Category: Butler

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A Butler YDNA Tree

I have been looking at the Whitson/Butler YDNA Project and was interested in how the Butlers might turn out as a tree using the STR results from that project. Here is the section of the Whitson project that has Butlers:

I downloaded this to an excel spreadsheet and then took out the Butler only names and put them into a text file to use in the SAPP Program. SAPP stands for Still Another Phylogenetic Program.

For some reason, I didn’t get all the results the first time.

I tried again and got all five Butler STR results:

Adjusted Genetic Distance

The kit starting with 102 is the most distant Butler relative. That makes sense that he is further away from the last two kits who are my brother-in-law and late father-in-law.

SAPP Tree

Now STRs can be somewhat unreliable and we are comparing two 37 STR tests with three 111 STR tests. What this shows is that the INS Kit is more closely related to my brother-in-law and father-in-law and that the 319 Kit is more closely related to the 102 Kit. I believe that this makes sense, as we are thinking that the INS Kit may share a common ancestor who would be the father of known ancestor Henry Butler born about 1800 in Wexford, Ireland.

Dating

There are dates on the nodes. The Group TMRCA is 1700 AD. That compares well with the more accurate BigY tessting done on the three kits that have 111 STRs.

Here the bottom three are Butlers and their common ancestor is estimated to be 1546 CE. However, there is quite a range given for this. The testers above the Butlers are Whitsons.

The date on Node 8 is 1950 but that is because there is no difference in the first 37 STRs between the three testers. Here is part of the tree that I have based on autosomal testing:

The INS Kit descends from Richard Butler Born 1817 though I don’t have him on the tree. I believe that Adam Butler should be the brother of Henry Butler on my wife’s side of the family. That would make the INS tester 4th cousin once or twice removed to my wife’s father. That means that the actual Node 8 should be around the year 1775.

Node #7

The date for this Node is 1800. This is possible.

A New Tree

I talked to Peter who is on the list. He says there is another person not on the Whitson YDNA Project but on the Butler Project who he thinks he is more closely related to. I added this person in. He has and ancestor named Captain Butler who was dealings with South Africa. This person’s kit starts with IN129:

This person does not seem close to Peter (102) as far as genetic distance in this report. Here is the tree report:

Assuming that this is accurate, it shows that there are four branches going back to 1600. I find it interesting that adding another Kit brings the common ancestor date further back. Of course, again, this is comparing three kits with 37 STRs tested with three kits with 111 STRs tested. At this point, it appears that BigY testing from one of the two BigY untested kits in yellow row of three would be helpful.

The SAPP Program allows to enter SNPs. I added the BigY SNPs, but this did not change the results:

Based on this, it appears that the two non-BigY tested kits could have their own SNP branches. The SAPP website says:

Boxes are connected by lines of varying thickness, indicating how confident SAPP is in those connections. There are three “levels” of confidence – thick blue lines based on unambiguous STR, SNP, or Genealogy data; thinner blue lines based on less certain data (often on STR data alone), or thin grey lines where SAPP made what it thought was the best decision among several close choices without clear SNP or Genealogy support.

I am not sure why adding the SNP data gives a more certain connection in the upper left of the chart.

A Whitson Tree

Unfortunately, when I was writing thsi Blog, I lost what I was doing, so I will give the short version. Here are the Whitsons I looked at:

I left out McAllister as I did not know where he fit in. The first kit also did not fit in with the other Kits’ STRs. I then added the BigY SNP info:

This gave some branching to the Whitson Tree.  Looking at the common ancestor date for each tree of 1600 AD, it was difficult to tell which came first. However, there appears to be a Butler/Whitson split around this time. The rage of the common ancestors was 50 years earlier for the Butler line for some reason. I do not know if this is significant.

A Butler/Whitson Tree

This also includes McAllister who seems to fit in.

Here are the adjusted genetic distances:

  • Here I added one Butler Kit that is in the Butler YDNA Project but not in the Whitson YDNA Project which I administer. The Kit starts with IN129 and the tester has an ancestor listed as Captain Butler.
  • McAllister (Kit starts with 958) fits in well. His largest Genetic Distance is 7 (a Butler and a Whitson).
  • The largest genetic distance is an 8. This is between the Butler who BigY tested just upstream of my father-in-law and with Whitson/Horner.

The STR/SNP SAPP Tree itself is somewhat surprising:

  • What is not surprising is that the estimated date of the common ancestor is 1600 AD.
  • There are three branches. The first branch has just the kit added that has the Captain Butler ancestor. The second branch is the Whitson Branch but includes some Butlers. The third branch includes my wife’s family of just Butlers.
  • The SAPP program seems to have suggested a STR signature for the two main branches. These are FTD55731 established 1750 on the Whitson side and Y128365 established 1550 AD on the Butler side.
  • This tree does not take into account genealogy. I did not tell the program which testers were considered to be Butlers, Whitson or the one McAllister.

I am curious as to how the branching compares to the FTDNA branching of the BigY tests.

  • When we combine these two, the group MRCA should have the SNP of BY50783. However,  the image above has the date for that SNP at 1433 AD. This is certainly at the early range of the STR tree of 1400 to 1750.
  • The common SNP for the lower Branch above of Butlers is Y128364 which shows above at 1546 AD and the SAPP tree has this node at 1550 AD. That is pretty consistant considering the SAPP program rounds to the nearest 50 years.
  • My wife’s father was born in 1932. So he would be the common ancestor between between him and my brother-in-law.

On the Whitson side:

  • Batt and Whitson have a common SNP of FTD55731. The date for this above is 1768. The SAPP Tree has a rounded date of 1750.
  • The next upstream SNP is BY115420 dated above at 1718 and consistantly at the SAPP tree at 1700.

Fine Tuning for the SAPP Tree?

Here is one of the outputs:

Look at the Kit starting with 846. There is a ? for FTD55731. I think that should be a minus. As administrator, I can see clearly that that Kit is definitely negative for that SNP:

There would be a mutation at this position if this Whitson tester as positive for FTD55731. As there is clearly no mutation, then I should enter a minus on the SAPP Tree input.

This now looks better for this Whitson tester with no ambiguity. That little change made a big change to the SAPP Tree:

The Tree got longer on the Whitson side by one row and one Node was added.

Believe it or not, I see one more issue. I need to show the Kit starting with 102 as negative for the SNP my brother-in-law and father-in-law share. In addition, I should add the common SNP for the 6 BigY testers.

Here I have all the boxes filled in for the BigY testers .

