Reuben Nelson "R. N." Butterworth served in the 20th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Russell's) Confederate States Army
20th (Russell's) Cavalry Regiment [also called 15th Regiment] was organized in February, 1864. Its members were recruited in the counties of Henry, Gibson, Carroll, Madison, Dyer, Humphreys, and Weakley. The unit was placed in T.H. Bell's Brigade, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, and fought at Okolona, Brice's Cross Roads, and Harrisburg. Later it skirmished in Tennessee, was part of Hood's operations, then moved to Mississippi. The regiment ended the war in Alabama and on May 3, 1865, contained 29 officers and 217 men. The field officers were Colonel Robert M. Russell, Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Greer, and Major H.F. Bowman.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In the Old South, these Butterworth's were absolutely plantation owners and kept black persons as slaves - a horrible truth - but a fact nonetheless. I mention this because it raises the occasion to record the memory of, and possibly even the name of - a black lady who lived her entire life in bondage to this family, or who at least spent the majority of her life enslaved to them and then remained with them after emancipation for the remainder of her life. I don't know her name, unfortunately, but I can inquire of members of my late wife's family who may remember - if the information interests you.
The poignant detail that makes this lady stand out in my mind is that at her request she was buried at the feet of the man - who had pre-deceased her - who she was enslaved to most of her life, with the family's full consent, in this cemetery.
Although I cannot recall if I actually saw a grave marker for this lady, I do remember Lisa pointing out the spot where she believed her to be.
I will not even pretend to understand all of the interpersonal dynamics involved in all that, and I also realize that the 'family legend' of a slave being buried at their 'master's' feet is fairly cliche across Dixie. I am of the opinion though that this particular claim is very likely true, and that if anyone in that graveyard is deserving of historical note above the rest - this humble, loving soul would be the one.
There is one more complication to this tale due again to my fading memory - I don't recall which Butterworth man this lady is buried at the feet of. I have narrowed it down to four candidates, but I haven't cross-referenced those names against the list of those known to be buried there. I have a family tree compiled for my son on FamilySearch.com and all four are included in it. The names, lifespans (as well as are recorded), and FamilySearch person reference numbers for them are as follows:
Joseph Butterworth - 1780-1859 - # M24K-ZN9
David Franklin Butterworth - 1823-unknown - # L23P-ZSR
Reuben Nelson Butterworth - 1824-1899 - # L235-MQN (father of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
Reuben Talbert Butterworth - 1850-1922 - L23P-DCN (husband of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
(Just for informational purposes and clarity's sake, Lucy Jane was a 'double' Butterworth. Benjamin Butterworth, Sr. was great-grandfather to both she and Reuben Talbert, her husband. You'll have to figure the trails in-between for yourself if you're interested, lol!)
If this info is of interest to you, or if you know anyone it would interest, especially a historian/author looking for a meaningful story to tell - I am fairly certain that there is no one left alive in this lineage who would take exception to the story being told. Lisa and I have one son, grown now, and I know he doesn't care - and all of Lisa's surviving kin who I know are far removed from their roots in Dyer County. I would be happy to provide whatever documentation and living contacts I still have to a researcher freely and purely in the interest of preserving the history of who some people were, and how a lot of us today, got here.
Thanks for your time,
Billy
20th (Russell's) Cavalry Regiment [also called 15th Regiment] was organized in February, 1864. Its members were recruited in the counties of Henry, Gibson, Carroll, Madison, Dyer, Humphreys, and Weakley. The unit was placed in T.H. Bell's Brigade, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, and fought at Okolona, Brice's Cross Roads, and Harrisburg. Later it skirmished in Tennessee, was part of Hood's operations, then moved to Mississippi. The regiment ended the war in Alabama and on May 3, 1865, contained 29 officers and 217 men. The field officers were Colonel Robert M. Russell, Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Greer, and Major H.F. Bowman.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In the Old South, these Butterworth's were absolutely plantation owners and kept black persons as slaves - a horrible truth - but a fact nonetheless. I mention this because it raises the occasion to record the memory of, and possibly even the name of - a black lady who lived her entire life in bondage to this family, or who at least spent the majority of her life enslaved to them and then remained with them after emancipation for the remainder of her life. I don't know her name, unfortunately, but I can inquire of members of my late wife's family who may remember - if the information interests you.
