Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1900, volume 1).djvu/514

482 gaged in paper-making, and manufactured the first domestic letter-paper used by the U. S. senate.

BUTLER, Thomas Belden, jurist, b. in Wetlierslield, Conn., 22 Aug., 1806 ; d. in Norwalk, Conn., 8 June, 1873. He received a classical edu- cation, entered Yale medical school in 1826, and took his degree of M. D. in 1828. He practised medicine for eight years in Norwalk, when, finding that it afl'ected his health, he abandoned it, and studied law with Clark Bissell. He was admitted to the bar in Norwalk in 1837, was a member of the Connecticut house of representatives in 1882-'46, and of the state senate in 1848-'53, and in 1849 was elected to congress as a whig, and served one term. In May, 1855, he was elected a judge of the superior court, in 1861 was appointed tf the supreme court of Connecticut, and was made chief justice in 1870. He was a careful student of the law, and his in- sight into difficult points, and perception of the principles of equity, gave his decisions a high re- putation. He was also an excellent farmer, versed in the principles of mechanics, and interested in meteorology. He published " The Philosophy of the Weather" (New York, 1856), and in 1870 an enlarged edition under the title of " Concise Ana- lytical and Logical Development of the Atmos- pheric System, and Prognostication of the Weather "(Norwalk).

BUTLER, William, soldier and politician, b. in Prince William co., Va., in 1759 ; d. in Columbia, S. C, 15 Nov., 1821. He was a son of James But- ler, who was captured and murdered by the notori- ous Cunningham, was graduated at Soutli Carolina college as a student of medicine, became a lieuten- ant in Lincoln's army in 1779, was engaged at Stono, and served in the famous corps of Pulaski. Butler next joined Gen. Pickens, subsequently served with Gen. Lee, under Greene, at the siege of Ninety-Six, and was detached on several separate services requiring celerity, courage, and vigilance. He at length rose to a command of mounted rang- ers, and took part in many affairs with the tories. At the head of a body of cavalry, he, with C'apt. Michael Watson, attacked and dispersed double the number of the enemy in Dean's swamp, though Watson fell in the action. He was soon after the war made a brigadier-general, and, in 1796, major- general of militia. He was a member of the con- vention of 1787 to consider the adoption of the federal constitution, and, with Gen. Sumter and others, voted against it. He was subsequently a member of the convention that passed the pres- ent constitution of South Cai'olina, for some time a member of the legislature, sheriff in 1794, and served as a magistrate. Prom 1801 till 1818, when he resigned his seat to make way for John C. Cal- houn, he was a member of congress. In 1818 he was again a candidate for congress, but was defeated by Eldred Simkins. In the war of 1812 he com- manded the South Carolina troops for state defence. — His son, Andrew Pickens, jurist, b. in Edge- field district, S. C, 17 Nov., 1796 ; d. near Edgefield Court-House, 25 May, 1857, was graduated at South Carolina college in 1817, admitted to the bar in 1819, and soon gained a reputation for eloquence and humor. He was elected to the legislature in 1824, and in 1825, as aide to Gov. Manning, took part in the reception given to Gen. Lafayette. In 1827 he was one of the committee that conducted the impeachment trial of Judge James, a revolutionary veteran, charged with incompetence and drunken- ness. During the nullification trouljles in 1831 he commanded a cavalry regiment. He was judge of sessions in 1833, and of the state court from 1835 till 1846, and was then appointed by the governor to the U. S. senate to fill a vacancy, and was after- ward elected by the legislature, remaining a sena- tor till his death. Soon after taking his seat he became chairman of the judiciary committee, and he took a conspicuous part in debate, particularly on questions affecting the south. His report on the fugitive slave law was defended by him in an able speech. His last effort was in reply to Charles Sumner and in defence of his state. Judge Butler was a relative of Preston S. Brooks, and it was because of remarks about him in debate that Mr. Brooks assaulted Mr. Sumner in the senate-cham- ber. — Another son. Pierce Mason, b. in Edgefield district, S. C, 11 April, 1798; killed in the battle of Churubusco, Mexico, 20 Aug., 1847, received a military education, and entered the army in 1819 as second lieutenant of infantry. He displayed from the first abilities that promised distinction, was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant in 1823, and attained the grade of captain in 1825. After four years of service, he resigned his com- mission, and in 1829 became a resident of Columbia, S. C, and was elected president of a bank estab- lished at that place. In 1836 he resigned the office and accepted the appointment of lieutenant- colonel in Goodwyn's regiment of South Carolina volunteers, raised to aid in suppressing the Semi- nole Indians of Florida. He served throughout the war, and won distinction in several hard-fought battles. On his return from Florida, he was in 1838 elected governor of South Carolina. At the end of his term, having given great satisfaction to the state by the dignity and ability that he displayed in the office, he was appointed by the president Indian agent, and filled that place to the satisfaction of the government until the beginning of the war with Mexico in 1846, when he resigned it to enter the army. He organized the Palmetto regiment, was elected its colonel, and led it with the greatest gallantry in the fierce conflicts in which it took part, winning marked distinction in the battle of Cerro Gordo. At the battle of Churubusco, 22 Aug., 1847, Col. Butler was wounded in the early part of the engagement, but would not retire from the field, and continued to lead his men in the impetuous charge upon the Mexican lines until he was shot through the head and killed instantly. Col. Butler was over six feet in height, finely proportioned, his features classical, his face beaming with the ardor of his heroic spirit, and his bearing full of soldierly dignity. — Another son, William, b. in Columbia, S. C, was educated at South Carolina college, and served in the federal liouse of representatives from 1841 till 1843.— Matthew Calbraith, senator, son of William, b. near Greenville, S. C, 8 March, 1836, was educated at South Carolina college, studied law at Edgefield Court-House with his uncle, was admitted to the bar in 1857, practised at Edgefield Court-House, and was elected to the legislature in 1859. He entered the confederate service as captain in June, 1861, became colonel of the 2d South Carolina cavalry on 22 Aug., 1862, brigadier-general on 1 Sept., 1863, and afterward a major-general, commanding Wright's and Logan's brigades of cavalry in the Army of northern Virginia. At the battle of Brandy Station, 9 June, 1863, he lost his right leg. He was elected to the legislature of South Carolina in 1866, was a candidate for lieutenant-governor in 1870, and received the democratic vote for U. S. senator the same year. In 1876, when there were two contending state governments in existence, he was elected U. S. senator by the democratic legislature, as the successor of Thomas J. Robertson, republican. David T. Corbin, who was elected by the