The Annotated SAPP Tree

This does not look too bad, but shows heavy on the Whitson side:

  • One Butler comes early on the Whitson side. However, this comes early. Could 1700 be when the Whitsons split from the Butlers? I am told that there is trouible placing the genealogy of this tester.
  • That means I should show Butler/Whitson ancestor a little lower on the chart. The top box should just be the ancestor of all the testers.
  • The kit that has Captain Butler as an ancestor could use further STR testing or a BigY test to better place him.
  • The kit starting with IN687 probably has a common ancestor with my wife’s family around 1770. My wife’s ancestor was Henry Butler born around 1800 in Wexford, Ireland and I believe the IN687 Kit’s ancestor was James Butler a likely brother born around 1795 or so also in Wexford.

Summary and Conclusions

  • It was helpful to use a STR program to try to determine if there was any affinity for Butler family groups within Family A of the Butler YDNA project under I2a2a.
  • When I added an additional Kit to the mix, the common ancestor for the group went from 1700 to 1600. That tells me that, based on this analysis, the additional person could be more distantly related. In fact, that appears to be the case based on the adjusted Genetic Distance Chart above.
  • Keep in mind that STRs can be fickle and can mutate up or down and can be misleading.
  • STR testing as obtained in the BigY test is always to be preferred over STR testing for YDNA, but where STR testing is available, it is good to make use of tools such as SAPP.
  • I took the SAPP Tree out to its logical conclusion. I first did a Whitson only tree and then a combined Whitson/Butler Tree.
  • This Whitson/Butler SAPP STR/SNP Tree has a likely answer to some of the questions such as: which came first – Butler or Whitson. It aslo shows likely relationships between all the testers.
  • Many of these relationships appear to go back to the 1700’s when it is difficult to find good genealogical information.
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Anastasia and Adam Butler Born Around 1800 Wexford, Ireland

I have interest in Anastasia and Adam Butler based on my wife’s Butler genealogy.

Anastasia ThruLines

One Butler researcher supposed that the father of Anastasia was George Butler. This is reflected in the ThruLines for my wife’s late Aunt Lorraine:

I am not sure how my Butler researcher friend came up with George as the ancestor. However, it appears that Henry Butler named his first son George. Adam was also a popular name. Henry mentions that George is also known as Adam in the baptismal record:

We know Adam better as George who moves to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Here is Lorraine’s late sister VIrginia’s ThruLines:

Adam Butler’s Connection

Here is part of my Butler DNA Tree:

Again, I am not sure of the George at the top. That could also be an Adam Butler.

I found James as a shared match with someone on the right side of the tree (not shown) named Patty. I found Marie from a match at MyHeritage. Now, if I know the first male child of Adam and the second male child of Anastasia, I may have a good guess as to who the father of Adam and Anastasia were.

The Genealogy – Patrick and Will Back to Anastasia Butler

It looks like I may have not connected these trees in my Ancestry Tree. I will need to do this properly. I will create a floating tree for Patrick. Here is his tree on his paternal side:

The Hanrahan (nee Butler) should be Anty or Anastasia. Perhaps the tree has been changed. I will start with Patrick’s father Will as he is a match also. I suspect the jump from England back to Ireland could be difficult. I am not easily finding records for Will’s father, so I will assume that Will knew who his grandparents were. I will accept the Ancestry hints as they are what Will has. Here is a bit of detail from the Evening Express on Adam dated 20 December 1934:

Poor Adam died at the age of 49. Here is Bootle:

Here is the marriage of Adam and Bridget:

In 1901, Adam is living with his Uncle William who was a widower:

Here is the previous page of the 1901 Census:

This Census leads me to believe that Richard and William were brothers and Uncles of Adam, but that also seems to contradict Adam’s wedding record.

However, Will’s tree has William as Adam’s father. Here is an 1891 Census that has a William Hanrahan with a Thomas as a father:

I do see that the Adam’s marriage record has his father as William and his mother as Margaret.

In 1911, Adam is in a Royal Naval Hospital:

Here is Adam in 1921:

Now Adam is out of work and living in the house of his Aunt Anastasia who was born in Wexford, Ireland.

Here is a birth for Adam William Hanrahan in the 2nd quarter of 1887:

The three likely siblings are:

  • Anastasia – 64 in 1921 (widow) so likely born in Wexford in 1857
  • William – 37 in 1901 (widower) so likely born in 1864 said to be Liverpool
  • Richard – 40 in 1901, married to Margaret so liikely born in 1961 in Liverpool

I see the mistake I made. Adam is listed as Anastasia’s nephew which does not rule out his being William’s son. In fact as Adam is listed under WIlliam, that likely indicates that he is William’s son. Good.

This record gives the family name of William’s wife:

Here is the family in 1881:

William is now born in Ireland.

This is an update on my floating tree:

The proposed father ot Adam is Richard and I did find a Richard on one of the Census records above.

The death record for Adam broadens his birth range:

This looks like Adam’s Marriage in Wexford:

Here is an interesting birth record:

I don’t imagine that Sidon is a proper name, so Adam could be correct.

The writing is quite poor. The A of Adam is going into the crack of the page. Here we are, finally to Anty or Anastasia Butler.

This is the information I can easily glean from Ancestry:

Anastasia has a son Adam which may or may not reflect her father’s name. I am interested in when Anastasia was born, but that information appears to be missing:

Perhaps Anastasia married around 1825.

Catholic Parish Registers at the NLI

I found this:

I’m not sure if Anne Butler is related. Mary Sinnott is standing in for her. Recall that George Butler of Cincinnati married a Margaret Sinnott as his second wife after first having a child with her out of wedlock before his first marriage.

More importantly on the same page, I found on the same page:

Anty’s maid of honor or whatever was Eleanor Lambert and Richard’s was Adam – perhpas his brother?

Here is my Butler DNA tree again:

Notice I have an Adam Butler married to Magaret Lambert.

Not too long after:

Henry’s best man is Martha? Well, witness.

A possible relative:

Going back to 1821:

How Does Neil Fit In?

Neil is a perfect match at 37 STRs on a YDNA test:

However, the 37 test is a low level test and not very accurate. Neil lists his ancestor as Richard Butler born in 1817 in Wexford.

In an email from 2 years ago, Neil says he has a match to Marie at 23.2 vM. Marie also matches my wife’s late Aunt Lorraine:

Here is Marie on my Butler DNA Tree:

Marie has this paternal side tree:

Marie has a shared match with Lorraine named Kerrie. Here is Kerrie’s maternal side tree:

Kerrie’s great-grandmother is listed as Mary Butler. Now I need another floating tree for Kerrie. Here are Kerrie’s grandmother with parents and siblings in 1926:

Here is Mary in 1901 with her parents and siblings:

This Walter is in Marie’s tree. Unfortunately, I do not have Marie’s tree in my tree. Poor Walter gets squeezed to the bottom of the page in May of 1854:

I would not like to make a guess as to the sponsors.

