THE REMARKABLE STORY OF WILSON BUTLER
By Tonya A. Guy
(Extracted from the January/February, March/April, and May/June 2019 Quills)
 
January/February 2019 Quill
 
      We were first “introduced” to Wilson Butler about a month ago when we were seeking interesting topics for Quill. We were perusing the Butler Surname File at the Tompkins Library and found a very intriguing newspaper clipping from The Edgefield Advertiser that was copied from the Index-Journal (Greenwood, SC). It concerned a remarkable man named Uncle Butler (subsequent articles gave his name as Wilson Butler), who was born on 10 March 1813 and was still alive and going strong in 1934—121 years later. We immediately began to research him and the more we found, the more we wanted to know. A number of newspaper accounts and other documents were found on him and will be shared in this and ensuing issues of Quill. Below is a transcribed copy of The Edgefield Advertiser article, dated 28 March 1934.
 
Former Slave Claims to Be 121 Years Old
 
      Some days ago Mayor W. A. Barnette received a letter from Col. Maro S. Potter, a prominent member of the Nashville, Ga. Bar, with regard to an old colored man, a former slave, known everywhere around Nashville as “Uncle Butler.”
 
      Col. Potter received the care of the old man as a legacy from his father, who took care of him so long as he lived and then passed the old colored man on to his sons. Col. M. S. Potter has the care of him now and says he promised the old man for years to bring him back to this part of South Carolina where he was born.
 
      “Uncle Butler” claims to have been born on March 10, 1813, on the plantation of General William Butler on Saluda river. This would make “Uncle Butler” one hundred and twenty-one years old and probably the oldest man living in the United States.
 
      A sketch of the old man appeared in a little magazine published in Decatur, Ga., and called “Deep South” in its December issue. This sketch is by Leland Wallace Bates.
 
      In this sketch it is stated that the old man was born March 10, 1813 on the plantation of General William Butler on the Saluda river and that when he grew up he became the slave of George Butler, Esq., a son of Gen. William Butler. George Butler was a major in the War of 1812 and later became a lawyer at Edgefield.
 
      About 1830, “Uncle Butler” says he was sold with others to Edward Trenholm of Charleston. He was taught the trade of a shoe maker and became an expert. Slaves who were skilled laborers brought about twice the amount that field hands would fetch in that period.
 
      The old man says he was sold by George Butler to the Gilliam family who bought the Butler lands and later was sold to Mr. Trenholm in Charleston.
 
      “Uncle Butler” claims to remember when the first train of the old Charleston & Hamburg railroad arrived in Charleston and tells with considerable detail how he and many other slaves stood on the side of the railroad to see the “thing come” puffing and panting into the city.
 
      He continued to live in Charleston until the beginning of the war between the states and during the war he and others were sent out to make shoes for the Confederate soldiers. In this capacity, he says he made shoes in Columbia, Newberry, and Greenwood, South Carolina and then in Hendersonville, N. C. “Uncle Butler” claims to remember the process of printing Confederate money, his master’s brother, George Trenholm, being secretary of the treasury of the Confederacy.
 
      After the war, “when freedom come,” he went to Macon, Ga., and then to various other places until he located on the Potter plantation near Nashville, Ga., as an overseer of the women field hands of the plantation. He held this position until his health became feeble and then Mr. Potter built him a cabin and allowed him the use of several acres of land around it to work for himself.
 
      In his letter Col. M. S. Potter says this old darky cannot read or write, but he is one of the most remarkable characters I have ever known. Of course, he expects to find his master’s old home, George Butler’s, on the Saluda river just as it was one hundred years ago, which you know cannot be true. However, it is his desire to visit the old home place, and I am planning to take him in a few weeks.
 
      “I am writing you this letter so that you or any of the old citizens of Greenwood, may know that I am going to carry the old man to Greenwood and if you would like to see him you may do so.”
 
Interested in Story of an Old Negro
 
      Mrs. E. T. Crawford was especially interested in the news article yesterday about “Uncle Butler,” an aged negro, who claims to have been born in what is now Saluda county 121 years ago. Mrs. Crawford said the old man was owned by her great-grandfather and that part of the old home which he hopes to visit is still standing.—Index-Journal.
 
      The second article that was published in the Index-Journal about Uncle Butler was dated 25 March 1934. It was an interview that was conducted with him by a man named Reuben A. Sumner. We later found Reuben in the 1940 Fulton County, Georgia Census (page 96). He was 25 years old and his occupation was recorded as “lawyer.” The interview is a bit on the snide and derogatory side, which is probably due to Reuben’s young age (only 19 years old at the time), general demeanor, and a sign of the times. However, it is filled with marvelous details about Uncle Butler’s life in Old Edgefield District and is a wonderful introduction to the third article, which chronicles Uncle Wilson Butler’s visit to Greenwood and Saluda Counties. Some of the information presented will be repetitive and we apologize in advance if it becomes tedious at times. We felt that cutting up the narratives would cause confusion and interrupt the flow of the story. The Index-Journal interview, dated 25 March 1934, was transcribed and appears on the next two pages.
 
More On “Uncle Butler” Aged Slave
Reuben A. Sumner
 
      (In its issue of March 15th, The Index-Journal printed a story on “Uncle Butler” an aged slave now living on the plantation of Col. Maro S. Potter in Nashville, Ga. The old man claims to be 121 years old and wants to come back to the scenes of his childhood and youth. He says he was born March 10, 1813 on the plantation of Gen. William Butler, was owned at one time by George Butler, Esq., and later by the Gillam family of Greenwood (General James Gillam). At the request of Col. Potter, Reuben A. Sumner, of Nashville, has undertaken to collect from the old man some of the main facts in his long life and to correct certain errors in the story published in the magazine “Deep South.” Mr. Sumner has done this admirably and most thoroughly. His letter given below will be read with great interest in this section, Editor The Index-Journal.)
 
