Hamersly Library

Peter Butler 1789 - 1856

• born in Pulaski County, Kentucky, then moved to Barren County, KY
• served in War of 1812 and Black Hawk War of 1832
• helped found and survey Monmouth, Illinois
• in Illinois he was a surveyor, sheriff, mayor, county commissioner, and served in the Illinois House of Representatives and Senate
• came to Oregon in 1853 at the age of 64, head of the Butler Wagon Train
• member of the Christian Church
• married Rachel Cook(e) Murphy, 1788 - 1874
• buried (with his wife) in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
  These children accompanied Butler to Oregon:

    These children stayed in Illinois :

   This son settled in Allen Creek, Kansas:

   This son settled in Dutch Creek, Iowa:

Rachel Cook(e) Murphy Butler 1788 - 1874

• daughter of Rachel Cook(e) and John Murphy
• buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• wife of Peter Butler
• children: see list under Peter Butler

Ira Frances Marion Butler 1812 - 1909

• oldest son of Peter and Rachel Butler
• married Mary Ann Davidson , 1814 - 1888, daughter of Elijah Davidson
• came to Oregon in 1853 from Illinois with the Butler Wagon train, named after his father
• Donation Land Claim T9S R4W, secs 28,33
• credited with selecting the name Monmouth for the new Polk County community in the 1850s, breaking the tie vote between Dover and Monmouth
• considered one of the Founders of Western Oregon University
• President of the Board of Trustees of Monmouth University from 1855 - 1882
• member of the Christian Church
• first mayor of Monmouth, OR when it was incorporated in 1881
• Polk County Judge, 1872-1882
• Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, 1857-58
• former home in Monmouth on the corner of Highway 99 and Main Street burned in the 1940s
• buried (with his wife and most of their children) in Butler Davidson Cemetery,
• children:

Alice(Allie) Butler,1858 - 1940, no children; buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery

Margaret (Maggie) Butler, 1852 - 1939, no children

Paradine Butler, 1839 -1859; married William F. Reynolds; buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery

Cyrus Butler 1841 - 1842

Asa Douglas Butler 1843 - 1943; buried in California

Augustus Peter Butler 1846 - 1887; no children; buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery

Mary Elizabeth Butler, 1849 - 1851 (1852?)

Newton Butler, 1837-1889, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery

John Murphy Butler, 1818 - 1864

• son of Peter and Rachel Butler, who stayed in Monmouth Illinois; the Butler Family letters were sent to him and he shared them with his other brothers
• married Eliza Smith
• children: Lavina, Erastus, Ralph, Isaac, Frank, Granvil[le]
  

Mary Ann Davidson Butler, 1814-1888

• Born in Barren County, Kentucky, moved to Illinois in the 1830s
• daughter of Elijah and Margaret Davidson
• married Ira F. M. Butler and came with him to Oregon in 1853
• children: see list under Ira F.M.Butler
• buried (with her husband) in Butler Davidson Cemetery

Isaac Butler, 1831 - ?

• son of Peter and Rachel Butler; accompanied his father to Oregon in 1853
• married Sarah Webb
• became Sheriff of Polk County
• Donation Land Claim T9S R5W secs 5,4,8,9
  

Elijah A. Davidson, 1783 -1870

• born in North Carolina, moved to Kentucky in 1818, then to Warren County, Illinois in 1831
• came to Oregon in 1850 (with the Whitmans)
• married 1st wife, Margaret Murphy, 1785-1864; 2nd wife, Margaret McBride
• Donation Land Claim T8S R5W secs 25, 26, 27, 34, 35, 36; the Butler Davidson Cemetery  is on his DLC
• member of the Christian Church; held the position of Elder
• buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
  Sarah Davidson, (married Thomas H. Lucas), 1825 -1882
  Hosea Davidson, 1804-1873
  Carter Tarrant Davidson, 1802-1882
  Mary Ann Davidson, 1814-1888 (married Ira. F. M. Butler)
  Margaret E. Davidson, 1816-1887 (married William Mason)
  Elijah Barton Davidson, 1819-1888 (married Soloma Jones); buried (with his wife) in Sparlin Cemetery, Josephine County, Or;  his son Elijah J. Davidson , 1849-1927, discovered the Oregon Caves
  Elizabeth Thurston Davidson 1823-1896 (married Squire S. Whitman)
  Alexander Bridges Davidson 1829-1862 (married Elizabeth Ann Burford)
  John C. Davidson (married Julia Ann Whitman)
  Rachel Davidson, 1821 - 1895, married George Deweese; died in Napa, California

George W. Deweese, 1817 - ?