Some nice person posted a photo of Wexford:

I don’t know how many Walter Butlers were roaming around Wexford at the time, but this is likely Walter:

Here is Walter Butler’s father’s marriage:

Catherine is born in November 1856:

I have seen the name Wade around.

Richard’s baptismal record is not clearly written:

The Ancestry hint does not match my Butler DNA Tree:

However, this hint appears to be from County Roscommon.

From here, I can add in children:

This is George born 1822. I did have an Anne Butler marriage shown above in this Blog.

Adam and Margaret make the bottom of the page for their June 1815 wedding:

At this point, I have two Adam Butlers in my tree, so I need to combine them.

This appears to be a mistake:

I take this to be Margaret, not Mary Lambert.

I don’t know how old Adam was when he got married, but if he was 25, he would be born in 1790.

I was trying to show that Adam, Anastasia and Henry named their children a certain way to show who their father was:

Adam’s first son appears to be Richard, which favors the name of Richard for his father. Also recall that there are gaps in the Baptismal Records for Wexford Town during this time period:

That means that it could be difficult to trace Adam further back. That being the case, it will be necessary to infer the parents names by the naming patterns of the children and by DNA matches. Once likely parents’ names are found, then it may be possible to find marriages for those names.

Normally, I would add Kerrie to my Butler DNA tree, but that tree is on my desktop and I am on my laptop which only has an older version of that tree.

Kerrie descends from Mary Butler.

Kerrie is three generations down from Mary Butler born in 1886, so would be on a level with James.

Kerrie’s DNA

The DNA that Lorraine and Kerrie share should represent their two common ancestors. These, right now would be George Butler and his wife. However, I believe that George could have also been an Adam.

The DNA that these two share is on Chromosome 4:

Here is the match that I have between Marie and Lorraine currently believed to represent the DNA of George Butler or his wife:

Next, I will add in the DNA from Kerrie:

Notice that the matches between Lorrain and Kerrie and Lorraine and Marie do not overlap. However, Lorraine’s matche with Kerrie overlaps with her match with James who I have descending from George Butler (identified in green on DNA Painter). The overlap in DNA matches is significant as it shows triangulation. Triangulation is virtual proof that these matches share a common set of ancestors.

Summary and Conclusions

  • From previous DNA and genealogical research, I have proposed that Adam, Anastasia and Henry Butler are siblings
  • I had this relationship represented in my Butler DNA tree but not in my genealogical tree at Ancestry
  • I added the Adam Butler Line to my Tree at Ancestry
  • I focused on a match that I did not have in my Butler DNA tree. Kerrie shared a DNA match with my wife’s late Aunt Lorraine.
  • I added that match to Lorraine’s DNA profile as DNA from their common ancestor believed to be George or Adam Butler.
  • The Match between Lorraine and Kerrie overlapped with a match Lorraine had with James from the same Adam Butler line. This represents a sure sign of a pair of common ancestors. It also indicates that DNA would be from one of those two ancestors but does not indicate which one.
  • More work needs to be done identifying DNA matches and cataloguing the genealogical connection between those matches.
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The Civil War Pension Application for Mary Crowley Butler

Recent research by my wife’s Butler family has uncovered an interesting 41 page document with a lot of information from the National Archives. This is for Mary Crowley Butler’s Civil War Pension application following the death of her husband Edward Butler.

I had left of my last Blog with an Affadavit by Mary Crowley Butler’s sister and cousin.

Page 14

This appears to be an application for a disability for an injury that Edward Butler sustained on the USS Rose resulting in Rheumatism. It appears that this was issued on October 15, 1891. However, Edward died two months later on December 16th. This appears to be signed over to his widow.

Page 15

Following Edward’s death, Mary is living at what looks like 294 – 4th Street in South Boston.

Page 16

More paperwork:

Of interest to me is that Mary is living with her sister Julia Lahey. Here is Julia in 1900, but I have not found Mary in 1900.

The family is at 72 Dorchester Street in South Boston.

Page 19

Proof of Edward’s death:

I do not think his age of 51 would be correct. Edward states elsewhere in the application that he enlisted in the Navy in San Francisco and served around the years 1851 to 1852. If Edward was 51 in 1891 he would have been born in about 1840 and about 11 when he joined the Navy.

Page 21

A letter was submitted from St. John certifying Edward Butler and Mary Crowley’s marriage:

Page 22

Edward is awarded a disability of $6 in August of the same year he died.

The address given for Richard is where his funeral service is held at the end of the year. His sister Anna owns the building at 220 California Street, Newton at the time.

Page 23

This Declaration for an Original Disability Pension has a few iteresting features. It gives a more reasonable age of 60 for Edward. A physical description is given of Edward. Edward does not write as he signs his name with an X.

A witness is Walter Cody. This is interesting as a Walter Coady was a witness at his wedding. I think this is Walter’s baptismal record from Wexford, Ireland:

Here is Walter’s Naturalization record fro 1889:

I imagine that Walter could have been a childhood friend of Edward. He is not obviously a close relative, though we would need to know the names of his grandparents for that.

Page 24

This is a continuation of Page 23 introducing a new character witness, William Harrigan.

William has known Edward for only 10 years, so perhaps not a relative. Here is where William lived in 1890:

Salem Street is a main street in the North End of Boston.

Page 25

Edward seems more sure about the ship name and travel to Japan than he does of the time frame. Here is an AI overview of my question about this Affidavit:

This would have been about 40 years prior to Edward’s Affidavit.

Page 27

This appears to be a medical analysis:

Seems a shame all this was happening so close to when Edward died, but I think it was good they were doing this for the sake of his wife Mary.

Page 28

Kind of a funny form. I think there was supposed to be a mark where the problem was, but I don’t see any.

Page 29

Here is a rejected application. This gives some detail about his accident aboard the USS Rose. This also gives his address as of July 25, 1885. This also seems to relate to Page 5 from the previous Blog.

Page 31

Here are some more details of Edward’s inury, recuperation and ship mates. These are some of the people that Edward must have remembered from the Milwaukee and Tug Rose:

  • Captain Maddox
  • Andrew Strugler?
  • Geo. Hannum?
  • James Toles
  • John Slater

The last four were on the Tug Rose and could corroborate his fall if he knew where they were in 1885. We also found out he was treated on a hospital ship for six weeks he calls tin clad but he does not know the name. He also was treated in Pensacola:

He was also treated at Itasca? between Mobile and Pensacola.

Page 32

There are two more witnesses – William Norie and William Harrigan from Charlestown.

