- Creator
- Butler family
- Call number
- Sc MG 728
- Physical description
- 0.21 linear feet (1 box)
- Language
- English
- Preferred Citation
- [Item], Butler family papers, Sc MG 728, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library
- Repository
- Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division
- Access to materials
- Request an in-person research appointment.
The Butler family papers relate to two Pennsylvania families: the Butlers of Washington County, specifically, William N. Butler, a graduate of Geneva College and a practicing lawyer, and his son William F. Butler, a graduate of Geneva College and Howard University Law School; and the Carters of Beaver County. The elder Butler worked as recording secretary of the Civilian Defense Department, and he was a probation officer for the Beaver County courts. In 1964 and 1969, he was appointed to the Probation and Parole Board and was designated its acting chairman in 1974. Butler died in 1977. The Butler family papers include letters written by William N. Butler to his son, William F., while the latter was a student at Howard Law School, 1930-1931. Many of these Depression-era letters discuss the loss of jobs and bank closures in the family's hometown of Washington, Pennsylvania, as well as his own financial difficulties; Butler, Sr., gives advice to his son as well as relates family news. A file containing letters to William F. Butler signed "Aunty" speak of family matters. Additionally, the collection contains a notebook of a clergyman named Peters from Uniontown, Pennsylvania, with notes taken from the Bible, 1847. Printed material includes ephemera (1917-1920) and news clippings (1954-1996) related to the Butler and Carter families.
Administrative information
Source of acquisition
Purchase from Charles Apfelbaum, September 2003.
Processing information
Accessioned by Janice Quinter, June 2005.
Separated material
Transferred to the Art and Artifacts Division: sashes
Transferred to the Photographs and Prints Division: photographs
Key terms
Names
Subjects
- African American families -- Pennsylvania -- Washington County
- African American lawyers -- Pennsylvania -- Washington County
- African Americans -- Employment -- Pennsylvania -- History
- African Americans -- Pennsylvania -- Washington County
- Depressions -- 1929 -- Pennsylvania
Material types
Using the collection
Location
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801
Second Floor