      The letter of Mr. Sumner, after an explanatory paragraph, follows:
 
      The article as written in the Deep South magazine contains a great many anachronisms. A few statements accredited to Uncle Butler are, he says, untrue; he never made them. Also, the earlier dates and incidents are a little misrepresented. Here is Uncle Butler’s story, not in the dialect he uses, as he told me:
 
Uncle Butler’s Own Story
 
      He was born on the plantation of General William Butler, near Greenwood, S. C., in the District of Greenwood (there being no counties at that time, and it was not the District of Ninety Six, according to Uncle Butler, as written in the article), on March 10, 1813. In answer to the question “Do you remember General William Butler?” this old slave answered that he remembered General Butler’s relatives talking about him, remembered that General Butler was still living a few years after Uncle Butler’s birth, but did not remember ever having seen him. He does not remember at what time General Butler died. After General Butler’s death, this old slave came into the charge (he believes) of George Butler, a son of General William Butler. He remained in the Butler family for something like forty years, married an old slave negro named Aunt Jenny, and had two children at the time the Civil War began. According to Uncle Butler these children’s names were Minnie, aged 15, and “Little Jenny,” aged 13. These were their ages at the time the war began. Since the Civil War he has seen neither of these children and does not know whether or not they are living, but he thinks (of course) that they are, and that one lives in Macon, Ga., and the other in Indianapolis, Ind.
 
      Uncle Butler has a slight remembrance of some of General Butler’s children. He remembers having seen Pierce Butler, and, of course, George Butler; but he did not remember that George Butler was a lawyer at Edgefield court house. He does remember, however, having heard something of his serving in a war. His recollection of the names of the other children is vague; but he believes that perhaps three of their names were John, Sam and Andrew—not sure, however. (Note: Since Uncle Butler made this statement, I have learned that there was one brother named Andrew. He remembers the family as being comprised of only six children, whereas you state that there were eight children; however, you can easily see how an old slave could have forgotten two of them in this length of time.
 
Lived in Greenwood
 
      According to the article referred to, Uncle Butler was carried to Charleston, S. C., in 1830 and sold on the block to the Trenholm family. This is an error, for if what Uncle Butler told me is true he was never taken to Charleston in his life, however, he was sold to the Trenholm family, along with the rest of the George Butler plantation, but this transaction was after he had been bought by the Gillam family about seven years before the Civil War. And he was not sold in Charleston, S. C., but in Greenwood.
 
      Uncle Butler’s pronunciation of the word Gillam is (gil um). As I have already stated, Uncle Butler passed into the Gillam family just about seven years before the Civil War. His recollection of the transaction is that George Butler died, and his estate was bought by the Gillam family. His recollection of the Gillams, other than General James (Jimmy, he calls him) Gillam, is faint, for the reason that most of his time while in the Gillam family was spent in the trade of shoe-maker. He was sent to Columbia, S. C. by General James Gillam about two years before the Civil War to learn this trade. However, he remembers that there were some other Gillam brothers and sisters. He believes that their names were Lewis Gillam, Martha Gillam, Susan Gillam, Mary Gillam, and Robert Gillam. (Note: Uncle Butler is not positive about any of these names, and as you can see there may be some errors. I note from your letter that you state that Robert Gillam was the son of General James Gillam. You may be right and Uncle Butler wrong. He could easily have recalled James Gillam’s son as being his younger brother. However, he may be right. General James Gillam could have had a brother named Robert, and one of his sons may have been named after General Gillam’s brother. Uncle Butler remembers one of the girls—probably Susan—married a man from Alabama.
 
      At the time the Civil War began Uncle Butler was making shoes in Columbia, S. C. He was, as related in the above mentioned article, making shoes at the rate of eight pair a day. When the war began he was put in charge of making shoes for the Confederacy, making shoes in the following towns: Newberry, Greenwood, Columbia, and Hendersonville, N. C. He was at the last mentioned town when the war closed. He was, however, at this time in the charge of Edward H. Trenholm having been sold to the Trenholm family about one year before the war ended. These brothers were Edward H., George L., and Wagner (Wagner may have been a brother-in-law. He is not sure.)
 
      After the Civil War ended he traveled through Georgia and this part of the article is mostly correct. In about 1870 Uncle Butler came into the charge of Mr. Lewis Potter of Prattsburg, Ga. When Mr. Potter died he asked his sons to take care of Uncle Butler; and about two years ago he was brought to Nashville by Maro Potter, in whose care he is at this time. Uncle Butler lives alone in the suburbs of the town of Nashville in a little one-room cabin. His reason for living alone is “I don’t want to live with no [Negroes]. I’d rather be independent.”
 
Remarkable Character
 
      This old slave is one of the most remarkable characters I have ever come into contact with. He can with a little concentration, recall almost any incident or person in his early life, and his philosophy is worth any one’s time.
 
      A most remarkable thing about him is that although he can neither read nor write he keeps up with current events through his conversations with different people. Here are a few stray sentences that I caught while talking with Uncle Butler that will show you what a tenacious memory and mind this old darky has:
 
      “John D. Rockefeller is about the most richest man in the world, but all the money that he has could not buy this cap. No, suh.”
 
      “I believe that Franklin D. Roosevelt is a good president, but I hope he’s as good as his cousin. That was a fightin’ man.”
 
      “When Columbus told the folks over in the foreign countries that the world was round, they didn’t believe him. He started out with his ships and discovered America. He showed them that he was right.”
 
      “You think that the first people in this country was Indians. No, suh. The first ones was mountain-builders (cliff dwellers).”
 
      Uncle Butler now sits hour after hour in front of his little shack, dreaming of his old master and the many incidents in his early life. He has an old corn-cob pipe that he smokes incessantly, and almost any hour of the day you can find him here, sitting immobile, hardly aware of anything around him. I surprised him yesterday in this mood. After a few moments of conversation with him he said: “I was just thinking about ole Marse Gillam. If I could just get back there and see him and the old place and all the other folks I’d be ready to die.” (Note: Uncle Butler expects to find the plantation very much in the same condition as it was years ago, which of course cannot be true.) “If my God said “I acquire this soul today” I would be willing to go. I just want to see some of the old folks that I knew back there. I’d know ‘em too if I could see ‘em.”
 