Page 34

Here is a letter from 27 October 1885 to the Commissioner of Pensions from the Treasury Department:

Next Page:

This auditor was asked to look into Edward’s service in the Civil War and this is what he came up with:

  • August 16, 1864 – enlisted and served as landsman on the Grampus until August 21, 1864
  • August 22, 1864 – served on the Great Western until August 27, 1864
  • August 28, 1864 – Served on the Milwaukee as landsman until August 31
  • September 1, 1864 – Served as Bos’n Mate on the Milwaukee until April 13, 1865
  • April 14, 1865 – Served as a landsman on the Rose until April 30, 1865
  • May 1, 1865 – Served as Bos’n Mate on the Rose until July 30, 1865
  • July 31, 1865  – Served as landsman on the Portsmouth
  • August 1, 1865 – Served as Bos’n Mate on the Portsmouth when he was discharged

This is very detailed. I am struck by how short some of his times of service were. He served two days on the Portsmouth and one day each as landsman and Bos’n Mate!

Page 37

There were no journals found for the ships mentioned in the previous letter. I assume that this was the problem with the application and why it was denied.

Page 38

More problems for the application. While the Navy does not deny that the fall occurred and that Edward broke two ribs, they cannot find any present evidence of it. He is a healthy, strong, flexible man. Here, Edward is said to be 51. I believe he was born in 1832, so he should have actually been 53. Page 38 seems to be the last important page of the Widow’s Pension Application.

Summary and Conclusions

  • Edward’s 1885 application for a disablity is denied
  • By 1891, he has developed rheumatism and gets a disability approved
  • This works out good for his widow as she then recieves a pension
  • Much detail is known about Edward’s on year of service in the Civil War between August 1864 and August 1865.
  • The record confirms Edward’s marriage to Mary Crowley in St. John, New Bruswick.
  • The record has some interesting information on Edward serving in the Navy around 1851-2 on the St. Lawrence on a trip from San Francisco to Japan> None of this has been substantiated, but it appears tha the St. Lawrence ship did not sail to Japan.
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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.

 

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Anna Eliza Butler and 220 California Street, Newton, MA

I am still grateful to my wife’s niece for finding Anna Eliza Bultler. I suspect it was not easy to find her. I wrote a Blog about her here, but wanted to look into her a little more. Somehow, niece Tina looked into the owner of the house at 220 California Street and found the owner to be Anna Eliza Butler. Anna had married a Smith in New Brunswick apparently and then remarried a Wharton who lived also at 220 California Street. Other Butlers lived at this address and my wife’s immigrant Ancestor who was Edward Butler and the brother of Anna was waked at this address.

220 California Street

I am not sure how easy it would be to reasearch this address sitting at home at my laptop, but I will give it a try.

Here is the street view shown at Google Maps. I assume this is the right house. The Assessor’s Office shows this as a three family building and there appears to be additional parking to the right of the house.

Here’s a Newton Assessor’s map:

I was hoping for a book and page number but didn’t see one:

Here is the previous owner:

But I need to go back further than that. 1891 would be a good date as that is when Edward Butler died and had his wake at the address.

The Assessor’s have the building built in 1890:

According to AI the legal reference is for book and page. I just didn’t see the slash which is the separation between book and page. I’ll try the earlier reference.

Above is a pretty low quality image referring to an earlier document in 1956.

Here is part of another document that is easier to read:

I see now that the 1956 date above was probably 1986. I’ll take a look at the 1947 deed. Unfortunately, the records from the Middlesex South Office of deeds don’t go back that far. I’m hoping FamiySearch can help me.

I’m not sure they have all the records:

I’ll try grantor for Casale:

This is a bit confusing:

Here is something:

So here, it appears that the grantor is the widow of Dominick Casali or Casale and the grantee is John J Casale. This refers to a Lot 7, California Street.

The previous page has other records:

It looks like Dominick and his wife take out a mortgage for a California Street property in 1920.

I am not sure how niece Tina figured out that Anna Eliza Smith was the owner of the property at 220 California Street.

I did find an Anna Smith in the Grantee Index:

This looks like an Anna E. Smith buys a Lot 7 on California Street from Sophronia Allison. So what I have are records from 2000 and 2001 for 220 California Street. They refer to a 1947 deed. That deed refers to a Lot 7 on California Street. Then I found an Anna E Smith, grantee of Lot 7 California Street on April 2, 1889. It would seem too coincidental for two Anna E Smiths to be involved with this same property.

Perhaps I can find the deed:

This could be the link. Apparently it is not on Page 37. I am guessing it is 370 something. The deed is actually on page 379:

The property was sold for $1 “…and other valuable considerations”. The grantor aslo agreed to pay back taxes. That to me, indicates a close relationship. The deed also mentions an Albert Allison as conveying the land to Anna. This would be Sophronia’s son Albert Butler Allison.

Also of importance is a plan of land to be recorded. This plan contained a “… lot numbered seven (7) on a “Plan of land in Newton belonging to Mrs. S.C. Allison, E.S. Smilie surveyor to be recorded with Middlesex South District Deeds…”. So it sounds like this lot was newly subdivided.

Anna’s Sale of the Property

Perhaps the sale was under her husband’s name?

I am assuming the sale was before 1896:

Nothing under Wharton:

That leaves Smith. But I’ll check one last Wharton up to 1890:

Here is Anna on the Grantor Index:

I’m not sure what all this means as it looks like the propert went back and forth between Anna Smith and Sophronia Allison on the same day. Let’s look at the deeds.

Book 1900 Page 381 Anna to Sophronia

This is quite complicated with Anna selling the property to Sophronia for $1400 and then there is a mortgage with stipulations.

Book 19 Page 383

I hope this clarifies things.

This is basically the same document as the previous one but it is for $500 instead of $1400.

The margin of Page 384 refers to a Discharge reference in Book 2558, Page 347:

is

The second page has a bonus document. I take this to mean that 8 years after Anna takes out this mortgage, it was taken over by James B. Woodward. I assume that Woodward then takes over the property. This is in fact found a few pages earlier on Page 344 in the same Book:

This is now from 1897. However, Anna E Smith marries Joseph Wharton in 1890, so would she not be Anna E Wharton. In the document this Anna E Smith is said to have no husband. Was that meant that her husband died or that this Anna never married? Also, if her husband Joseph Wharton had died, then wouldn’t she then be known as Anna Wharton?

Who Was Sophronia Allison?

It would be nice to know Sophronia’s maiden name. Here it is:

There it is. I am thinking that Sophronia had some money. At least she had a fancy tombstone. Here are Sophronia’s parents listed on her death record:

That means that Sophronia was certainly not Anna E’s sister. Unless we have the wrong Anne E.

In 1855, Sophronia was living with the Coles in Watertown:

Thaddeus was listed as a blind gentleman.

This is likely the Billerica record of Samuel and Mary’s marriage:

Samuel was an early resident of Leominster:

That means I am stuped as to why a Butler woman born in Leominster to an American family would sell a property to an immigrant Butler born in Wexford, Ireland.

