Placer
County
Biographies
JOHN BUTLER
John Butler, the Colfax druggist and
an ex-sheriff of the county, was born in Canada May 17, 1833. He is descended on one side from the noted Poore family, who were prominent in the early history of
Massachusetts. His father, William
Butler, was born in New Hampshire, March 8, 1800. He married Elizabeth Coltman,
a native of Canada and a descendant of United English Loyalists. The father had gone to Canada when he became
of age and met his wife there. Six
children, of whom five are living, were born to Mr. and Mrs. Butler and were
reared in Canada. The father died in 1875,
aged seventy-five years, and the mother passed away three weeks later, sixty-five
years of age. During all their married
life they had resided in Brighton, Canada, where Mr. Butler was engaged in the
lumber business. Both he and his wife
were members of the Methodist Church and people of the highest respectability.
The son, John Butler, was educated
in Canada. He was engaged in a
mercantile business for a brief period and worked in his father’s carding-mill
for a number of years. In 1863 he came
to California and located at Iowa Hill, Placer County. He was appointed the assessor of that
district and was afterwards elected to the office and served efficiently for
seven years. In 1877 he removed to
Colfax and became interested in the drug business, in which he has continued. He was the postmaster of Colfax nine years,
during the administration of Presidents Hayes and Garfield. In 1886 he was elected the sheriff of Placer
County; after serving a term of two years, acceptably, he was re-elected to
succeed himself and served a second term of two years, acquiring the reputation
of having been one of the most successful sheriffs of the county.
In 1856 Mr. Butler was married to
Martha Ann Lyon, a native of his own country.
The union was blessed with four children: William J., residing in Marshfield, Oregon;
Walter L., residing in Reno; Elizabeth L., the wife of H. W. Nash, of San
Francisco; and John L., in business with his father at Colfax.
Mr. Butler is a valued member of the
Masonic fraternity, blue lodge and chapter.
He is a past master of the blue lodge and a past high priest of the
chapter. As soon as he became of age he
presented his application for membership and received the sublime degree of
Master Mason in 1854. He is also an
esteemed member of the I. O. O. F. and is a past high priest of the Encampment,
and is a charter member of the A. O. U. W. and its financier for the past ten
years. He has been a staunch Republican
since the organization of that party. As
a citizen, Mr. Butler is of the highest reliability and as a businessman is
friendly, good-hearted and obliging. He
thoroughly appreciates and understands the tenets of the orders to which he
belongs and is leading the upright life which they inculcate.
Transcribed by
Gerald Iaquinta.
Source:
“A Volume of Memoirs and Genealogy of Representative Citizens of Northern
California”, Pages 230-231. Chicago Standard Genealogical Publishing Co. 1901.
© 2010
Gerald Iaquinta.