Some New Butler Genealogy Developments

It seems like my wife’s side of the family has been going strong in pursuing the family Butler genealogy lately. My brother-in-law has found some very interesting information from NARA concerning Edward Butler’s Civil War service. This information was taken down due to pension applications. The first application was for Edward and the second was for for his wife Mary Crowley Butler after Edward’s death in 1891 in Boston.

The results of my brother-in-law’s inquiry is here:

We have conducted a search of record series Case Files of Approved Pension Applications of Widows and Other Dependents of Navy Veterans, ca. 1861–ca. 1910 (RG 15, Entry A1 8) and located the pension file for Butler, Edward and his widow, Mary Butler online at: Approved Pension Application File for Dependents of Edward Butler (Certificate No. 7162). The 41 page file can be searched and downloaded for free using the attached link. 

We hope this information is of assistance. Feel free to contact us if you have further questions concerning our records or about potential research at the National Archives at Washington D.C in the future. You can find additional information on our website at: https://www.archives.gov/dc.

The context of the first hyperlink is that the documents relate to Edward Butler’s widow Mary Butler who was seeking a pension as a result of the death of her veteran husband.

A Surprise Visit to San Francisco and Japan

It appears that as part of the application, there is a statement from Edward Butler that he was in the Navy a for a year around 1851-1852:

The above is page 25/41 from the file.

I like my wife’s niece’s transcription:

“I enlisted in the Navy at Cincinnati Ohio Aug. 16, 1864. Served in Gt Western, Milwaukee, Osage, [Itaska?] & tug Rose. From which I was discharged Aug. 1, 1865, and had no other service in the Army or Navy during the war of 1861–5.

I was in the Navy before the war. I enlisted in San Francisco Cal about 1851 and went to Japan in the “St Lawrence” and was discharged at San Francisco Cal about 1852 after one year’s service.”

This affadivit raises a lot of questions.

• What was Edward doing in San Fransisco when his family was in Cincinnati?
• How did Edward get from Ireland to San Fransisco and then to St. John, New Brunswick?
• Why was the St Lawrence ship in Japan?
• What was San Francisco and Japan like in 1851/1852?

Here is an AI answer to what San Franciso was like at the time:

AI Overview

In 1851, San Francisco was a chaotic, booming Gold Rush tent-and-shack city undergoing explosive growth, devastating fires, and rapid physical expansion. 

Population and Demographics

• • • Boomtown numbers: The population hovered between 30,000 and 60,000 shifting constantly as tens of thousands of fortune-seekers arrived by sea. [1, 2]
    • Global mix: History of San Francisco notes that immigrants from China, France, Germany, Ireland, Chile, and the Eastern U.S. flooded the area, creating a heavily male-dominated society with very few women. 

The Harbor and Buried Ships

• • • Abandoned fleets: Hundreds of ships sat abandoned in the harbor because their crews deserted them to chase gold.
    • Landfill expansion: As noted by San Francisco Harbor at Yerba Buena Cove, residents filled Yerba Buena Cove with sand, rubble, and these old abandoned ships to expand the shore, turning vessels into saloons, hotels, and warehouses. 

Catastrophic Fires

• • • The Great Fire of 1851: Occurring on May 3–4, this was the most destructive of several massive blazes, destroying up to three-quarters of the city, burning 2,000 buildings, and causing millions in damage. 
    • Rebuilding in brick: Frequent fires forced the city to start replacing wooden shacks with thick-walled, fireproof brick buildings featuring iron shutters. 

Society and Daily Life

• • • High cost of living: Daily expenses averaged around $5 to $16 a day, balanced by high wages for physical labor.
    • Lawlessness: Violent crime, waterfront robberies, and brawls were common, and the local police force faced widespread accusations of corruption and ties to criminal gangs. [1, 2]

It sounds like a chaotic place. I wonder if Edward went there in search of gold?

My wife’s brother looked into this as did I. There was an expedition by Matthew Perry in 1852 and anotther in 1854 to Japan. However, there were no boats in the fleet named the St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence was in the Pacific at this time going up and down the Western coast of the Americas and going as far as Hawaii, but not known to go to Japan. That means that Edward either got Japan wrong or the name of the ship, the St. Lawrence, wrong.

Here is page 26 of the documents:

The statement was taken on May 18, 1891. Edward was said to be 61 at the time. That would put his birth at 1830 or 1831. That puts into question his baptism as Adam in 1839 and makes more sense. If he was 61 in 1891, he would have been 21 in 1851. This would also put him closer to his brother George’s 1826 birth.

It appears that there was an Elizabeth or Eliza born to the family in March 1830, so Edward was likely born at least 9 months after this date.

Here he is:

He is baptized in Wexford on 29 March 1832. I assume to avoid confusion with his father Henry, he goes by Henry. Henry is carried as a second name as well as with his son Edward Henry born in 1875.

