Parents

Son of Thomas F BUTLER & Mary Elizabeth INGRAM.

Life History

Notes

• William's father Thomas moved his family from Tennessee to Alabamabetween 1829 and 1834,  then between 1840 and 1843, he moved to PanolaCounty, Mississippi.
  
  1850 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi, 24 October, District511, p 204, Hse/Fam #1380
  Thos F Butler 48 M Farmer $2000 Real Estate b North Carolina [born abt1802]
  Mary Butler 40  Virginia [born abt 1810]
  William H Butler 16 M b Alabama [born abt 1834]
  
  William married in Panola County, Mississippi. where his first twochildren with Frances Spain were born.  Then he moved to the area ofEthel, Arkansas County, Arkansas between 1862 and 1869.  I cannot findan 1860 census record for William.
  
  Family sources report that William H Butler first married FrancesSpain.  In the 1870 census he is enumerated with his second wife,India Smith.  It appears that Bernard and Edward here are the sons ofFrances Spain, but Morgan is the son of India.  Bernard and Edwardwere born in 1860 and 1862, then no other child was born (at least tosurvive to the 1870 census) until about January 1870, when the childof India Smith was born, Morgan.
  
  1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 7 July, PrairieTownship, PO St Charles, page 26, Hse/Fam #209
  Butler, William G (sic) 36 M W Farmer $500 Real Estate $600 Personal bAlabama Cannot read or write [b abt 1834]
  Butler, India 32 F W  Keeping House  b Virginia Cannot read or write[b abt 1838]
  Butler, Bernard 10 M W b Mississippi Cannot read or write [b abt 1860]
  Butler, Edward 8 M W b Mississippi [No report on literacy] [b abt1862]
  Butler, Morgan 6 mos M W b Mississippi b Jan 1870
  Butler, Robert 26 F W b Tennessee Cannot read or write [b abt 1844]
  
  William H Butler and family are reported in the Arkansas County,Arkansas Census of 1880 as resident in Prairie Township, which isaround the community of Ethel.  The enumerator has reported birthplaceof the children's mother as though India was the mother of all thechildren.  But BB (Bernard) is the son of Frances Spain.  RobertButler in this household is William's younger brother, Robert JamesButler.
  
  1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, 21 June, PrairieTownship, District 2, page 27, Hse #183, Fam #194
  W H Butler  W M  46    Married  Farmer  AL NC VA
  India Butler  W F  41  Wife  Married  Housekeeping   VA  VA VA
  B B Butler  W M  20  Son  Single On Farm  MS AL VA
  Ned Butler  W M  18  Son  Single On Farm  MS AL  VA
  W M Butler  W M  11 Son  Single At School  AR AL  VA
  R A Butler  W M  8 Son  Single At School  AR AL  VA
  India Butler  W F  5  Dau  Single AR AL  VA
  L W Smith   W M  28  Bro-in-Law Single On Farm MS VA  VA
  
  In the 1900 Arkansas County, Arkansas census, William H Butler isenumerated In household of son William M Butler.  There is a conflictin the report of his birth place.  The birth place of William H andhis parents is reported as Virginia.  Likewise his son's report alsoindicates that William H was born in Virginia.  Previous reports haveindicated Alabama.
  
  1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas, Prairie Township,District 7, Page 11, Hse #192, Family #195
  William M Butler Head  W M  Jan 1870   30  Married 3 years AR VA MSOwns
  William H Butler Father  W M  May 1834  66  Widowed VA VA VA
  
  In 1910, again, (William) Morgan's father is reported as being born inVirginia.  But in 1920, the birthplace of William M's father is nowMississippi!
  
  Place of burial, Butler Cemetery:
  David Lee reports burial of William H Butler in "Butler Cemetery, Mt.Pleasant,, Arkansas."  This format appears to indicate that ButlerCemetery is in a town called Mt Pleasant, but the town of Mt Pleasantis in Izard County, in the north of Arkansas.  The Butler Cemetery, onthe other hand, is referred to as being in Ethel, the community with apost office about 2 miles to the north.  Mt Pleasant Cemetery is amile or less north of the Butler Cemetery, between Butler Cemetery andEthel center, where the store and post office are located.  ManyButlers are also buried in Mt Pleasant Cemetery.  Perhaps that localarea is referred to in some contexts as "Mt Pleasant," but I havenever heard that reference.  Mt Pleasant Cemetery is always said to bein Ethel.  I have not been to the Butler Cemetery.
  --  Orville Boyd Jenkins
  
  Though David Lee reports that William is buried in the ButlerCemetery, a recently-discovered private paper about the family sasyshe and his wife Lucetta (India) were buried together in Mt PleasantCemetery in Ethel.
  
  "When Grandpa Butler died he was buried beside his wife in MountPleasant with full masonic honors."
  --  WIlliam H Butler Family Notes, typewritten notes, scanned by JackDodson 29 August 2011
  
  William and India's were not among Butler gravestones photographed byEdith McSwain Jenkins in Mt Pleasant in 2003.  It is not certain ifthese graves were not there or if for some reason they were notphotographed when other Butler graves were photographed.

Sources

• 1. RootsWeb ID: I3216 -- Thomas F Butler
  • Location:http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=sarahc_ingram&id=I3216;;
• 2. 1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 21 June, Prairie Township, District 2, page 27, Hse #183, Fam #194
• 3. 1850 Federal Census, Panola County, Mississippi
  • 24 October, District 13, p 686 (344), Hse/Fam 532
• 4. RootsWeb ID: I1448 -- William Morgan Butler
  • Name: Name:http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dlee-pobox&id=I1448;;
• 5. 1900 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 16 June, Prairie Township, District 7, Page 11, Hse #192, Family #195
• 6. RootsWeb ID: I201 -- William H Butler
  • Name: Name:http://wc.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=dlee-pobox&id=I201;;
• 7. Laurie Lee Myers, email correspondence with Orville Boyd Jenkins,March 2007
• 8. 1910 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 20 April, Prairie Township, District 13, Page 3A, Hse/Fam #35
• 9. 1930 Federal Census, Bolivar County, Mississippi
  • 16 April, Beat 3, District 23, page 11B, Hse/Fam #315
• 10. 1870 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
  • 7 July, Prairie Township, PO St Charles, page 26, Hse/Fam #209
• 11. W H Butler Family Notes, by children of W M Butler, private paper
• 12. 1920 Federal Census, Bolivar County, Mississippi
  • 9 March, Alligator, District 11, page 2A,  Hse #38, Fam #42
• 13. 1930 Federal Census, Bolivar County, Mississippi
  • 3 April, Alligator, District 18, page 1B, Hse #19, Fam #20
• 14. 1880 Federal Census, Arkansas County, Arkansas
• 15. Mississippi Marriages, 1776-1935
• 16. Butler Family Pedigrees/DNA testing
  • Location:http://www.worldfamilies.net/forum/index.php?topic=9438.msg122606#msg122606;
• 17. 1900 Federal Census, Bolivar County, Mississippi
  • 12 June, Alligator Lake, District 2, page 34A, Hse/Fam #764