Descendants of Addison and Elinor Butt of Virginia and Kentucky
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DESCENDANTS OF ADDISON AND ELINOR BUTT OF VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY Thomas King Butt Richmond, California March 1, 2004 The Descendants of Addison Butt and Elinor Glenn Page 2 03/01/04 7:36 AM Table of Contents Introduction......................................................................................................................... 2 Butts and Glenns in Botetourt County, Virginia................................................................. 2 Settlement of Botetourt County ...................................................................................... 2 Marriage – Addison and Elinor....................................................................................... 2 Children Born in Virginia ............................................................................................... 2 Sara ............................................................................................................................. 2 William ....................................................................................................................... 2 Relocation to Kentucky....................................................................................................... 2 Children Born in Kentucky............................................................................................. 2 Thomas........................................................................................................................ 2 Nancy .......................................................................................................................... 2 Reuben ........................................................................................................................ 2 Delila........................................................................................................................... 2 Archibald..................................................................................................................... 2 Addison Butt Land Transactions in Kentucky................................................................ 2 Death of Addison Butt and Settlement of Estate ............................................................ 2 APPENDIX A - BOTETOURT COUNTY BUTTS .......................................................... 2 APPENDIX B - BOTETOURT COUNTY GLENNS........................................................ 2 APPENDIX C – SARA BUTT LINE................................................................................. 2 APPENDIX D – WILLIAM BUTT LINE.......................................................................... 2 APPENDIX E – THOMAS BUTT LINE........................................................................... 2 APPENDIX F – NANCY BUTT LINE.............................................................................. 2 APPENDIX G – REUBEN BUTT LINE ........................................................................... 2 APPENDIX H – DELILA BUTT LINE............................................................................. 2 APPENDIX I – ARCHIBALD BUTT LINE...................................................................... 2 The Descendants of Addison Butt and Elinor Glenn Page 3 03/01/04 7:36 AM Introduction Addison Butt1 (about 1782-1844) and Elinor Glenn2 (exact birth and death date unknown) were my great- great-great grandparents. They were married in Botetourt County, Virginia in 1802 or 1803, and migrated to Pulaski County, Kentucky, about 1806. This is a record of what is known about them and their descendants. Butts and Glenns in Botetourt County, Virginia It is not clear who Addison’s parents were or where they came from. The best speculation is that they migrated south through the Valley of Virginia (Shenandoah Valley) from the vicinity of Berkeley County (now West Virginia) and Washington County, Maryland, near Harper’s Ferry. There were several Butt and Glenn families in Botetourt County around the turn of the 19th century, but there are no records that decisively connect them to Addison and Elinor. There are, however, some tantalizing references to an Elinor Glen in Botetourt County records. No Butt researcher of whom I am aware has been able to determine where the Botetourt Butts originated. See Appendices A and B for information on Botetourt County Butts and Glenns. The information available on Elinor’s family seems to indicate that they migrated from Ireland in the late 1700’s. Her parents later moved to Green County, Ohio, where they died around 1818. Berkeley County, WV Botetourt County Norfolk Washington County Figure 1 Modern Virginia Counties 1 Spelled variously Addison, Adison, Adderson, Atterson, Anderson, etc. 2 Spelled variously Eleanor, Elendar; Ellendar -- Glen and Glenn The Descendants