The poignant detail that makes this lady stand out in my mind is that at her request she was buried at the feet of the man - who had pre-deceased her - who she was enslaved to most of her life, with the family's full consent, in this cemetery.
Although I cannot recall if I actually saw a grave marker for this lady, I do remember Lisa pointing out the spot where she believed her to be.
I will not even pretend to understand all of the interpersonal dynamics involved in all that, and I also realize that the 'family legend' of a slave being buried at their 'master's' feet is fairly cliche across Dixie. I am of the opinion though that this particular claim is very likely true, and that if anyone in that graveyard is deserving of historical note above the rest - this humble, loving soul would be the one.
There is one more complication to this tale due again to my fading memory - I don't recall which Butterworth man this lady is buried at the feet of. I have narrowed it down to four candidates, but I haven't cross-referenced those names against the list of those known to be buried there. I have a family tree compiled for my son on FamilySearch.com and all four are included in it. The names, lifespans (as well as are recorded), and FamilySearch person reference numbers for them are as follows:
Joseph Butterworth - 1780-1859 - # M24K-ZN9
David Franklin Butterworth - 1823-unknown - # L23P-ZSR
Reuben Nelson Butterworth - 1824-1899 - # L235-MQN (father of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
Reuben Talbert Butterworth - 1850-1922 - L23P-DCN (husband of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
(Just for informational purposes and clarity's sake, Lucy Jane was a 'double' Butterworth. Benjamin Butterworth, Sr. was great-grandfather to both she and Reuben Talbert, her husband. You'll have to figure the trails in-between for yourself if you're interested, lol!)
If this info is of interest to you, or if you know anyone it would interest, especially a historian/author looking for a meaningful story to tell - I am fairly certain that there is no one left alive in this lineage who would take exception to the story being told. Lisa and I have one son, grown now, and I know he doesn't care - and all of Lisa's surviving kin who I know are far removed from their roots in Dyer County. I would be happy to provide whatever documentation and living contacts I still have to a researcher freely and purely in the interest of preserving the history of who some people were, and how a lot of us today, got here.
Thanks for your time,
Billy
Reuben Nelson "R. N." Butterworth served in the 20th Regiment, Tennessee Cavalry (Russell's) Confederate States Army
20th (Russell's) Cavalry Regiment [also called 15th Regiment] was organized in February, 1864. Its members were recruited in the counties of Henry, Gibson, Carroll, Madison, Dyer, Humphreys, and Weakley. The unit was placed in T.H. Bell's Brigade, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, and fought at Okolona, Brice's Cross Roads, and Harrisburg. Later it skirmished in Tennessee, was part of Hood's operations, then moved to Mississippi. The regiment ended the war in Alabama and on May 3, 1865, contained 29 officers and 217 men. The field officers were Colonel Robert M. Russell, Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Greer, and Major H.F. Bowman.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In the Old South, these Butterworth's were absolutely plantation owners and kept black persons as slaves - a horrible truth - but a fact nonetheless. I mention this because it raises the occasion to record the memory of, and possibly even the name of - a black lady who lived her entire life in bondage to this family, or who at least spent the majority of her life enslaved to them and then remained with them after emancipation for the remainder of her life. I don't know her name, unfortunately, but I can inquire of members of my late wife's family who may remember - if the information interests you.
The poignant detail that makes this lady stand out in my mind is that at her request she was buried at the feet of the man - who had pre-deceased her - who she was enslaved to most of her life, with the family's full consent, in this cemetery.
Although I cannot recall if I actually saw a grave marker for this lady, I do remember Lisa pointing out the spot where she believed her to be.
I will not even pretend to understand all of the interpersonal dynamics involved in all that, and I also realize that the 'family legend' of a slave being buried at their 'master's' feet is fairly cliche across Dixie. I am of the opinion though that this particular claim is very likely true, and that if anyone in that graveyard is deserving of historical note above the rest - this humble, loving soul would be the one.
