What's up with GeneJ....

Hi Maggie:

At 7:21pm on August 29, 2009, you commented, "…who are your Butler?" I tried to comment back; will post a short comment here.

I am a direct descendant of John Butler (1745-1830). Prior to the Revolutionary War, John emigrated from Ireland to Pennsylvania; he served in the military most of his adult life. His final discharge occurred at Detroit (Hull's Surrender). John died at William's County, Ohio, leaving widow, "Lena." The SAR erected a memorial gravesite in John's honor at Florida, Ohio, in the late 1990s.

Butler, _The Butler Family in America_, 1909, was written about this particular Butler line. The work mentions John and John's father, James Butler. John Butler's siblings were Thomas Butler (1740-1832), William Butler (1753-1839), Jane (Butler) Mahan (1747-c1830), and Sarah Butler (1749-).

John Butler's uncle, Thomas Butler, emigrated with family to Pennsylvania. Thomas was the father of the men some refer to as, "The fighting Butlers." Of Thomas' sons, Lafayette is reported to have once said [paraphrased], "If I wanted a thing done well, I wanted a Butler to do it." Among the sons was Maj. Gen. Richard Butler (1743-1792) who died at St. Clair’s Defeat, near Fort Recovery.

Many placenames in the United States honor various members of this Butler line.

I descend of John Butler (1745-1830) by his dau., Asenath (Butler) (Preston) Thomas. Working from the Butler text mentioned and other histories, I've developed several reports. Some deal with peerage issues, others report on the effort to identify John's sons. Perhaps one day there will be an open Butler group on GW where some of the issues can be explored further.

References available on request. Hope this helps. -GJ