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Samuel Butler (politician)

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American politician (1825–1891)

Samuel Butler
36th Treasurer of Pennsylvania
In office
1880–1882
Preceded byAmos C. Noyes
Succeeded bySilas M. Bailey
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the Chester County district
In office
1877–1880Serving with William T. Fulton, Jesse Matlack, John P. Edge, John A. Reynolds
Preceded byElisha W. Baily, Peter G. Carey, George Fairlamb Smith, John P. Edge
Succeeded byJohn A. Reynolds, Theodore K. Stubbs, John T. Potts, William Wayne
Personal details
Born(1825-02-02)February 2, 1825
Upper Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania
DiedFebruary 1, 1891(1891-02-01) (aged 65)
West Chester, Pennsylvania
Resting placeOaklands Cemetery
RelationsWilliam Butler (brother)
Thomas S. Butler (son)
Smedley Butler (grandson)
EducationUnionville Academy
OccupationPolitician

Samuel Butler (February 2, 1825 – February 1, 1891) was an American politician who served as Pennsylvania State Treasurer from 1880 to 1882. A member of the Republican Party from Chester County, Butler previously served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1877 to 1880. He unsuccessfully sought his party's gubernatorial nomination in 1882.

Life and career

Butler was born in Upper Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, to farmer-parents James and Mary Butler. He attended the local public school and went on to attend Unionville Academy in neighboring East Marlborough Township, where he studied under Jonathan Grause, a well-known teacher who had instructed Bayard Taylor and other local luminaries. After graduation, he spent eight years teaching school in Chester as well as Berks and Butler counties. In 1849, he returned home to Upper Uwchlan, married, and settled down on the family farm, where he remained for the rest of his life save for his service in Harrisburg. He served as a member of the local school board until 1876 and Chester County's director of the poor from 1865 to 1871. He served as a member of the board of directors of the National Bank of Downingtown, vice president of the Chester County Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company, and president of the Farmers' National Bank of West Chester.

Butler was elected to three consecutive terms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving from 1877 to 1880. In lieu of seeking a fourth legislative term, Butler ran for Pennsylvania Treasurer. Nominated by acclamation at the Republican state convention, Butler won his statewide election in November 1879, defeating Democratic nominee Daniel O. Barr by a margin of 58,600 votes. He served from May 1880 through 1882. He ran for his party's nomination for governor in 1882 but lost out to James A. Beaver, who went on to lose the general election. At the Republican state convention in May 1882, Butler sought the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania's at-large congressional district but lost to Thomas M. Marshall.

Personal life

In October 1850, Butler married Margaret Paschall Woodward of West Chester. The couple had three children who all survived their father: Anna (born November 3, 1851), Thomas S. (born November 4, 1854), and Henry J. (born August 25, 1859). Both of his sons became lawyers. Thomas S. Butler went on to serve as a judge and then as a member of the United States House of Representatives for thirty years. Thomas's son (Samuel's grandson) was United States Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Butler. Samuel Butler's elder brother was William Butler, judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Butler died of stomach or kidney disease at his home in West Chester. He was interred at Oaklands Cemetery.

References

  1. ^ "Samuel Butler". Pennsylvania House of Representatives Archives. Archived from the original on November 14, 2022. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  2. ^ "Death of Ex-Treasurer Butler". Harrisburg Daily Independent. February 2, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  3. "Hon. Samuel Butler: A Good Subject for Governance". The Times Leader. February 14, 1882. p. 1. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  4. West Chester, Pennsylvania: The Most Important Suburb of Philadelphia. West Chester, PA: Pennsylvania Board of Trade. 1888. pp. 74, 78.
  5. ^ "Samuel Butler Dead - The Ex-State Treasurer Passes Away After Much Suffering". Pittsburgh Dispatch. February 2, 1891. p. 1. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  6. ^ The Times Almanac. Philadelphia: The Times. 1880. p. 18 – via Internet Archive.
  7. Thomson, W. W., ed. (1898). Chester County and Its People. The Union History Company. p. 441. Retrieved December 26, 2023 – via Archive.org.Open access icon
  8. "Republican Nominations". The Shippensburg Chronicle. May 19, 1882. p. 2. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  9. Woodward, Lewis (1879). Genealogy of the Woodward Family of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Wilmington, Del.: Ferris Bros. pp. 53, 68 – via HathiTrust.
  10. "Ex-Treasurer Butler Dead: Chester County Loses One of Its Most Valued Citizens". The Semi-Weekly New Era. February 7, 1891. p. 4. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  11. Nolan, J. Bennett (1943). Southeastern Pennsylvania: A History of the Counties of Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Philadelphia and Schuylkill. Vol. 3. Philadelphia: Lewis Historical Publishing Company. p. 425.
  12. "Samuel Butler's Funeral: A Number of Prominent Men Attend the Services". The Philadelphia Times. February 6, 1891. p. 3. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
Party political offices
Preceded byWilliam B. Hart Republican nominee for Treasurer of Pennsylvania
1879 		Succeeded bySilas M. Bailey
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