living and make their home with their parents.
  
  Mr. Butler, his wife and two sons are members of the Methodist Episcopal church, and he is a Mason, a member of the Knights of Honor and Knights of Pythias. Four of his brothers served in the Confederate army during the Rebellion, his brother Robert being a flag-bearer in his company. His father was a soldier during the Mexican war.
  --  Goodspeed's Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi. Vol. 1 (Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Company, 1891), 470-71.  Courtesy of Jack Dodson, email to Orville Boyd Jenkins, August 29, 2011
  Jack also found that this work is for sale as an ebook
  -------------------------------------
  
  A great obituary and life summary is provided in the Find a Grave memorial for George Washington Butler Sr.
  
  -----------------------------------------------
  George Washington Butler, Sr
  Birth Dec. 23, 1839
  Death Aug. 20, 1907 Coahoma County, Mississippi
  
  George W. Butler followed the calling of a planter the greater part of his life, and as an independent tiller of the soil his career was a successful one. He was born in Lauderdale County, Ala., December 23, 1839, being the fifth of six children born to Thomas F. and Mary E. (Ingram) Butler, natives of Tennessee and Alabama respectively. The father was a very extensive and successful physician, in connection with which he followed planting. He came to Mississippi in 1840 and located near Sardis in Panola county, where he became an eminent medical practitioner, and resided until his death in 1851.
  
  His paternal ancestors came from England and first settled in Virginia, but gradually became scattered throughout the South and West. George W. Butler bas been a resident of Mississippi from the time he was one year old, and was given the advantages of the schools of Sardis. He began making his own way in the world at the age of eighteen years, and upon the opening of the Rebellion, in 1861, he enlisted in company E, Twelfth Mississippi regiment, Sardis Blues, and took an active part in the battles of Richmond, Seven Pines, second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Fredericksburg and many others.
  
  He was captured just before the close of the war at Selma, Ala., but managed to make his escape and returned home, where he was at the final surrender. Soon after the close of the war he came to Coahoma county and became manager for D. L. Childress, continuing with him for about six years, after which he began opening up his own plantation. Although he began the battle of life with no capital he did well for himself and family, and was the owner of eight hundred acres of land, three hundred of which were under cultivation, the majority of which he cleared and improved himself. He was quiet and unobtrusive in manner, and aspired to no higher honor than to be a good citizen, to follow the teachings of the golden rule and to rear his children to useful citizenship.
  
  He not only was a model citizen but he was an exemplary Christian and a faithful and kind husband and father. He was married in 1869 to Miss Sallie A. Brown, a native of Mississippi and a daughter of J. D. and Sarah (Hastings) Brown of Louisiana, by whom he had eight children: Mary B., Benjamin B., Robert H., George W., Sarah F., Martha A., Dixie and Thomas D. Mr. Butler, his wife and two sons were members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and he was a Mason, a member of the Knights of Honor and Knights of Pythias. Four of his brothers served in the Confederate army during the Rebellion, his brother Robert was a flag-bearer in his company. His father was a soldier during the Mexican war.
  
  Father Thomas F. Butler (1802 - 1851)
  Spouse Sallie A Brown Butler (1848 - 1881 [should be 1888, according to family Bible])
  Children:
  Mary Brown Butler (1870 - 1943)
  Benjamin B. Butler (1871 - 1940)
  Robert Harvey Butler (1873 - 1936)
  George Washington Butler (1875 - 1959)
  Elma Butler (1876 - 1876)
  Sarah Butler Longino (1879 - 1937)
  Dixie Butler King (1883 - 1953)
  Thomas Butler (1885 - 1896)
  Burial Jonestown Cemetery, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  Created by Jack77 Mar 29, 2010
  --  Find A Grave Memorial #50414975,  http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=50414975
  -----------------------------------------------

Sources

• 1. 1850 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi
  • 24 October, District 13, p 686 (344), Hse/Fam #532
• 2. 1860 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi
  • 10 August, Page 44, House/Fam #289
• 3. One World Tree (sm)
• 4. 1870 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  • 30 June, PO Friar's Point, p 28, Hse #250, Fam #252
• 5. 1900 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  • 20 June, Beat 3, District 23, page 14B, Hse/Fam #307
• 6. RootsWeb ID: I3216 -- Thomas F Butler
  • Name: no longer available online, ; Location: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sarahc_ingram&id=I3216;;
• 7. 1880 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  • 11 June, Beat 3, District 99, page 14, Hse #88, Fam #99
• 8. Find a Grave Memorial Registry
• 9. Laurie Lee Myers, email correspondence with Orville Boyd Jenkins, March 2007
• 10. Email Sources
• 11. 1910 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  • 20 April, Jonestown, District 29, p 9A, Hse/Fam #4
• 12. Ancestry Trees
  • Jack R. Dodson, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/4494186/person/-1594774399?ftm=1
• 13. 1920 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  • 5 May, Jonestown, District 2, page 27A,  Hse #599, Fam #624
• 14. Family Bibles
• 15. 1900 Federal Census, Coahoma County, Mississippi
  • 20 June, beat 3, District 23, page 14B, Hse/Fam #307
• 16. Gravestone of Sarah A Brown Butler, Jonestown Cemetery, Jonestown, Coahoma, Missisippi
• 17. Ancestry Trees
  • Bailey Family, http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/8950655/person/1856755721