      In these moods Uncle Butler talks with perceptible solemnity. Another remarkable thing about him is that he can change from a sad mood to one of hilarity in an instant. All you have to do is get his mind on a different subject by talking about it.
 
      After talking with Uncle Butler for a great many times, I have become convinced that, although it sounds incredulous that he could be one hundred and twenty-one years old, he nevertheless is this old. He talks with utter sincerity, and I do not believe he would tell a lie if he knew it. I have deliberately questioned him with reference to the ages of his children when the Civil War began, his age, his wife’s age, etc., trying to catch him in an anachronistic statement; but he has never varied over a few years in any of his answers and some of these questions I believe would have caught him had he been lying.
 
      He will talk to you as long as you will listen. This is one of the greatest pleasures of his life. He could give some of our world-famed personages a few lessons in interviewing. He says, “Let me have plenty of questions. I can answer most any of ‘em.” He can too. And he had rather be photographed than eat turtle-stew when he’s hungry, and to Uncle Butler that is a very delectable dish.
 
                                                                        Reuben A. Sumner
                                                                                    Nashville, Ga.
 
The remarkable story of Uncle Wilson Butler will be continued in the next issue of Quill, beginning with his visit to Greenwood and Saluda Counties. Readers will see just how much Uncle Butler remembered about the people and places in the area.

​ 
March/April 2019 Quill
 
      We were first “introduced” to Wilson Butler when we were seeking interesting topics for Quill. Since that time, we have discovered that he was quite a remarkable individual. Uncle Wilson Butler was born on 10 March 1813 and was still alive and going strong in 1934—121 years later. A number of newspaper accounts and other documents were found on him. Two articles were shared in the last issue of Quill (January/February 2019) that revealed his desire to return to South Carolina after an absence of over 70 years. In this issue, we will begin with an article about his visit to Greenwood and Saluda Counties.
 
Former Slave Claiming Age of 121
Visits Scenes of Youth on Saluda
Wilson Butler Comes from Nashville, in Care of his
Protector and Supporter, Col. M. S. Potter, and
Visits Old Butler and Gillam Plantations
 
      Some weeks ago, the Index-Journal published some articles about a former slave of this section who claims to be 121 years old. He is known as “Uncle Butler” and he now lives near Nashville, Ga., where he is taken care of by Col. M. S. Potter, a prominent lawyer of Nashville. Col. Potter says he has been promising the old man for years to bring him back to the place where he was born, the old plantation of Gen. William Butler on Saluda river in new Saluda County. Col. Potter accompanied by his stenographer, Reuben A. Sumner of Nashville, brought the old man to Saluda Tuesday. There Col. B. W. Crouch kindly aided the visitors in locating the Butler plantation. Wednesday morning Col. Potter, Mr. Sumner, P. B. Yarbrough, of Greenwood, and Motte R. Yarbrough, of Saluda, the latter two knowing much of the Butler community history, carried the old man to spots of interest to “Uncle Butler” in Greenwood. The sight of the home of General James Gillam on East Cambridge Street, home of late Henry Blockman, was one of great interest because the old man was owned by General Gillam after the Butlers. The old Gillam house was burned many years ago. The home of General Gillam’s son, Robert G. Gillam, now the home of H. L. Watson, was visited and in the afternoon the old man was taken to Ninety-Six. The trip is described in the article below written for the Index-Journal by Mr. Sumner, Editor, Index-Journal.
 
- - - - - - - - - -
      After an absence of more than seventy years, “Uncle Butler,” an old negro slave, and one of the oldest living men in the world returned to Greenwood Wednesday. Uncle Wilson Butler now claims to be one hundred and twenty-one years old; and with his return to Greenwood, he saw the State of South Carolina for the first time since the Civil War.
 
      For years Uncle Butler has been trying to get back to South Carolina to see whether his first master, George Butler, is still living. He had never heard of his death, and ever since the Civil War he has been wondering about him.
 
      He was first owned, according to Uncle Butler’s story, by George Butler, a son of General William Butler; but at an early age he was transferred from the Butlers to the Gillams. Uncle Butler is not sure about how this transaction occurred, but he is sure that in his early childhood he was owned by George Butler, was later bought by the Gillams and was raised on a plantation on the Saluda river.
 
      On Tuesday he began the long trip from Nashville, Georgia, back to South Carolina. He had dreamed of this trip for more than a half century, and when he returned to the old Butler plantation and saw the grave of his old master, he undoubtedly reached one of the high points of his long life. He said, after viewing the graves of the Butlers at the historic old Butler Church, that he was ready to die and meet Marse George in the “spirit world.”
 
      At the old Butler church are buried Butlers who served in three wars, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812 and the Mexican War. Without doubt this is one of the most historic places in South Carolina, and when Uncle Butler stood before the graves of his old masters, whom he had outlived by more than one-hundred years, it was a touching scene. He said: “They’re gone…all of them. I’m satisfied now.”
 
      On his trip back to Greenwood and Ninety-six, Uncle Butler passed through Saluda. This was a new town to him, having been settled since he left South Carolina. It was here that he learned his first master had died long ago and was buried at the old Butler Church.
 
Marse Jimmy’s Home
 
      “I want to see old Marse Jimmy’s home now,” Uncle Butler said after he had left the old Butler Church and plantation. “I want to see if Robert or Jimmy is still living. They was old General Gillam’s two sons. I know the old General is dead, but one of his boys may still be living.”
 
      When he was told that neither of General James Gillam’s children is living, he was disappointed….
 
      It was hard to convince Uncle Butler that he had arrived in Greenwood when he came into the town. He said: “No, sir. This ain’t no Greenwood. The Greenwood that I know just had two little stores. Why, this here—it’s a pretty big Town, This here ain’t Greenwood.”
 
