Name/Title
William Butler, photo and clippingsEntry/Object ID
2022.88.22Description
Image of William G Butler in a small single hinged photo album, felt lined with a leather cover. Included is (a) a Butler family genealogy from early Hartford, Connecticut, (b) a transcription of a letter presumed to be sent by Butler to his father sometime between 1830-1833 and (c) census data compiled for 1840-1910.
In addition, transcripts, documents and images of newspaper clipping about events in Butler's life.Photograph Details
Type of Photograph
AmbrotypeSubject Person or Organization
Butler, William Gay 1799-1857Context
According to Kit Lane in "The Letters of William G. Butler and Other Tales of Saugatuck" (page 9) the photo is "A likeness said to be William G. Butler sent to May Francis Heath in 1930 by his grand-niece who was still living in Connecticut and had access to the papers left behind by William's father."Collection
1830 Settlement, pioneer eraCataloged By
Ashley, Arthur C 1949-Acquisition
Accession
2022.88Acquisition Method
Found in CollectionLocation
Box
175 Butler & 1830s SettlersCondition
Overall Condition
Very GoodNotes
Case spine is broken and repaired with black cloth tape.General Notes
Note
William G. Butler and His Land Grants
[excerpt from SDHS newsletter insert page 413]
As more public records become available on the web, interesting facts are coming to light about the land purchases of William G. Butler, who, with his wife, Mary, and two children were the first settlers in Allegan County, and the founders of Saugatuck.
William was born September 28, 1799, in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of Jonathan and Elizabeth (Gay) Butler. He was married in 1 826 (or possibly 1827) to Mary Wells, also originally of Hartford, but they were married at Dundaff, a small town near the southern boundary of Susquehanna County in northeast Pennsylvania, where William was a merchant.
Moving west, they may have stopped first at Elkhart, Indiana. It is quite likely that they traveled up the St. Joseph River to its mouth, and there boarded the schooner that brought them to the mouth of the Kalamazoo in May of 1830. At least one of their children arrived with them. They camped at the mouth while William built a raft, and poled or rowed it upriver to a flat area near where the river widened into a lake. He built a log house, and waited while government surveyors worked to get the land ready to put on the market. To get groceries and dry goods he walked along the beach back to St. Joseph where an old account book shows visits on May 14, June 4, June 10 and November 18, 1834, and April 4, 1835. Purchases included coffee, tea, sugar, fabric, and door latches.Create Date
January 12, 2023Update Date
January 14, 2025
![Letter transcript, Butler family census data [see 2023.50.111], photocopy of "Families of Early Hartford Connecticut"](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/4124/6d515f30-95d7-11ed-a792-33d8909c0631-vUU1d6R.lg@2x.jpg)
![Allegan Journal 7 September 1857 "Gave them the Slip": Gave them the Slip — On Thursday Dr. J.C. Elliott and lawyer Bassett (the latter to prepare a will) were sent for from Newark flats by W.G. Butler, Esq. — When the reached there late that evening lo and behold! Mr. B. was minus[?] and was on his way to Chicago on board of Capt. Mixer's tug. It would be just like W.G. B.—he was so given to eccentricities—to recover after all. We understand there was a specimen of "tall swearing' by the Allegan professionals when they heard that their patron had been so mysteriously spirited away by Capt. Mixer.](https://d8e7jbdw4fu0e.cloudfront.net/4124/0f6e1e20-d27b-11ef-a509-7ff463f2d31f-vUU1d6R.lg@2x.jpg)