Other Pages of the Pension Application

Here is Page 4 of 41:

This is an application for Edward as a Navy invalid filed August 6, 1890. That places Edward Butler at this address at that time:

That is interesting because the 1890 Census taken on June 2, 1890 places Edward in Newtonville:

Most documents other than City Directories refer to Edward without the H. This one includes the H in his name. In this Blog, I go into some detail as to where Edward lived in Boston. I do not see him living on any street starting with an M. Perhaps this was one more place that he lived or that the mailing addresss was different from where he lived.

The 1890 Boston Directory has Edward living at Erin Alley in East Boston:

This was near Maverick Street refered to in the Invalid Application above. Acually the above could be Maverick Square, but the writing is unclear.

Application Rejected

Here is Page 5 of 41:

I see a rejected stamp on it. This application was filed July 25, 1885 and the P.O. at that time was 2 Emmet Place, Boston, MA. This address agrees with my earlier Blog mentioned above.

Mary Butler’s Widow Application

This is dated June 15, 1892 and places Mary at 294 4th Street, South Boston.

This address is near D Street. This indicates that Mary was living with her Crowley relatives at this time.

Joseph L Crowley dies at this address in 1894. Joseph was Mary’s nephew from her youngest brother William Crowley:

Page 8 of the file closes out Mary’s $8 pension due to her death:

Here is Page 9:

Edward was a boatswain mate and appears to have had a $6 pension. Here is an AI overview:

So he was the guy with the loud whistle.

Here are the ships he was on:

Page 10 shows we had the right marriage date and place:

I would question Mary’s age of 50:

That would put her birth at 1841 and her marriage at age 14. Mary was actually 53 at the time of this document.

Page 11, Julia Lahey is the witness to the application:

Julia is Mary’s younger sister:

Mary’s first daughter appears to be named for her.

Page 12

Some background information from two people who have known Mary for 40 years: her sister and her cousin.

Catherine Gallagher is her cousin.

Basically they say the know Mary and knew Edward. The family is poor, have no property and Mary has to go out to do washing to support herself. Edward and Mary have only been married once.

Here is Gold Street where Catharine Gallagher lived around the corner from Mary:

Who Was Catharine Gallagher?

I think I will look into Catharine and then continue on in another Blog.

According to the 1892 Boston Directory, there was an Edward Gallagher living at 168 Gold Street:

After some searching, I see Edward in the 1900 Census:

This gives a lot more information. They have been married for 26 years, so that means they married around 1874. Catharine arrived in the US around 1874, so I assume that they married in the US at that time. Catharine has 5 children.

Next, I’ll add Edward to my tree as a floating tree. Here is a record from July 31, 1884:

It appears that two twin children of this couple pass away at two months old. If the address is the same today as then, they would have been in Charlestown.

Here is some further information from a tree at Ancestry:

Here is one of the references from that tree:

So Catharine is related on the Donovan side. Ancestry suggests these parents for Catharine:

Here is where things get more complicated. Ancestry’s hint has this marriage in St. John:

Now I assume that Lane was Catherine’s married name.

Here is an interesting view of the Ancestry researched tree that I am looking at:

Here is the tree that I have:

I have the same Bartholowmew Donovan with a different wife. That must mean that Peter and Ellen Donovan were siblings. That would mean that, assuming that these two trees are fairly accurate, that Mary and Catharine would have been first cousins.

I had trouble finding Catherine’s death record at Ancestry, but found it at American Ancestors:

We see that Peter Donovan and Catherine Sullivan were her parents according to the death record, but there was no informant. If Catherine was 45 in 1904 that would put her birth around. 1859. However, the tree above has Catherine born in 1848.

Who Were the Parents of Ellen and Catharine Donovan?

More specifically, we have agreement on the father but not on the mother. For some reason, it appears that Ellen mother being Mary Crowley does not seem as likely as Catherine Sullivan.

Ellen Donovan Sullivan dies in Boston in 1883 and her parents are listed as Bartholomew and Mary:

I see this as my reference for Mary Crowley:

Perhaps this is the wrong Ellen, daughter of Bartholomew? Or the other researcher got the wrong Catherine?

Finally, I see this entry in the Ancestry Tree I am looking at:

This Ellen Crowley must be our Ellen and is the sponser for Catherine Donovan. Based on this, I would like to say that Butler ancestor Ellen is the sponsor for Catherine.

Summary and Conclusions

• I started with an interesting revelation that Edward Butler was in the Navy around 1851-2 in San Francisco and said that he travelled to Japan. This was on Page 24 of the Widow’s pension application
• I then went through from the beginning of the application.
• Julia Lahey, Mary Crowley’s sister and Catharine Gallagher, Mary’s cousin gave affadavits. I found out that Catherine was born Catharine Donovan and was the daughter of Peter Donovan. Peter was Mary’s mother Ellen’s brother.
• Catharine lived around the corner from Mary when she gave the affadavit.
• Both Peter and Ellen have Bartholomew Donovan as their father but there is some confusion as to the mother was or if they had the same mother.