It has been helpful to me to be working in conjunction with my wife’s niece Tina. She writes:
1891 is when our Edward Butler Jr. shows up in Newton living at his aunt’s house as a boarder. (Right around the time we know EB Sr. passed away)
This Boston address places them about two streets over from Mary Crowley’s brother at the same time in history.
These are a few things that I was either not aware of or did not conect the dots.
Newton in 1891
Here are the people listed being at 220 California Street, Newton in the 1891 Directory:
I should point out that Edward H Butler would have only been 16 years old in 1891 assuming that his birth date of 28 April 1875 is correct. That brings us to the Boston Globe of December 17, 1891:
My guess is that St. John would have been notified due to Edward’s widow Mary E Crowley. We know that Edward Senior was a Mariner or Longshoreman at the time of his death living at Clark Street in the North End of Boston. Therefor, we believe that the Edward H , clerk listed at 220 California Street would have been his son.
Edward’s Sister Anna Butler
My curiosity got the better of me, so I asked Tina who was Edward Junior’s Aunt who owned the house at 220 California Street in Newton. Here is her reply:
I researched Anna Smith, who was listed as the owner of the boarding house at 220 California Street in Newton and found that she was a Butler. I found a marriage reord for her second marriage to Joseiph Wharton and it shows her parents as Henry Butler and Ellen Russell. But then George acutally is the infomrant on her death certificate and wakes her when she passes in 1917. Interestingly, he doen’t know her mom’s name – making me think Anne died young. He knows Henry is the dad.
Here are the children I have for Henry Butler of Wexford:
Perhaps she is the Mary Anne Butler born 1834? I see that Tina has this tree:
Tina’s Anna is Anna Eliza Butler the youngest child. Tina also has Edward Butler and Adam Butler as two separate people. I can see where this could make sense. My guess is that these two were the same person.
Showing more of what Tina has on Anna:
Interesting that she has Anna’s mother as Anne Ellen Russel as one of the records below lists her mather as Ellen Russel.
This shed a whole new light on things. Edward’s funeral was not hosted by his young son Edward Junior, but by his sister. Here is the baptismal record for Anne or Anna:
Here is a marriage of Anna’s son Henry in Newton in 1896:
Henry is an insurance agent born in New Brunswick:
Here is Anna’s obituary:
Where are the St. John, New Brunswick Records for Anna Smith and Family?
Did they go to the same church that Edward got married in? I have that Edward Butler and Mary Crowley were married at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in 1855. I had found their daughter Julia Ann’s Baptismal record there also in a blog from 2023. Julia Ann was baptized on the 26th of April 1857. However, in 1857, Anna Butler would have only been 15.
FamilySearch has additional information, but apparently it involves traveiling to one of their affiliate libraries:
Perhaps there is a hint in the 1889 Newton Directory:
I am guesseing that this is Anna above. And that below is the location of Crescent Street:
Now, I also have that Edward Butler lived at 26 Crescent Street, Newton in 1900.
1887 Newton Directory
Perhaps we can learn more of Anna by going back through the years – assuming she was still in Newton, MA.
This says Crescent is near California, which makes me think I have the wrong Crescent Street above. The one above is not near California Steet:
The red marker is at 220 California Street and the other Crescent Street was near Auburndale.
1885 Newton Directory
I am hoping to get an idea of when George Smith died. I see that from researcher Tina’s Tree, she has that George Smith dies about 1884:
Interesting. I wonder who Mrs. M Moody is:
I am assuming tha the M. stands for Martha, widow of Bradstreet D Moody. Here are Jewett and Pearl Streets
1884-1885 Newton Directory
I don’t see Anna or George:
I don’t think George was a coachman. There was a George Smith who was a coachmen in 1889 when Anna was listed as a widow:
1883
The Newton Director has three Georges this year including the coachman:
Of course, at this time, we do not know where the Smith family lived.
1881
Here is the Directory for Newton two years earlier:
Unfortunately, this is the wrong George Smith. This one was born in Readfield, Maine and had a wife named Elizabeth W Smith.