In 1880, Sophronia lived at 234 California Street, Newton:

Confusingly, there were Butlers living at 220 California Street also at that time.

John Butler was a widower living with his two sons and a daughter.

Any More on Anna E Butler Smith Wharton?

This appears to be her at 220 California Street in 1901:

I see this record in Ancestry:

I also see this at FamilySearch:

These are all under Smith. I don’t think that Administration is correct as that happens after the time of death. I don’t think that the FamilySearch records go as high as #71042. At any rate, I was unable to find that record online.

A Chronology for Anna E Smith

  • Anne Eliza Smith is baptized in Wexford in 1842
  • Anna makes her way to New Brunswick, probably St. John
  • Anna marries a George Smith and has a son Henry in New Brunswick about 1871
  • George, Anna and her son Henry appear to be living in Watertown according to the 1880 Census, although Anna is listed as Mary
  • Anna’s husband George dies between 1880 and 1885
  • 1885 – Anna E Smith is boarding at Mrs. M. Moody’s house in Newton
  • 1887 – Anna E Smith is living at Crescent Street near California in Nonantum
  • 1889 – Anna is living at Crescent Street according to the Directory of that year, though it may have been a little behind
  • 1889 Joseph Wharton is living at Crescent Street. I wonder if this was the same house as the 220 California Street house?
  • Apr 2 1889 – Anna buys the property at 220 California Street. I assume that she moves there at that time
  • October 2, 1890 – Anna marries Joseph Wharton a gardener.  She gives her age as 41 but would have been 48. They were both living at 220 California Street prior to their marriage.
  • 16 Decembert 1891 – Anna’s brother Edward Butler dies and the funeral is held at 220 California Street
  • The 1895 Newton Directory shows Joseph Wharton, gardener and George H Smith, florist living at 220 California Street. I assume Anna was also living there.
  • April 30, 1897 – Anna E. Smith, unmarried woman, sells 220 California Street to James B. Woodward
  • 1901 – The Newton Directory lists a Mrs. Ann E Smith living at 220 California Street
  • August 28, 1917 – Anna Eliza Butler Smith Wharton dies a widow in Watertown at her nephew George Butler’s house

Summary and Conclusions

  • There seems to be a lot of information about Anna Eliza Butler Smith Wharton
  • The marriage to Joseph Wharton did not last long and it appears that Anna reverted to her Smith name.
  • Anna is associated with my wife’s immigrant ancestor Edward Butler. She hosted his funeral. Edward’s son hosted Anna’s funeral in 1917 in Watertown.
  • A lot of information is missing also. I could not find where Anna lived in 1900 or 1910. I could not find the death record for her second husband. I could not find her will.

 

 

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The Butler/Crowley Connection

In my previous Blog, I was looking at a newly found sister of Edward Butler, my wife’s immigrant second great-grandfather. The sister’s name was Anna Eliza Butler. She had a son born in St John, New Brunswick where Edward Butler married Mary E Crowley.

My wife’s niece has been doing a great job of genealogy also. She had mentioned how the Crowleys had lived closely to the Butlers in the Boston area. I questioned her about that and she wrote back:

For the Crowley connection living near Edward and Mary – I have her brother Timothy living on Lancaster Street in the 1880 Census, which is two from Friend Street. 

Her mother, brother William, and sisters Margaret and Julia are living in Charlestown at that time…

We further figured that that they were living on Joiner Street in Charlestown which I had previously located as a place where immigrant Edward Butler lived.

Timothy Crowley

This is what I have at my Crowley web page:

I already have Timothy in my Ancestry Tree in the 1880 Census, but I didn’t make a connection on where he lived:

It looks like Timothy is listed as a hostler, but had been unemployed for 12 months. I am sure life must have been difficult with no income. According to the online Dictionary of Old Occupations:

Hostelier: kept or owned an inn.

Hosteller: manager or owner of an inn.

Hostler: the original and more commonly meaning is the person who tended horses at an inn. This definition dates back to the 12th century. Occasionally Ostler / Hostler means the innkeeper himself. The word Ostler is still in use today, referring to a stable groom who cares for horses.

The third definition seems to fit best what I see as Timothy’s occupation on the 1880 Census.2

Lancaster Street is short but it is close to Friend Street where Edward Butler and Mary Crowley lived in 1880:

Here is Friend Street where Timothy’s sister Mary lived in 1880:

This shows that Timothy was born in New Brunswick:

Timothy in 1900

Here is Timothy Crowley in 1900 when there was a lot more information on the Census:

Sadly the three oldest living at 72 Dorchester Street were widowed.

One column that is interesting to me is the year of immigration. Timothy and Julia Ann came to the US in 1863 (during the Civil War) and William came in 1872. The other interesting thing is that Timothy and William both show that they were naturalized.

Here is 72 Dorchester Street where they were living in South Boston:

Timothy in 1910

Here the family is still in the same neighborhood:

Now Timothy says he immigrated in 1855:

I don’t think that is right as he would have been quite young. It seems like I’ve gone over these Census Enumerations before, but I don’t have them recorded in my Ancestry Tree for Timothy.

Timothy Crowley in 1920

Unfortunately, the family name is transcribed as Rowley which could be a fair assumption. Timothy is still going for an early immigration to the US at 1861. That would have made him about 15. I don’t think you can be naturalized at that age unless you lied about your age.

Brother William works at a Razor Factory as a machinist. My guess is Gillette.

Here is 425 Sixth Street in Boston – not far from Dorchester Street:

#425 is on the right.

A Brief Sketch of Timothy Crowley

About 1846, in St. John, New Brunswick, Timothy is born. He is also the eldest known son. He is the fourth of eight children.

Timothy probably arrives in the US around 1863 at the age of 19.

Timothy marries Mary Clinton in Boston in 1866. Timothy is still quite young, depending on which birthdate we choose, he could between 19 and 21.

11 Feb 1867 Son William Florence Crowley born in Boston

11 June 1868 – Daughter Mary Ellen Crowley is born at  Boston at Gouch? Street.

Here is Timothy in the 1868 Boston Directory at 10 Gouch Street:

I cannot find a Gouch Street on Google Maps. This is from the 1868 Boston Directory:

This is from the 1867 Sanborn Map of Boston. It appears that Timothy lived in this area for quite a while.

15 Feb 1870 – Daughter Julia Ann Crowley born in Boston

1870 Census – It would be great to find Timothy in the 1870 Census. Both his first two children should be alive for that Census. Roman Catholic records give us some more information about Timothy’s first son:

Here is William and family in the 1870 Census:

Timothy’s wife is listed at the top, so apparently the head of household. I think that Timothy had some mental illness that kept him from working. This is my recollection from previous research, but I may be off. Still, it appears that some disability keeps him from working as his occupation is listed as “No Business”. I wonder how the family survived if this was the case.