There is one more complication to this tale due again to my fading memory - I don't recall which Butterworth man this lady is buried at the feet of. I have narrowed it down to four candidates, but I haven't cross-referenced those names against the list of those known to be buried there. I have a family tree compiled for my son on FamilySearch.com and all four are included in it. The names, lifespans (as well as are recorded), and FamilySearch person reference numbers for them are as follows:
Joseph Butterworth - 1780-1859 - # M24K-ZN9
David Franklin Butterworth - 1823-unknown - # L23P-ZSR
Reuben Nelson Butterworth - 1824-1899 - # L235-MQN (father of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
Reuben Talbert Butterworth - 1850-1922 - L23P-DCN (husband of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
(Just for informational purposes and clarity's sake, Lucy Jane was a 'double' Butterworth. Benjamin Butterworth, Sr. was great-grandfather to both she and Reuben Talbert, her husband. You'll have to figure the trails in-between for yourself if you're interested, lol!)
If this info is of interest to you, or if you know anyone it would interest, especially a historian/author looking for a meaningful story to tell - I am fairly certain that there is no one left alive in this lineage who would take exception to the story being told. Lisa and I have one son, grown now, and I know he doesn't care - and all of Lisa's surviving kin who I know are far removed from their roots in Dyer County. I would be happy to provide whatever documentation and living contacts I still have to a researcher freely and purely in the interest of preserving the history of who some people were, and how a lot of us today, got here.
Thanks for your time,
Billy
20th (Russell's) Cavalry Regiment [also called 15th Regiment] was organized in February, 1864. Its members were recruited in the counties of Henry, Gibson, Carroll, Madison, Dyer, Humphreys, and Weakley. The unit was placed in T.H. Bell's Brigade, Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana, and fought at Okolona, Brice's Cross Roads, and Harrisburg. Later it skirmished in Tennessee, was part of Hood's operations, then moved to Mississippi. The regiment ended the war in Alabama and on May 3, 1865, contained 29 officers and 217 men. The field officers were Colonel Robert M. Russell, Lieutenant Colonel Henry C. Greer, and Major H.F. Bowman.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
In the Old South, these Butterworth's were absolutely plantation owners and kept black persons as slaves - a horrible truth - but a fact nonetheless. I mention this because it raises the occasion to record the memory of, and possibly even the name of - a black lady who lived her entire life in bondage to this family, or who at least spent the majority of her life enslaved to them and then remained with them after emancipation for the remainder of her life. I don't know her name, unfortunately, but I can inquire of members of my late wife's family who may remember - if the information interests you.
The poignant detail that makes this lady stand out in my mind is that at her request she was buried at the feet of the man - who had pre-deceased her - who she was enslaved to most of her life, with the family's full consent, in this cemetery.
Although I cannot recall if I actually saw a grave marker for this lady, I do remember Lisa pointing out the spot where she believed her to be.
I will not even pretend to understand all of the interpersonal dynamics involved in all that, and I also realize that the 'family legend' of a slave being buried at their 'master's' feet is fairly cliche across Dixie. I am of the opinion though that this particular claim is very likely true, and that if anyone in that graveyard is deserving of historical note above the rest - this humble, loving soul would be the one.
There is one more complication to this tale due again to my fading memory - I don't recall which Butterworth man this lady is buried at the feet of. I have narrowed it down to four candidates, but I haven't cross-referenced those names against the list of those known to be buried there. I have a family tree compiled for my son on FamilySearch.com and all four are included in it. The names, lifespans (as well as are recorded), and FamilySearch person reference numbers for them are as follows:
Joseph Butterworth - 1780-1859 - # M24K-ZN9
David Franklin Butterworth - 1823-unknown - # L23P-ZSR
Reuben Nelson Butterworth - 1824-1899 - # L235-MQN (father of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
Reuben Talbert Butterworth - 1850-1922 - L23P-DCN (husband of Lucy Jane Butterworth)
(Just for informational purposes and clarity's sake, Lucy Jane was a 'double' Butterworth. Benjamin Butterworth, Sr. was great-grandfather to both she and Reuben Talbert, her husband. You'll have to figure the trails in-between for yourself if you're interested, lol!)
If this info is of interest to you, or if you know anyone it would interest, especially a historian/author looking for a meaningful story to tell - I am fairly certain that there is no one left alive in this lineage who would take exception to the story being told. Lisa and I have one son, grown now, and I know he doesn't care - and all of Lisa's surviving kin who I know are far removed from their roots in Dyer County. I would be happy to provide whatever documentation and living contacts I still have to a researcher freely and purely in the interest of preserving the history of who some people were, and how a lot of us today, got here.
Thanks for your time,
Billy
Gravesite Details
Married Nov 5, 1850 to Mary J. Brockman;
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