William Butler autobiographies and letters
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of autobiographies and personal letters. Included are four personal histories of varying lengths. Butler described his visions, business matters, family relationships, church assignments, missions served, and recounted many colorful experiences including hunting down and killing the murderer of one of his children. The letters were written by William Butler and his first wife, Emma Harvey, to their Henry Harvey Butler in 1891-2 while Henry was serving on a mission to the Eastern U.S.
Dates
- Creation: 1850-1905
Creator
- Butler, William, 1825-1905 (Person)
Language of Materials
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for public research.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances. Permission to publish material from William Butler autobiography and letters must be obtained from the Supervisor of Reference Services and/or the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Board of Curators.
Biographical History
Butler was born in Ireland, immigrated to the U.S., and joined the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City in 1850. Butler served three missions to Great Britain for the Mormon Church. When he returned from the first of these in 1856, he accompanied the Ellsworth handcart company to Utah. William was a farmer and lived primarily in Marriott and Kaysville, Utah. He served with Lot Smith and the Utah militia resisting federal forces in 1857-8. Butler had five wives, thirty children, and served time in the Utah territorial prison for bigamy.
Extent
1 folder (0.2 linear ft.) : (19 items)
Custodial History
Donated by Barbara Butler Anderson in 1986.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated; Barbara Butler Anderson; 1986.
Appraisal
19th Century Western and Mormon Manuscripts.
Existence and Location of Copies
Reproduced in 1986.
Subject
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Missions--Great Britain--Biography (Organization)
- Smith, Lot (Person)
Genre / Form
Geographic
Topical
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
- Latter Day Saint handcart companies
- Latter Day Saint pioneers -- Utah -- Biography
- Missions and Missionaries
- Polygamy -- Religious aspects -- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- History
- Prisoners -- History
- Utah Expedition (1857-1858) -- Biography
- Vigilance committees -- Utah -- Biography
- Title
- Register of William Butler autobiographies and letters
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Elisa Visick
- Date
- 2010 July 21
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English in Latin script.
Repository Details
Part of the L. Tom Perry Special Collections Repository
1130 HBLL
Brigham Young University
Provo Utah 84602 United States