      It was only after he was taken to the site of General Gillam’s old home and shown the old home of Martin Hackett that Uncle Butler was convinced that he was really in Greenwood. “Lawd,” he said, “ain’t this thing changed? When I was here Marse Gillam had a big two story building right over there and old Martin Hackett had one right here, if that is his old house. It looks like it, too. Both of ‘em was two story houses and the big carriages and horses used to stop in between them. That was way back yonder when there was just two stores here. One of the stores was owned by a man by the name of Ben White. I can’t recollect who owned the other, but there was a fellow by the name of John Lowe that owned a tailor shop here.”
 
      Uncle Butler remembers distinctly that there were neighbors to the Gillams and Hacketts, who were named Creswell and Calhoun.
 
No Railroad Here
 
      At the time Uncle Butler lived in Greenwood there was no railroad through the town. Most of the town was in woods with the railroad running off from the town about a half mile.
 
      After visiting the site of General Gillam’s home, Uncle Butler was taken to the house built by Robert Gillam before the Civil War. Uncle Butler said that he was sure he remembered that house and that he had been there more than a hundred times during his life. He was especially interested in Jimmy and Robert Gillam, and asked everybody he talked with if they remembered either of General Gillam’s sons.
 
      One of Uncle Butler’s reasons for returning to South Carolina was to see whether he could find anybody related to him. He said that he had a sister named Rhoda who married the son of old “Cake” Billy, who in Uncle Butler’s opinion was one of the best ginger-cake bakers in the world. They lived in Ninety-Six, according to Uncle Butler and he hoped to find some of their children or grand-children still living. She had “about fifteen of them little devils,” Uncle Butler says.
 
      Uncle Butler was carried to Ninety-Six in order that he might inquire about Rhoda and her children. Through an old negro who is over eighty-five years of age, he learned that “Aunt” Rhoda died a few years before the World War, that none of her children are living in this part of the country and that all of them are probably dead. He learned however that a few years ago she had a granddaughter, who lived in Greenwood, but he was unable to find anyone who knew her.
 
Strikes The Trail
 
      “Lawd, I’ve struck the trail,” Uncle Butler said when he found the old negro who remembered Rhoda and Cake Billy’s boy. “Mister,” can you tell me anything about Rhoda’s children. I just want to see one of them. I ain’t seen none of them since the Insurrection between the North and South. I want to see one of Rhoda’s children.”
 
      He was disappointed because he couldn’t find any of his relatives, but he was pleased when he was told that “Aunt” Rhoda lived to be over a hundred and that one of her daughters, who died shortly after her mother’s death, lived to be eighty.
 
      After a hopeless search for some of his relatives, Uncle Butler wanted to hunt for the old Gillam plantation on the Saluda river, on which he stayed for a great many years. He talks about the old plantation often. It was here that he spent a great many years of his life before the Civil War.
 
      According to Uncle Butler, the Gillam plantation covered several hundred acres of land on the banks of the Saluda river about twelve miles from Greenwood. The house was about a mile from the river. It was only after questioning a great many persons that Uncle Butler finally found some one who remembered the old Gillam plantation on the Saluda river. Gen. James Gillam owned this plantation quite a few years before the Civil War, and few persons in the county remember hearing about General Gillam’s owning the plantation.
 
Visits Gillam Place
 
      When Uncle Butler learned that there was a house still standing on the plantation which is supposed to be the house built by General Gillam, he wanted to go and see it. He was very much pleased to hear that the old plantation about which he has talked for many years is just a few miles from Ninety-Six. That plantation, he said, was where he wanted to go. He wanted to see the old house in which he once lived.
 
      A few of the older residents of Ninety-Six told Uncle Butler that part of the plantation which was once by General Gillam, was sold by him to the Rev. W. W. [illegible line] War, is now owned by James T. Summers, Sr. This was the plantation to which Uncle Butler was taken as it was the home tract.
 
      On arriving at the plantation Uncle Butler looked it over. He was worried about the negro quarters. He said the house looked about like the old house, which used to be there, but there should be fifteen or sixteen negro houses on the plantation. He then pointed to a field and said there ought to be a row of negro houses there. Mr. Summers, who now owns the old plantation says that in plowing this field he has plowed up a great deal of broken chinaware and bricks. Evidently, at one time many years ago there was a row of houses where the field now lies. Uncle Butler then told about a spring that used to be on the plantation. After hearing this Mr. Summers told him that there was still a Sulphur spring that used to be on the plantation. Uncle Butler then pointed out the direction in which the spring should have been if the land once belonged to General Gillam. He was correct, then he pointed toward the Saluda river and toward Greenwood. His estimations were correct.
 
Sure of Place
 
      After looking the place over, Uncle Butler was sure that the plantation was the one on which he was a slave at one time; there could hardly be any doubt but that he at one time lived on this old plantation on the Saluda river. His statements that the old plantation ran down by the river, that the house sat about a mile from the river and that the plantation was something like twelve miles from Greenwood seems to place this old plantation as the one which he once lived.
 
      Uncle Butler was perfectly satisfied that the plantation on which Mr. Summers now lives was the plantation owned by General Gillam before the Civil War.
 
      In telling the story of his life, Uncle Butler said: “I was sent by the Gillam family to Columbia along about 1858 to learn the trade of shoe-maker. I learned to be an expert shoe-maker, and when the war came on, I was used by the Confederacy to make shoes for our soldiers. We was cut off from all the northern factories and we had to make our own shoes. I learned to make eight pair of shoes every day.”
 
      During the war Uncle Butler made shoes in the towns of Newberry, Greenwood, Columbia, and Hendersonville, N. C. He was sold to the Trenholms, prominent ship-builders of Charleston, S. C., a year or two before the Civil War ended. He was on the “Horse-shoe place” in Hendersonville, N. C., in the charge of Edward H. Trenholm, when the war ended.
 
Left After War
 
      Just as soon as the war ended, Uncle Butler left with his wife whose name was Susan, and his two children. He went to Georgia, and since that time he has never been back to South Carolina until his return a few days ago.
 