• variously spelled Dueese and Duease in the Butler Family letters
• married Rachel Davidson, daughter of Elijah Davidson
• came to Oregon in 1850
• children:
  Douglas Deweese
  Elizabeth Deweese
  Fannie Deweese
  William Deweese
  Lorinda or Lorenzo Deweese

Edward Ground, 1809 - 1885(1886?)

• came to Oregon in 1853 from Illinois with Butler Wagon Train
• married 1st wife Eliza Ann Butler, 1816-1864, daughter of Peter Butler
• married 2nd wife, Mrs. Susan McCann Crossley, in 1868
• member of the Christian Church
• Donation Land Claim was located eight miles south of Monmouth on the Luckiamute River,  but also lived in Parker, Yamhill County, and Scio.
• buried(with 1st wife) in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children with Eliza Butler:
  William Butler Ground, 1836 - 1880
  Francis Ground, 1838 - 1840
  Robert Ground, 1840? - 1917
  Luther Ground, 1842-1918
  Peter Ground, 1848 - ?
  Franklin Pierce Ground, 1842 -1936
  Sylvester Ground, 1858 - 1860
  John H. Ground, 1865 - 1914
• children with Susan Crossley
  Evaline
  Alice

Eliza Ann Butler Ground, 1816 -1864

• first wife of Edward Ground; daughter of Peter and Rachel Butler
• buried at Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children: see list under Edward Ground
  
  Mary Ground, 1833- 1886
• married James Whitman Butler, son of Peter and Rachel Butler
  
  
  William Butler Ground, 1836 - 1880
• son of Edward and Eliza Ground

Luther Ground, 1842 - 1918

• son of Edward Ground
• came to Oregon with his father in 1853
• married Sarah J. Butler in 1868
• children:
  Lottie Ground
  Nettie Ground
  Mellie Ground
  Mabel Ground
  Blanche Ground

P.R. Haley, 1802 - 1884

• born in Barren County, Kentucky; moved to Warren County, Illinois
• came to Oregon in 1853
• married Sarah Jane McWhorter, 1808-1890
• member of the Christian Church
• Land Donation Claim near Monmouth
• buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
  Martha Jane Haley, 1840 - 1858
  William Thompson Haley, 1833 - ?
  P.W. Haley, 1847 - ?; married Alice Parker in 1869, children:
      Orion
       Iva L.
       David W.
       Nellie M.
       Eula J.
       Minerva

William Thompson Haley, 1833 - ?

• son of P.R. Haley
• came to Oregon in 1853 with his father
• graduate of Bethany College, West Virginia
• in charge of the College department of Monmouth University 1857-58
• married Lucinda Miller Ford, 1840 - 1867, daughter of Nathaniel Ford
• Principal at Bethel College, Polk County, Oregon (after leaving Monmouth University)

Thomas Hanna Hutchinson 1824 -1860

• married Elizabeth Hannah Butler, 1829 -1866, daughter of Peter and Rachel Butler
• came to Oregon in 1853 with the Butler Wagon Train
• member of the Christian Church
• surveyed and platted Monmouth, Oregon in 1855, responsible for naming early streets
• considered one of the Founders of Western Oregon University
• Secretary of the Board of Trustees of Monmouth University
• buried (with his wife) in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
  James Butler Hutchinson, ? - 1872 in Napa, California
  Robert Cascade Hutchinson, 1853 - 1922
  Tom Otis Hutchinson, 1855 - ?

Elizabeth Butler Hutchinson Miser, 1829-1866

• daughter of Peter and Rachel Butler
• wife of Thomas Hutchinson, she later remarried Miser
• children: see list under Thomas Hutchinson
• buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery

Albert Whitfield Lucas, 1827 - 1893

• born in Kentucky, moved to Warren County Illinois in 1830
• married Elizabeth Frances Murphy, daughter of John E. Murphy
• came to Oregon in 1852
• buried (with his wife) in Fir Crest Cemetery
• children :
  Adah Lucas
  Jay Lucas
  Katherine Lucas , married W.D. Fenton
  Frank Lucas
  Albert Lucas
  Susan Lucas
  Fred Lucas, 1874-1894
  Mary Lucas, 1858
  Nellie Lucas, 1867