3 Jan 1871 – Daughter Mary Ellen dies of pneumonia at 1 Chapel Street, Boston

28 Jan 1871 – Son William F. Crowley dies from bronchitis. The family was living at 1 Chapel Place as below.

15 Feb 1871 – Julia Ann dies at Chapel Place, Boston. Cause of death: “Hydrocephalus”.

I don’t see Timothy at 1  Chapel Place in the 1871 Boston Directory, but I do see a Mary Crowley, widow:

Along with four other Mary Crowley widows in Boston. Could it be that Mary was Mary Clinton and mistakenly recorded as a widow?

There were also many Timothy Crowleys in Boston:

I will try the 1872 Directory.

So I don’t see Timothy at Chapel Place.

31 Jan 1872 – Son William John Crowley born. The family is still at 1 Chapel Place. In the 1872 Directory, I see this note:

That means that there were two Chapel Places apparently. And one is near Friend Street where Timothy’s older sister was living as Mary E Butler in 1880. Here is 167 Friend Street:

Here is a faint Chapel Place and above there is a small street named Crescent. That name has come up before in Newton, but just a coincidence. Here is a more detailed look at Chapel Place from an 1867 Sanborn Map:

A lot has happened to this family. Timothy does not work and their three children died in a span of less than a month and a half in 1871.

1879 – Edward Butler, Mariner, is found in the Boston Directory at Battery St. I assume that he brought his family with him at that time. His wife was Mary E Crowley Butler who was Timothy’s older sister. The family is found in 1880 on Friend Street in Timothy’s neighborhood. Perhaps Mary even persuaded to move to Boston where many in her family were living.

1880 Census – Timothy is living with his wife Mary and Son William John on Lancaster Street which was between Gouch Street and Chapel Place.

15 Dec 1885 – Timothy’s wife, Mary Clinton Crowley, dies of consumption while living at 26 Lancaster Street. She is listed as 42 years old. This leaves Timothy to take care of his son William John who is now 13.

I am not so sure why Timothy’s mother would die in Andover. This may not be right.

1895 – Timothy is living at the same address as his sister Margaret Crowley at the time of her death.

1900 Census – Timothy is head of household at 72 Dorchester Street. No occupation listed.

I don’t see Timothy’s son listed either in the 1900 Census or the 1910 Census as living with his father.

1913 – Timothy’s son, William John dies:

His address is given as 74 Dorchester St., but as I mentioned, he wasn’t seen there in 1900 or 1910. He is shown as being 37, but I have him as 41 years old.

It is interresting that her brother Timothy is not mentioned in the obituary.

In 1917, Timothy was living at Sixth Street. That is also where he is living with William in 1920. In 1910, William was a fireman. In 1920, William is a machinist at a razor manufacturer. I have not found any record of Timothy working. I am not sure when Timothy died.

Mother Ellen Crowley and Other Family Members

Ellen and Some Children in 1880

Here they are at #26 in Boston:

In 1880 Ellen was widowed a second time. The one in the third column is for widowed/divorced.

I am trying to fix my Ancestry Tree for Ellen Donovan Crowley:

I had that the Margaret Crowley born 1855 was born the daughter of Timothy Sullivan in Nova Scotia. I think that must be wrong and that she is probably the same as Margaret E Crowley. Unfortunately the Census lists the children being from N.S. instead of N.B. Sadly, Ellen could not read or write, so she must have depended on others for that.

I will continue with the Crowleys in a subsequent Blog.

Summary and Conclusions

  • I was able to find quite a bit of information about Timothy Crowley
  • He certainly had a life with a lot of sad events.
  • I suspect that he was handicapped in some way physically, mentally or emotionally as I could not find a record of him had worked – at least in the 4 census enumerartions he was listed in.
  • I like how othe Crowley family stuck together – though I wonder what happened to Timothy’s son William John. Perhaps he was institutionalized?
  • It is interesting to think about what life was like for this Crowley family. Irish and Canadian, they move to the Boston area.

 

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Butler DNA and the 1880 Census

I have been having a good working relationship with my wife’s niece Tina. She has been enthusiastically looking at the Butler genealogy that I have been looking at for many years. Before me, my wife’s Aunt Lorraine has been looking at the genealogy. Unfortunately, she had picked one of the wrong Edward Butlers’ death records which threw me off the track for many years. Tina picked up on the mistake which has helped a lot.

The 1880 Census

As I mentioned in my previous Blog, Tina also found the Butler familly in the 1880 Census. I had them in the 1860 and 1870 Census in Cincinnati. I had them in the Boston areas based on City Directories, but I could not find the family. Tina found them transcribed as Edward Butter and family. Here are the parents at the bottom of the page listed at Friend Street, Boston:

I am sure I have walked down Friend Street near North Station many times and not realized my wife’s 2nd great-grandfather and family lived there.

Tina has questions about the two sons in the 1880 Census:

I believe that both sons were born in the Chicago, Illinois area as shown on the marriage and death records. However, we have not been able to find their birth records. Assuming they were both born in Illinois and the parents should show as the father born in Ireland and the mother born in N.B. (New Brunswick). However, that is not the case.

  • The elder son George shows that he was born in Illinois and that his father and mother wAunere born in Ireland where the mother should be born in New Brunswick.
  • Son #2, Edward shows as born in New Brunswick where he should show Illinois and his parents are shown correctly as being from Ireland and New Brunswick.

To me, that was a simple slip up by the enumerator. Tina, however, feels that this means that the two sons had a different mother. And that Edward was indeed born in New Brunswick. She seemed to think that her DNA results corroborated this view as she shows as a 1/2 third cousin to a George Butler Descendant.

Edward and George Butler DNA

It should be easy to look at matches between the Edward Butler and George Butler descendants to see if this is the case. I have in the past taken DNA samples of my wife’s two Aunts: Lorraine and Suzy. Ancestry gives ranges of likely relationships given the DNA matches. I can put those matches into a spreadsheet and see what comes out. I also have access to my wife’s DNA results.

Aunt Lorraine

Aunt Lorraine has 7 matches to known descendants of George Butler:

Here are the first three matches:

 

These all show as 1/2 relationships which seems to support Tina’s theory, but that often happens when Ancestry is unsure of relationships. I do not take these literally in most cases.

Here is the relationship to H.O:

Here is a predictor from the Shared cM Project 4.0:

Here I have highlighted what I think the relationship should be and what Tina thinks it is. This first match supports the 1/2 2C1R. One for Tina!