      Uncle Butler remembers a great many historic events that occurred around Greenwood and Ninety-Six in the early days. He remembers when the first train ran through upper South Carolina. Here is the story of that event: “Ole Marse took all of us to see the train when it come from Charleston. There was most five thousand people all around lookin’ for the train to come in. Way over there we heard it coming. Wh-o-o-o,  Wh-o-o-o The train’s a-coming, all the old women started yellin’. Pretty soon we saw it comin.’ A-bam-bam. A-bam-bam. Wh-o-o. Pretty soon it come up and stopped. One of the old women said, ain’t that thing tired?” Shucks that thing wasn’t tired. It didn’t know what tired was, did it?”
 
      Uncle Butler remembers the barbecue given in honor of Preston S. Brooks, on his return from Congress after his memorable clash with Senator Sumner. Here is Uncle Butler’s story about the fight in Congress and the barbeque: “Do you know what Preston Brooks done in Congress? Well, I can tell you. Sumner gave Preston Brooks the lie. What did Preston Brooks do? He took his gold-headed walking stick and walked across the halls of Congress until he found Sumner; then he noddled his head good. These South Carolinians will fight you. They’re just like a yellow jacket. If you make ‘em mad they pop you up right quick.”
 
Barbeque For Brooks
 
      When Preston Brooks come home from Congress there was a big barbeque at Ninety-Six for him. They had tables there for a long ways and there was more people there than I ever saw at any dinner in all my life. Why, there was enough bread left on the ground to ‘ve a hog for five years. That was some dinner—about the biggest they ever had in this part of the country.”
 
      He remembers Wade Hampton, having seen him in Columbia, while he was making shoes.
 
      After he had seen his old master’s grave and the plantation once owned by General Gillam, Uncle Butler said he was ready to go back to Georgia, but there was still one thing he wanted. He wanted to be buried under South Carolina soil. He said that if he can’t be buried here he wants some South Carolina soil sprinkled on his grave. For this reason Uncle Butler is carrying back to Georgia with him a box of dirt taken from the place [illegible line] to have been built. Uncle Butler says that he is ready to die and that he wants the dirt from old South Carolina with him.
 
      His whole mind now is centered on his earlier days; he hardly ever thinks of the future. He only talks about South Carolina and his old masters. He realizes that he hasn’t long to live, and he wants to be buried here; but the next best thing, he says, is to have some of the South Carolina soil sprinkled on his grave. He believes in the State of South Carolina and all its residents.—The Index-Journal, 6 May 1934.
 
May/June 2019 Quill
 
      We were first “introduced” to Wilson Butler when we were seeking interesting topics for Quill. Since that time, we have discovered that he was quite a remarkable individual. Uncle Wilson Butler was born on 10 March 1813 and was still alive and going strong in 1934—121 years later. A number of newspaper accounts and other documents were found on him. Two narratives were shared in the January/February 2019 Quill that revealed his desire to return to South Carolina after an absence of over 70 years. In the last issue (March/April 2019), his visit to Greenwood and Saluda Counties was discussed. In this Quill, we will share a variety of articles concerning Uncle Butler’s new found national fame, including a trip he made to the 1934 World’s Fair in Chicago.
 
EX-SLAVE, 121, AT HOME AGAIN
“Uncle Butler” Comes For Visit To South Carolina From Georgia
 
      COLUMBIA, May 5.—(AP)—“Uncle Butler,” aged negro who claims with apparent authenticity to be 121, displayed his third set of teeth today in a widespread grin at being “home” in South Carolina again.
 
      Butler, who said he was born in 1813 in what is now Greenwood county, flashed a wider smile than ever upon being photographed with Governor Blackwood at the state capitol.
 
      R. A. Sumner, one of two white men who drove the ante-bellum negro “home” from Nashville, Ga., said he lived in a small cabin there and refused to associate with Georgia negroes.
 
      “He’s a South Carolina negro and he’s always boasted of this state,” Sumner said. “He’s been homesick for it though he’s been away 70 years.”
 
      A trip to Greenwood—“why it’s uh big town now”—and through the Ninety Six district failed to disclose any living relatives, but the centenarian believed he located the old plantation where he was born about the time Andrew Jackson was defeating the British at New Orleans.
 
      Before returning to Georgia, the former slave carefully packed a box with South Carolina soil to be sprinkled “whe’evuh dey bury me.”—The Greenville News (Greenville, SC), 6 May 1934.
 
* * * * * * * * * *
Negro 120 Year Old
      Columbia.—“Uncle Butler,” who claims to be 120 years old, Friday visited the governor and A. S. Salley, secretary of the state historical society. He related incidents that occurred 108 years ago, and which Mr. Salley says are correct, as shown by records in his possession. “Uncle Butler” claims to have been born in 1813, on a plantation of Gen. William Butler, near the Saluda River.—The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, SC), 8 May 1934.
 
* * * * * * * * * *
Such A Door!
      Chicago, June 26—(US)—“Uncle Butler,” 121 years old and claimant of being the oldest living former slave, traveled all the way from Nashville, Ga., in a coach to see the world’s fair and nearly missed it today when he was shut in his room unable to fathom the mysteries of the door lock.
 
      It was an ordinary lock of the tumbler variety, but as “Uncle” Butler explained to Colonel M. S. Potter, Nashville lawyer, who brought the aged Negro here:
 
“Nevah have I seen such a door. Down where I live is all open like the heavens. City folks got funny dwellings.”
 
      “Uncle” Butler was born Wilson Butler, March 10, 1813, on a plantation of General William Butler in the Greenwood District of South Carolina, according to the records. Asked why he refused a berth on the trip here, he said:
 
      “Cause if the damn thing goes off the track I want to have my eyes open.”
 
      It was Butler’s first train ride. He served as slave for George L. Trenholm, Secretary of the Confederate Treasury, and three other families before he was freed at the end of the Civil War.—The Cincinnati Enquirer (Cincinnati, OH), 27 June 1934.
 