1879
The George Smith, laborer, was probably this single, 25 year old, farm laborer born in Maine also:
I think this is the family in 1880 in Watertown:
But why is the wife Mary instead of Anna? A mistake?
According to this Census, the son is born in New Brunswick, the mother in Ireland and the father in England.
Ann Eliza’s Second Marriage
Some time between 1880 and 1890, George Smith dies. Anna Eliza and Joseph Wharton marry in Newton in 1890:
Anna gives her age as 41, but she is acually 48, so 15 years older than her husband. Anna’s mother should be Ann but is listed as Ellen which seems a little odd.
So this means that Anna was Anna Wharton when her brother Edward dies in 1891 and she hosts his funeral at the house where she is living at 220 California Street in Newton. Here is Joseph listed in the 1891 Director for Newton:
The 1891 Newton Directory is a little behind with the times:
This apparently represents a time before October 3, 1990 as Anna is still listed as a widow. So Joseph Wharton is a gardener and Henry G Smith is a florist. This also appears to be that Edward H is living on his own at age 15 – albeit with his Aunt Anna.
Here is 1893 at the same address:
So Anna is probably living there, but not listed as she is now married to Joseph.
Pretty much the same in 1995:
Here is 220 California Street, Newton in 1997:
Anna’s son Henry Smith gets married and Joseph Wharton and Anna move out.
A Brief Sketch of Anna Eliza Butler 1849-1917
A month ago, I did not know that Anna existed. Thanks to my wife’s niece, Tina, I now know some about my wife’s 2nd great-grandfather’s sister. It is often more difficult to track women in history as they left fewer records. As seen above, Anna disappears in the Directories when she is married.
February 5, 1842 – Anna is born Anne Eliza Butler in Wexford, Ireland to Henry Butler and Anne Russel.
20 February 1849 – Older brother George has a son George Butler with future wife Sinnott
12 June 1849 – Anna’s older brother George marries Mary Whitty of Mountain Gate, Wexford, Ireland. Here is Mountain Gate:
George has a daughter Ann born in Ireland in 1850 in Wexford and a daughter born in Cincinnati in 1868.
1855 – Anna’s brother Edward marries Mary E Crowley in St. John, New Brunswick. Two daughters are born to the couple in New Brunswick in 1857 and 1859. By 1860, Edward is living in Cincinatti where his brother George lives.
1870 – Around this time Anna has a son born in St. John, New Brunswick by her English Husband George Smith. The son is named Henry George Smith. That means that Anna likely traveled to New Brunswick before this time and married George Smith there.
1880 – I believe that Anna is living in Watertown with her husband George and son Henry. Unfortunately, the enumerator of the 1880 Census has her name as Mary which I beieve to be an error.
I do not see this family in the 1880 Directory for Watertown:
A George J is listed, but he lives in Boston. The George I have in the Watertown Census was listed as a laborer, so he is not likely a clerk.
2 Octobert 1890 – Anna marries Joseph Wharton in Newton. Prior to this time Joseph, Anna’s son Henry and Anna’s nephew Edward H were living at the same address at 220 California Street in Newton. Here is the Roman Catholic record:
I should note even though the records have Josheph Wharton being born in England, there are Watertown Roman Catholic Parish records showng he was baptized there.
16 Decembert 1891 – Anna’s brother Edward Butler dies and the funeral is held at 220 California Street
1896 Anna’s son Henry George, an insurance agent, marries Elizabeth A Leonard in Newton. The couple move to New Hampshire and have children there.
1917 – Anna dies in Watertown, a widow. Her nephew George Butler is the informant for the death record. I could not find a death record for her husband Joseph Wharton.
Summary and Conclusions
- As mentioned, I am grateful for fellow Butler researcher, Tina
- It is interesting that this person Anna Eliza Butler existed all this time, married, had a son in St. John, New Brunswick, moved to the Boston area and we did not know about her until recently.
- It would be interesting to find out if any of her descendants have taken a DNA test.
- There are still many things to fill in for Anna – many missing records that have not been found.