Another interesting thing is that Ancestry has 25% of a 1/2 relationship and a 7% chance of a full relationship whereas the Shared cM Project Relationship predictor has 12% and 4% respectively. For my spreadsheet, I used the Shared cM Project Relationship Predictor as it was easier to use.

Here is my spreadsheet:

By the time I fill it all in, I should know if the DNA is saying that George and Edward were full brothers or half brothers.

Here is the Lorraine filled in for what she has a ThruLines:

 

I plugged in the predicted relationship as above and where the 1/2 relationship was more likely than the full relationship, I chose that. This was the case for all of Lorraine’s ThruLine matches. There are other matches, but these are the matches with trees. This matches with what Tina says she is seeing with her DNA results. This makes me more convinced with what Tina is saying but not completely yet until I look at Suzy and Marie. Lorraine may have inherited less of the George side DNA for some reason.

Aunt Suzy AKA Virginia

Aunt Suzy also has 7 matches to the George H Butler side:

However, her matches are much larger. Now the tables have turned:

For H.O. and Suzy, there is a 50% chance they have a 2C1R relationship and 7% chance of a half 2C1R relationship.

The results are not totally convincing for Aunt Suzy:

More matches suggest the full relationship, but Lorraine’s result strongly favor the 1/2 relationship. One thing the chart does not represent is how strongly the match favors a half or full relationship. However, that would be more difficult to show and evaluate. For example in Lorrine’s example with H.O., the half relationship was only 12% likely and and the full relationship was 4% likely. I do not know how that compares with Suzy and H.O. where the full relationship was 50% likely and the 1/2 relationship was 7% likely.

Marie

Marie would have to have a lot of full relationships indicated to overturn Lorraine’s results.

Marie only has 2 George Butler side matches and those matches are quite low.

So for 16 matches, 12 favor the 1/2 relationship. To me, that says that there is a 75% chance that George and Edward are half brothers. Still, there is a 25% that they could be full brothers. I think that I would be more convinced if I saw all pink on the chart above.

Still, Tina has a theory and the DNA certainly give more credence to her theory.

Summary and Conclusions

  • I checked the DNA matches between descendants of the George Butler who was born 1872 and my wife and her two Aunts
  • I used the relationship predictor at the Shared cM Project. At the level of relationship, say 2nd cousin 1 removed the predictor would favor a full relationship or 1/2 relationship.
  • I put the results of a full or 1/2 relationship in a spreadsheet. 3 out of 4 DNA matches favored the half relationship. That suggests that it is three times as likely that the George H Butler born 1872 and Edward Henry Butler are half brothers. However, that does not rule out the 25% chance that they were full brothers.

 

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My Wife’s Butler Family Found in Boston in 1880

My wife’s neice Tina is a great researcher. She sent me a text saying that she found my wife’s Butler ancestors in Boston in 1880. That is great news as that period of the family’s genealogy has been a blank until now.

Tina writes:

I traced the “Mariner” from the Boston City Directories and found he first showed up in 1880. And at his address in 1880, I found Edward, Mary, George, and Edward in the census.

Here is what I have at Ancestry:

The Edward with the four children above is my wife’s 2nd great-grandfather and immigrant ancestor. He appears to have had two daughters born earleir in his marriage and later two sons – George and Edward.

1880 in Boston

There are a few problems with this 1880 Census.

One problem is that Edward and Mary are at the bottom of the page and the two children are on the next page. I cannot really read what Edward’s occupation is under sailor. I think it says something like and works out? Mary is correctly listed as being born in N.B. (New Brunswick) and her parents were both born in Ireland. Edward is listed as being born in Ireland and both his parents born there also. Edward would have been born about 1835 and Mary born about 1839 based on their ages given. However, I believe that Edward was actually 41 in 1880 based on when I believe he was born and based on his death record.

Here are the two boys:

I can’t make out the address but when I hover over it, it says Friend Street. So they were at 256 Friend Street. However, so were many of the other families on the preceding two pages of the Census. If I have it right, here is 256 Friend Street, not far from North Station in Boston:

Here is another problem with the Census:

The elder brother George is shown as being born in Illinois. However, the younger (Edward) shows as being born in New Brunswick which contradicts his marriage and death records. Also George’s mother should be shown as being born in New Brunswick. My belief is that this is an error in the Census.

Here is Page 164 of the 1880 Boston Directory:

Here is an 1880 map of Friend Street:

This is possibly Edward Butler in 1879 in Boston at 28 Battery Street:

This could be as I recall him being at Clark Street at the time of his death.

There are a lot of Edward Butlers in Boston in 1878, but I don’t see any that are mariners:

 

1881 in Boston

 

Where is Edward? A logical place to look would be Friend Street.

1882

I am not seeing him still. Perhaps he is living in a neighboring Town?

1883

Edward mysteriously appears this year:

Interestingly his middle initial appeaers also. I could not find a Joiner Street listed in Boston, but it may be in Charlestown. According to AI:

33 Joiner Street, Charlestown, MA sits right on the corner of Chelsea Street and Joiner Street in the historic heart of the neighborhood, just a short distance from the Charlestown Navy Yard and the Boston Harbor. 

Here is Joiner Street, if I have it right:

The above map is from an 1885 Atlas of Boston. I believe the landscape is different today and I do not think a modern map would have a Joiner Street. Perhaps with all Edward’s moving around, the directories had trouble keeping up with him!

I suppose the red arrow could be 33 Joiner Street:

1884

Time to spin the roulette wheel again:

You can move all your want, Edward H., but the 1884 Directory found you in E.B. which I take to mean East Boston. Here is a modern map of 107 Everett Street in East Boston:

Here is a current street view from Google Maps:

Here is a 1901 map of the area:

1885

I wonder if Edward’s wife got tired of moving:

Just a short move this time:

Here is what street view is showing, but of #18 Emmet Place:

I suppose that things have changed over the years:

So, perhaps same job, different house?

1886

Here is a surprise:

Edward H. is living at the same address. I guess he liked this place.

1887

Who knew that Edward H. lived in East Boston for so long?

This is probably the place:

Possibly the last house on the right. There is a faint 5 above the S in Sumner Court below:

I guess it is also called Sumner Court (see above):

1888

If Edward was still listed as a mariner, I don’t see him. It is possible he is listed as a laborer.

1889

Edward has again gone missing from the Boston Directory. I believe that he could have been living with one or both of his sons in Newton around this time.

1890

In a previous Blog, I had noted this entry for Edward the Mariner:

I found this entry:

It was in this document:

Here it is:

On current maps, this appears to show as Coppersmith Way:

Here is the view of Coppersmith Way from Border Street:

Edward seems to like to live in these places between streets:

The 1890 Census

My understanding is that the 1890 Census was lost. But there was a veteran’s schedule that survived:

This means that even though Edward was in the Boston Directory for 1890 at least on June 1, 1890 Edward Butler was in Newtonville, Massachusetts. Perhaps he was at the house of his son or sons. This Census also confirms Edward’s Civil War service as a Marine on the Milwaukee Ship.