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“Uncle Butler” To Chicago
      “Uncle Butler,” the former slave who claims to be 121 years old and who visited Greenwood and Saluda about two months ago has gone on a trip to the Century of Progress Exposition in Chicago, according to the following A. P. dispatch from Chicago:
 
      CHICAGO, June 27.—(AP)—A former slave, 121 years old, was a guest at the World’s Fair today.
 
      He is “Uncle Will” Butler, who was brought from Nashville, Ga., in a day coach by Col. M. S. Potter for a two weeks’ stay.
 
      His utmost cherished possession was a Confederate soldier’s hat, preserved from the days when he was the slave of George L. Trenholm, secretary of the Confederate Treasury.
 
      The South Carolina Historical Society lists the date of his birth as March 10, 1813, on the plantation of Gen. William Butler.
 
      In his fifties when freed at the end of the Civil War, he is in good health, walks unassisted and has good sight and hearing.—The Index-Journal (Greenwood, SC), 28 June 1934.
 
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Uncle Butler, 121 Confesses Ten-Mile Walk Makes Him Sore
 
      ATLANTA, July 19.—(AP)—Uncle Butler is 121 years old and has seen plenty in his life-time, including the Century of Progress exposition at Chicago—but he sighs for the good old days “afore de war.”
 
      The aged negro says before the war in 1861 food was plentiful “and every settlement (the negro quarters on the plantations) was well taken care of by the master.”
 
      Uncle Butler is really Wilson Butler, and originally was the slave of Gen. William Butler and then of the general’s son, George Butler. He also belonged to General Gilliam of South Carolina and the Trenton [Trenholm] family of that state.
 
      Records of the South Carolina Historical society show that Uncle Butler was born March 10, 1813 in the Saluda district of South Carolina.
 
      His present employer and benefactor, Maro S. Potter, Nashville, Ga., lawyer, has just returned from the fair with Uncle Butler.
 
      The only thing that Uncle Butler cannot understand, says Potter, is the radio. It seems supernatural to the old negro and he believes the voices are imitation.
 
      For 101 years, Uncle Butler was a shoemaker, and he still shows an interest in the trade.
 
      Uncle Butler once was afflicted with a swelling in his right leg—and that is about all the sickness he has had. He says his leg bothers him now because if he walks eight or ten miles he is so sore the next day that he can’t walk more than two or three miles.
 
      The negro and Mr. Potter spent three weeks in Chicago. Now Mr. Potter is planning an airplane trip to Chicago with Uncle Butler.—The Miami News (Miami, FL), 19 July 1934.
 
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121-Year-Old Negro, Visiting Here, Sighs for Good Days ‘Befo’ de War’
 
      “I wish I were living again in the days before the Civil War.”
 
      This is what a 121-year-old former negro slave said while in Atlanta en route to his home at Nashville, Ga.
 
      He is Wilson Butler, familiarly known as Uncle Butler, and the authentic records of the South Carolina Historical Society say that he was born March 10, 1813, in the Saluda district in South Carolina.
 
      Originally Uncle Butler was the slave of General William Butler and then of the general’s son, George Butler. It was George Butler the old negro remembers best and the scenes he describes are of days of work and pleasure more than 100 years ago on “Marse Butler’s” plantation. He also belonged to General Gilliam, of South Carolina, and the Trenton [Trenholm] family of that state.
 
      Uncle Butler was a shoemaker during the War Between the States, and today he can make one of the finest pains of shoes that money can buy. For the last 70 years he has been in the service of the Potter family at Nashville.
 
      He has just returned from Chicago, where he was taken to “see the sights” by his present employer and benefactor, Colonel Maro S. Potter, a prominent Nashville lawyer, who, with Uncle Butler, is stopping at the Ansley hotel here.
 
      The 121-year-old negro was vastly impressed by what he saw at the World’s Fair in Chicago, but he seemed not surprised at most of it, Colonel Potter said. The only thing Uncle Butler cannot comprehend is the radio. He believes that the voices he hears over the radio are imitation and he doesn’t like to listen, for it seems too supernatural for him.
Best Days of All.
 
      “The best days I ever spent in my life were in the old days before the war. Then food was plentiful and every settlement (referring to negro quarters) was well taken care of by the master,” said Uncle Butler. He speaks excellent English but he can neither read nor write.
 
      “The Yankees say they freed the slaves but they did not. You know who did? Well, God did, and he made a million Yankees bite the dust for bringing the Ethiopians over here from Sudan in the first place.” Uncle Butler was absolutely sure of his facts and it wouldn’t do to contradict him. He was there.
 
      His mind is nimble and he is still healthy and robust. He hasn’t been ill in a life time. That is, an ordinary life time, but 102 years ago he had “white swelling” in his right leg and it crippled him. He says it bothers him now because if he walks eight or ten miles he is so sore the next day he can’t walk more than two or three miles.
 
      The profession he followed for about 101 years, shoemaking, still interests him. He made this reporter take off his store-bought shoe while he examined it. “But this isn’t hand made!” he exclaimed. He said his folks considered him the best shoemaker in the country.
 
Dislikes “Foreigners.”
 
      Uncle’s view on what’s wrong with the country was startling. “The thing that ails this country is the influx of foreigners,” he said. Uncle Butler says he knows, because he saw the south when it was being developed from sheer wilderness and has watched it keenly ever since. He is really intelligent and well informed despite his inability to read.
 
      Colonel Potter is attempting to get Uncle Butler to fly on an airplane to California this summer. He has just spent three weeks in Chicago and now he wants to go home, to Nashville. He hasn’t any folks that he knows about—they all scattered after the war in 1865. But he has practically adopted the Potter family, just as he did the Butlers and the Gilliams and the Trentons [Trenholms] when he was a slave.
 
      Death is not considered by Uncle Butler. Although he is one of the oldest men in the United States and perhaps the world, the fact that he may die doesn’t seem to enter his head. He’s always lived and expects to go right on doing it.—The Atlanta Constitution, 19 July 1934.
 