Thomas Hartzwell Lucas, 1824 - 1908

• married Sarah Davidson, daughter of Elijah and Margaret Davidson
• came to Oregon in 1850
• Donation Land Claim T8S R5W secs 24, 25, 26
• considered one of the Founders of Western Oregon University
• buried (with his wife) in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
• Amanda Lucas, 1848 -1857, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
  Smith W. Lucas, 1846-1890, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
  Will M. Lucas, 1852-1906, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
  Orren Lucas, 1862-1863, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery

Sarah Davidson Lucas, 1825-1882

• wife of Thomas Hartzwell Lucas, daughter of Elijah and Margaret Davidson

Elizabeth Frances Lucas, 1832 - 1914

• wife of Albert Whitfield Lucas

John Ecles Murphy, 1806 -1876

• born in Warren County, Kentucky, moved to Illinois in 1830
• married Francis Wright Doughty (sometimes spelled Daughty), 1810 - 1891
• came to Oregon in 1852 with the Murphy Wagon Train
• an abolitionist, he opposed slavery and released slaves
• Donation Land Claim T9S R5W secs 31, 30, 29, 32, at Airlie
• considered one of the Founders of Western Oregon University
• first minister of Monmouth's Christian Church
• buried (with his wife) in Fir Crest Cemetery
• children:
  Elizabeth Frances Murphy (married A.W. Lucas)
  Emma & Ellen (twins); Emma married James McMurray
  Ellen Murphy, 1854 -1863, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
  Henderson Warren Murphy, 1835 - ?
  Susan Jane Marshall Murphy
  William Preston Murphy, 1832-1915; married Sarah Taylor, then Sarah Stanton
  James Thompson Murphy
  David Murphy
  Preston Murphy
  Nancy Rowland Murphy
  Mary Chrisman Murphy
  Sarah Ann Mulkey Murphy

William Murphy, 1816 - 1874
   - cousin of John E. Murphy
   - came to Oregon in 1852
   - married Elizabeth Roundtree, 1823 -1889
   - buried in Fir Crest Cemetery

Isaac Smith, 1816 - 1897
Isaac may be a brother of John B. Smith, a founder of Western Oregon University

• born in Madison County, KY and moved to Warren County, Illinois in 1834
• married Margaret Butler, daughter of Peter and Rachel Butler
• came to Oregon in 1853 with the Butler Wagon Train
• served two terms in the Oregon State Legislature
• served as Polk County Judge for one term
• buried (with his wife) in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
  Rufus Smith, 1842-1920, buried at Fir Crest Cemetery
  Silas Wright Smith, 1846 - ?, 
  Flora Alice Smith
  Berryman M. Smith
  Ira S. Smith
  Isaac L. Smith
  Rachel M. Smith
  Mary E. Smith, 1852-1858, buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
  

Margaret Butler Smith, 1822 - 1871

• daughter of Rachel and Peter Butler, wife of Isaac Smith
• buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery (with her husband)
• children: see list under Isaac Smith
  
  
  Berryman Smith, 1846 - ?
• son of Isaac Smith, came with his father to Oregon in 1853
• married Sarah Nealy in 1866
• moved to Dallas, Oregon in 1882 and became a druggist
• children:
  Ray N. Smith
  Ralph O. Smith
  Margaret E. Smith
  Edith C. Smith
  Hettie Smith

Silas Wright Smith, 1844 - ?

• son of Isaac Smith
• founded a business in Independence, which changed names several times: Cooper & Smith; McCord, Smith & Co.; and Vanduyn & Smith
• married Esther Barney in 1867
• children:
  Mary Ellen Smith
  Ephram Smith
  Otto B. Smith
  Lenna M. Smith
  Millen W. Smith
  Ralph C. Smith

Squire Stoten Whitman, 1818 - 1892

• married Elizabeth Davidson (1823-1896), daughter of Elijah and Margaret Davidson
• came to Oregon in 1850
• Donation Land Claim was in Monmouth T8S R4W secs 19,30 and T8S R5W secs 24, 25
• Whitman Street in Monmouth runs along one side of his Donation Land Claim
• Monmouth's first blacksmith
• operated the first sawmill in Independence, Oregon which was destroyed by the 1861 and 1862 floods
• donated ca. 200 acres of his Donation Land Claim to found Monmouth University
• considered one of the Founders of Western Oregon University
• member of the Board of Trustees of Monmouth University
• buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
• children:
  Mary Ann Whitman
  John Murphy Whitman
  William Andrew Whitman
  Martha Jane Whitman
  Hezekiah Davidson Whitman,1851-1909; buried in Butler Davidson Cemetery
  Christopher C. Whitman
  Huldah Ann Whitman
  Elijah Alexander Whitman