of Addison Butt and Elinor Glenn Page 4 03/01/04 7:36 AM Settlement of Botetourt County When European settlers came to the Valley of Virginia, they advanced chiefly from Pennsylvania and Maryland up the Valley from its northern end rather than through the eastern elevated gaps, often called the “wind gaps.” The first records are by John Lederer, a German explorer who toured the Valley in 1669 and 1670. The first substantial settlement of what is now Botetourt County did not begin until about 1730. In the late 1730’s and early 1740’s pioneers were beginning to trickle in.3 Botetourt County was the next step up the Great Valley of Virginia for the Scotch-Irish Presbyterians who, after leaving Ireland and landing on the Atlantic Coast ports filtered down from Pennsylvania and Maryland. Most crossed the Potomac River and came up the Valley, which was settled chiefly by Germans and Scotch-Irish. Generally speaking, the Germans came first in the northern end of the Valley, and the Scotch-Irish came first to Botetourt.4 The first meeting of the founding fathers of Botetourt was held February 13, 1770, near what is now Daleville. Court was held at Miller’s Mill (now Fincastle) apparently for the first time on April 10, 1770. In 1794, the Botetourt County Virginia Personal Property Tax List5 listed 782 white males 16 and over. Census data compiled by the Library of Virginia shows 2,247 white males over 16 in 17906 and a 1790 total population of 10,524.7 By 1800, the population was 10,422. In 1810, the Botetourt population was 13,301 with 2,275 slaves.8 By 1860, it had dwindled to 11,516.9 There is no record of a Butt in Botetourt County until 1789, when a 1789 List of Delinquents Returned by John Craig Deputy Sheriff 10 lists a Coonrod or Conrod Butt and John Butt. 11 The first record of a Butt owning or purchasing land in Botetourt occurs in 1804. Deed Book 8, Page 377, shows Jacob Butt buying from John Jordan (and Catherine, his wife) 40 acres on the east side of the James River, adjacent to land of Jacob Leamon. Also in 1804, Deed Book 8, Page 433, John Butt (& Elizabeth, his wife) buying from Joseph (and Margaret) Day 90 ¾ acres on the Mud Lick Branch of Roanoke River, part of 1,380 acres granted to James Neely (Nielly?) 1786, conveyed to Evan Day June 7,1794, conveyed to Joseph Day, February 19,1802. There is no documentation that connects Conrod Butt, John Butt or Jacob Butt with Addison Butt. Marriage – Addison and Elinor The first and only record of Addison and Elinor in Botetourt County, VA is their marriage. On May 19, 1802, a marriage bond was executed for the marriage of Addison Butt and Eleanor Glenn in Botetourt Co, Virginia, also reported by the Methodist Minister John Helms in the minister’s return dated April 1803. See pages 5 and 6 for the Minister’s Return and the Marriage Bond.12 The marriage bond was signed by James 3 Robert Douthat Stoner, A Seed Bed of the Republic (Kingsport, TN: Kingsport Press, Inc., 1962)11-22 4 Ibid, 22 5 http://www.ls.net/~newriver/va/bot1794.htm 6 http://fisher.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/censusbin/census/cen.pl 7 http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1790numbers.html 8 http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1810numbers.html 9 http://www.virginiaplaces.org/population/pop1860numbers.html 10 Botetourt County Records, Tithable Book Volume II, Page 333 11 There is a Coonrod Butt in the 1830 Ohio Census, Pickaway County, Wayne Township,showing 1 male 50-60, 1 male 60-70. There is also an Isaac Butt with 6 males and 4 females. 12 Bonds were posted by the groom alone or with a second person, usually the father or the brother of the bride, to defray the costs of litigation in the event the marriage was nullified. Bonds were posted in the jurisdiction where the marriage was to take place, often in the bride’s home county. Source: Johni Cerny and Sandra H. Luebking, “Research in Marriage and Divorce Records,” The Source – A Guidebook of American Genealogy, Loretto Dennis Szucs and Sandra Hargreaves Luebking, ed. (Salt Lake City: Ancestry Incorporated, 1996) 87 The Descendants of Addison Butt and Elinor Glenn Page 5 03/01/04 7:36 AM Glenn, presumably the bride's father, and Archibald Butt. This led to the speculation that Addison’s father was named Archibald.13 Know all men by these presents that we Addison Butt & James Glenn are held and firmly bound to his Excellency James Monroe, Esqr. Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia for the time being in the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars to which payment well and truly to be in & to the said governor and his successor in office for the use of the Commonwealth we bind ourselves, our executioners and administrators jointly and severally, ____ by these sealed with our seal and dated 19th day of May, 1802. The condition of the above obligation is such that