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Kitchen Poll Score Even Up and 16 Voters
Seven Favor Old Time Cookery, Seven for Modern and Two Don’t Care
 
      NEW YORK, Aug. 26.—(US)—The score stood even up today in the modern kitchen congress poll of America’s oldest citizens to determine whether they prefer the old time foods that mother used to make, or lean toward the new dishes that are prepared by pushing buttons and reading meters.
 
      Sixteen men and women, ranging in age from 100 to 122, sent in their opinions to the kitchen congress, which is to be held in Newark next month. Seven voted for the culinary methods of their distant youth, seven modern cookery is best, and two didn’t care much one way or the other.
 
      “Uncle Wilson” Butler, 122-year-old former slave who lives on the estate of Col. M. S. Potter at Nashville, Ga., voted for 1934 victuals in a letter which he dictated to his “marster” because he can neither read or write.
 
Proud of His Record
 
      “I take great pride,” said Uncle Wilson, “in stating to you that I have been most fortunate in having been raised and lived with the most historical families as well as the most learned that the south has ever produced.”
 
      Uncle Wilson then called attention to the backache he used to get in cooking over an open fireplace or outdoors, remarking that “There was no fancy cooking in those days.”
 
      “I spent several weeks in Chicago lately with my master and noticed many improvements in everything. Science, medicine and surgery has come to the front also.”—Great Falls Tribune, 27 August 1934.
 
      The rest of the articles found on Uncle Wilson Butler were in reference to the “Modern Kitchen.” The last one was dated 7 September 1934. It seemed as though Uncle Butler vanished as quickly as he appeared several months earlier. We continued to look for him, but to no avail. The two things we desired to find most were a photograph of him and his date of death. Last week, we managed to discover both! Newpapers.com is constantly updating their collection and in the St. Louis Post Dispatch, dated Sunday, 8 July 1934, there was a picture of Uncle Wilson Butler.
 
      The photo was taken of him at the Chicago World’s Fair. The caption reads: “RE MR. METHUSELAH--Here is “Uncle Will” Butler of Nashville, Ga., arriving at the Century of Progress Exposition. Being 120 years old, with sight and hearing practically unimpaired, he has witnessed two decades more than a century of progress.”
 
      Since we were fortunate enough to find a picture of him, we decided to look again for a death certificate. We discovered that Ancestry.com now has “Georgia, Deaths Index, 1914-1940.” We tried to find Wilson Butler listed, but with no luck. Then, we decided to look for him just by a birth and death date range, reasoning that not many people would live this long. We were wrong! There were 90 people in Georgia over the age of 100, who died in the 1930’s! Recorded among them was a William Butler. We are quite certain that this is our Wilson Butler.
 
      The death certificate described him as a 120-year-old black male and stated that he was born in South Carolina. He died in Nashville, Berrien County, Georgia on 28 December 1934. His cause of death was recorded as “old age. No Dr. [Doctor]. Died suddenly.” He was buried in the Collord [Colored] Cemetery, in Nashville, Ga. We could not find an obituary for him in any newspaper.
 
      Finding a photograph and death certificate for Wilson Butler gave us the closure we needed to feel like we did him justice in telling his story. He lived a long and remarkable life, and it is good to know that he received some recognition.
 
      He received only a few months in the limelight of the national press, but to us, his legacy was sealed in that short amount of time. His brief fame in 1934 allowed him to be rediscovered by us and we feel honored to have “met” him. Hopefully, Uncle Wilson Butler passed on with the contentment of having finally been able to revisit his old homeland, and was buried with his little container of South Carolina soil. May he rest in peace.