1891

Edward passed away in December 1891.

It is unclear if Edward is in this year’s Directory.

The Death of Edward Butler in 1891

Here is part of Edward’s death record from December 16, 1891:

He died of pneumonia.

Edward is listed as a ‘longshoreman’:

I believe that a longshoreman was one who unloaded boats. According to AI:

Birth of the Unions: Abysmal conditions catalyzed labor organization. The Boston Longshoreman’s Provident Union (founded in 1847) was the first of its kind. Later, groups like the Association of Lumber Handlers (1877) evolved to establish the International Longshoremen’s Association in 1892.

An 1890 Hanover Street Mistake?

In a previous Blog, I had guessed that Edward was the laborer living in 1890 at Hanover Street:

Boston City Hospital was not at 24 Clark Street, so I assume that is where Edward lived prior to his death. According to Google maps, 24 Clark Street is the address of the Society of St James. However, that Society began in 1958. The Society of St James is part of St Stephens Church:

Ancestry has this listing for Edward Butler in the Boston Directory of 1890:

Part of my reasoning was that Hanover Street was so close to Clark Street which was the address given for Edward Butler prior to his death. However, I now see that Hanover address as being coincidental and would like to say the real address for Edward was the one given above in East Boston at 1 Erin Alley where he is listed as a mariner.

Summary and Conclusions

  • It has been great working with Tina on this project as she adds so much to the research of the Butler family.
  • This find fills in so much of the missing years for my wife’s immigrant 2nd great-granfather Edward H Butler
  • With all the Edward Butlers around in Boston, it seems to clarify which one we are looking at in the Boston City Directories
  • It appears that the Edward H Butler family lived quite often in East Boston.
  • Tina has further questions based on the 1880 Cenjsus as to whether Edward H’s sons George and Edward H were full brothers or not which I hope to address by looking at the DNA in a subsequent Blog.
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Who Is My Wife’s Cousin Adria?

I recently had a notification that my wife had a close relative match named Adria:

Adria has two Boggy trees and one Butler tree, so I assume the match is on the Butler side:

Fortunately, I had tested my wife’s Aunts before they passed away. When I check the Aunt with the biggest match I see that Adria is likely a grand niece. When I check Lorraine’s shared matches with the closest match to Adria, I find Jasmine:

This could be a short Blog, because the two people icon near Jasmine means that Ancestry likely knows how Lorraine and Jasmine are related:

 

That meansn that the private box above Jasmine must be Adrai. The John Butler above was my wife’s Uncle Jake. Adria apparently lives in Illinois which is perhaps why my wife had lost touch.

Updating Jake

This would be a good time to update Jake in my Anestry tree:

I don’t even have his wife.

I added some information to my Tree. I see now that Jasmine, her mother and grandfather John have all tested at Ancestry. Here is a photo of Uncle Jake from Findagrave:

Summary and Conclusions

  • My wife’s match with Adria was a bit of a mystery at first
  • Shared matches solved that problem as Adria’s daugther Jasmine had a good tree
  • I was able to update my Ancestry tree for John “Jake” Butler and his children, most of whom are still living.

 

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Looking at My Wife’s Side French Canadian Clusters at Ancestry

I’ll start by looking at my wife’s Aunt Lorraine’s Clusters. Lorraine’s mother was French Canadian:

Perhaps we will see some Lefevre, Methot, Pouliot and Fortin Clusters.

Here are Lorraine’s Clusters including paternal:

The connected clusters 1, 2, 3, 7, and 8 are maternal or French Canadian. Clusters 4, 5, and 6 are on the paternal or Irish side.

It took a while to go through Cluster 1:

I looked at all the common ancestor suggestions and assumed that they were right. Out of 28 matches there were 17 common ancestor suggestions. They all included Lefevre, so I assume that this is a Lefevre cluster.

Here is the overall picture:

Clusters were paternal, so I did not look at them. Lefevre or 1873 had two wives. My wife descends from the Pouliot wife and not the other, so the blank wife (CA2) indicates a half relationship.

The last Tremblay/Bouliet result does not go well with the Methot/Angesrs descendant match as Tremblay is in a different part of the tree:

What I see is that most of Lorraine’s Standard Clusters are on the Lefevre side. A few are on the Methot/Angers side. There are some on the Lefevre/Pouliot side, but those relations are too close to be helpful. This would be at the 1st cousin level. Usually, one looks for the 2nd cousin level or further out to track.

Pouliot Clusters

I can force Pouliot clusters by choosing a person of interest:

I’ll choose 2nd cousin Belharuk. I’ll choose a match level between 30 and 150 cM:

I don’t know why sometimes I get a large cluster to see and sometimes I do not. Here is the first match in the 10 match cluster:

Robin is on the Lefevre side, but her grandmother is a Pouliot. This is very confusing. Here is a situation where I can identify with the Ancestry computers as they are confused also. I better go to Fred’s tree. He is one of my wife’s relatives and I trust his tree:

Fred does not actually descend from Lefevre. That explains Lorraine’s clusters above. Many that are called Lefevre are actually Pouliot. Fred’s tree shows on his paternal side.:

Here is a Pouliot DNA tree I made a long while ago. I believe that it correctly shows the Pouliot relationships:

Here we see Belharuk, Robin, Fred, and Lorraine. Fred, Belharuk, and Lorraine are 2nd cousins to each other and not related on the Lefevre side. The confusing part is that Joseph Martin Lefevre also marries Mabel Ford:

And that is what causes a great deal of confusion.

I am not sure how to fix this at Ancestry.

Here is John in Cluster 1:

He is the third match down. According to Shared Matches at Ancestry, he is the son of Judy. Here is Judy’s tree on her maternal side:

Here, I have added Judy and John to my Pouliot DNA tree for the next time I get confused by what Ancestry is showing:

Back to Lorraine’s Standard Clusters

I just remembered that I can filter Lorraine’s standard clusters by her maternal side:

Cluster 3 is actually Pouliot:

This explains the mystery as to why Lorraine had so many Lefevre clusters. Not all the Lefevre clusters were really Lefevre clusters.

Summary and Conclusions

  • I assumed that the Common Ancestors shown in the close relationships of the  Standard Clusters were right, but many were not.
  • I found this out when I went looking for Pouliot Clusters
  • That means that I should not always accept the close common ancestor suggestions that Ancestry has.
  • This Blog has me thinking about mapping my wife’s aunts’ French Canadian DNA using DNA Painter.