‘Willowbrook’ Cemetery At Edgefield Is Resting Place Of Many Famous Southerners Ancient Stones Mark Graves Of Some of Most Illustrious Names Of South
 By Hortense Woodson
 Extracted from The Greenville News, dated 5 January 1931
​
   The old village cemetery in Edgefield, “Willowbrook,” is a never-failing source of interest to lovers of the historic. Here rest men and women whose names are associated with the history of the state and nation. And the memory of whom will linger long after the slabs that mark their graves have crumbled.  The list of Edgefield’s illustrious dead includes statesmen, jurists, military leaders, preachers, doctors, and men of the every-day world who wrought worthily in their respective spheres.
      The Brooks square is remarkable for the number of distinguished men and women who sleep there:  Colonel Whitfield Brooks, of the state militia during the War of 1812, and his wife, Mary Parsons Carroll Brooks, formerly of Charleston.  The latter, after the death of her husband, moved to Ninety-Six and at the outbreak of the War Between the States, furnished all equipment for the company to which her sons belonged. She contributed largely to the building of the Episcopal church in Edgefield, and was also instrumental in building a church near her home at Ninety-Six.
BROOKS BURIED HERE
      A tall shaft bearing the seal of the Palmetto State, marks the grave of their son, Preston S. Brooks, born in Edgefield village August 6, 1819; elected to the State Legislature in 1844; elected captain of Company D, Palmetto Regiment, in  1846; served during the Mexican war; elected to Congress in 1853, and died in Washington City, January 27, 1857.  Preston S. Brooks it was who caned Sumner on the floor of the National House of Representatives, because the latter made a disparaging remark in regard to A. P. Butler, a kinsman of Brooks.
      Another son is Whitfield Butler Brooks, who was born in the village of Edgefield on December 28, 1825, and died in the City of Mexico on October 2, 1847.  He engaged in battles at Vera Cruz, Contreras and Cherubusco, and the inscription on his tomb reads:
      “At the call of his country he marched with the Palmetto regiment to the theatre of war and on the bloody field of Cherubusco received a mortal wound while gallantly charging the enemy.  On the field of battle, with the momentary expectation of death, his only  question was, ‘Have I discharged my duty?’  The reply of his gallant general is his best epitaph:  ‘Yes, like a man; you are an honor to yourself, your family and your country.’”
      Two other sons of Col. and Mrs. Whitfield Brooks, who were captains in the War Between the States were John Hampden Brooks and James C. Brooks, father of the late Gen. U. R. Brooks, former comptroller general and clerk of the Supreme court for many years.
      In the Brooks section also is the grave, unmarked [it is now], of Gen. R. G. M. Dunovant, who served as brigadier-general with a commission from Governor Pickens at the outbreak of the War Between the States. He organized the South Carolina Army and was in charge the first three months of 1861, later serving under General Beauregard as lieutenant-colonel, in command on Fort Moultrie during the bombardment of Fort Sumter.  He married a sister of Preston S. Brooks. 
PICKENS SQUARE
      A cement wall, blackened with age—as are the slabs marking the graves—surrounds the plot known as the Pickens square.  Here South Carolina’s Confederate war governor, Francis W. Pickens, sleeps his last long sleep.  Near his grave is that of his second wife, Marion Antoinette Dearing (his first wife, Eliza Simkins, being buried at “Cedar Fields,” the Simkins graveyard); and between them, the grave of their daughter, Jennie Pickens Whaley.
      Governor Pickens’ third wife, the gracious Lucy Holcombe—noted in the United States and Europe for her beauty and charm—sleeps in an unmarked grave on the square.  And above another grave, the single inscription, “Douschka,” tells the story of a sparkling young woman, born in a Russian palace while her father was ambassador to that country—Douschka, name by the Czar of Russia—who grew up at the family home, “Edgewood,”  near the village; who donned a “Red Shirt” during the perilous days of reconstruction and rode forth as a modern Joan of Arc.  Douschka married Dr. George Dugas of Augusta, Ga., and died at 25 years of age.  Her two daughters, Mrs. Dollie Sheppard and Mrs. Lucy Dugas Tillman, now live in Washington, D. C.
      One of the most interesting graves is that of Edmund Bacon, the “Ned Brace” of Longstreet’s “Georgia Scenes,” whose epitaph was written by Judge Augustus Longstreet.   Edmund Bacon was born in Augusta, Ga., April 17, 1776, and during the visit of George Washington to that city in 1791, Bacon, who was a student at the Richmond Academy, only 15 years of age, was given the privilege of making a speech of welcome to the president. 
      “This delicate and honorable task was so well performed,” a historian writes, “that it attracted the special notice and attention of the great man, and induced him to give the youthful orator a handsome present of several law books." ” Judge Bacon was considered the finest lawyer at the Edgefield bar in after years.
      His wife, Eliza Fox Bacon, is buried here, and while her grave is unmarked, it is said that she lived to be 105 years old. Their son, Judge John E. Bacon, who grave is nearby, was a son-in-law to Governor Pickens, and went as his secretary when Pickens was United States minister to Russia.  Later, John E. Bacon was sent by the United States as minister to Buenos Aires.
MOTHER AND SON
      In this cemetery also, a mother and son rest together in the same gave.  They are Mrs. Pierce M. Butler and her son, Elbert Butler.  Mrs. Butler having died when the news of her son’s death on the battlefield reached her.  One son had already been killed in the War Between the States, and previously her husband had lost his life while commanding the Palmetto Regiment as colonel during the Mexican war.  Colonel Butler had served his state as governor, and his body was brought in state to Columbia for burial.
      Another distinguished member of the Butler family buried here is General Calbraith Butler, who had the distinction of serving as brigadier-general in two wars. The War Between the States and Spanish-American war and he was for years United States senator from South Carolina.
      The grandfather of the present United States Senator, C. L. Blease, also is buried in this cemetery.  The inscription on his monument reads:  “Thomas Wainwright Blease, born in Liverpool, England, June 8, 1796, died May 31, 1837, leaving a widow and seven children.”
      The only vault in the cemetery holds the remains of the first Mrs. John E. Bacon, who was Pawnee Butler, daughter of Governor and Mrs. Pierce M. Butler.  About the vault was built a small frame structure, within which was placed a trunk, dolls, toys, and a large number of sea shells which had been the property of the deceased when she was a child.  For years, children peered in to see these curiosities, which have disappeared within recent years, and the structure has fallen into decay.
      Among other illustrious personages whose dust lies here are Chancellor Hugh Wardlaw, a member of the Secession convention who wrote the Ordinance of Secession; Gen. William C. Moragne, brilliant writer (editor of The Edgefield Advertiser for years) and orator, in addition to his military service; Col. Simeon Christie, Col. Joseph Abney, Col. Elbert Bland, Col. Thomas G. Bacon, Col. William P. Butler—all with the bona fide military title of “colonel,” and brilliant members of the Edgefield bar; and Judge John S. Jeter, who was likewise distinguished as a jurist.
“UNKNOWN DEAD”
      One Revolutionary soldier buried here is Rev. Joseph Moore, pastor of the Methodist church, who died in 1851 at the age of 84 years.  A large number of Confederate soldiers lie there, awaiting the last roll call, and a shaft in one section is dedicated to 37 “unknown dead.”  Soldiers of the Mexican war and of the Spanish-American war also rest there, and two soldiers of the last great war, Warren Hill and Frank Jones, were brought to their native Edgefield for burial and sleep in the village cemetery.
      Here, too, is buried one Charles McGregor, a native of Dunbartonshire, Scotland, born July 24, 1808, died May 21, 1857.
      Above one grave floats a tiny United States flag a mute symbol denoting the fact that here rests the granddaughter of Francis Scott Key, author of America’s national anthem—Mary Lloyd Pendleton Abney.  Mrs. Abney and her husband, the late John Rutledge Abney, although residents of New York, were buried in Edgefield,  Mr. Abney’s native county, at their own request.
      Many, many others,  who served their day and generation well, sleep there—where stately magnolias with their creamy blossoms, keep watch above the marble tombs; where tall cedars waft their sighs to the breeze; where tendrils of ivy cling protectingly over the mouldering stones.  Here they sleep until the Resurrection morn.  And above them, sweet-throated birds chant a continuous requiem.