Local History: The Pioneer Profile of Elisha Butler
- Terri
- Aug 1
- 10 min read
Updated: Aug 6
Building his initial cabin on the northern side of Salt Creek, Elisha Butler went on to develop land in the area that would later be known as DeWitt County. Along with several business partners, Butler purchased government land, made enhancements, and then sold the land to settlers. Some of the well-known homesteads in DeWitt County were originally owned by Butler.
Elisha Butler
Most people with an interest in local history have heard about the first settlers in what would become DeWitt County. Widow Lucinda Shugart and her sons Zion and Edom, along with Elisha Butler and his wife Mary Ann built a cabin on the north side of Salt Creek in October of 1824 in what was, at the time, Fayette County. They were squatters, which has a negative connotation today, but back then, pioneers were often unable to purchase land from the government because the initial land survey had not yet been completed. It was common practice to stake a claim until proper ownership could be obtained. They weren’t settlers in the true sense of the word; rather, they were holding a place for John Coppenbarger, who brought his family the following spring. Zion Shugart soon married a Glenn girl and moved to Putnam County near her father. Edom was just 14 when he arrived here and eventually purchased a farm in Texas Township, but then moved on, ending up in Nebraska. You could say their mother truly settled here – she married a man in Texas Township, then died just three years later and is buried at Hayse Cemetery close to the location of that first cabin.
Elisha and Mary Ann Butler, though, moved back to what is now Sangamon County, where they had lived before. There are several accounts of Elisha’s journey to Illinois and his marriage to Mary Ann, some of which don’t quite add up. Mary Ann was the daughter of Jacob Coppenbarger who had arrived in what is now Sangamon County with his large family sometime before 1820. He owned a parcel of land east of what is now Springfield and is listed in the 1820 US Federal Census there. His oldest son John was married to Matilda Shugart, sister of Zion and Edom.
Elisha Butler’s early life is a puzzle. He somehow became associated with the Cantrell family in Ohio. (Please note that this family’s descendants spelled their surname differently, with the Sangamon County faction being Cantrall and the DeWitt County counterpart being Cantrell. Anyone who went to grade school in Kenney surely remembers Mildred Cantrell who taught second grade for many years.) Levi Cantrell came to Sangamon (then Madison) County in the fall of 1818 where he encountered the Coppenbargers. Elisha Butler was traveling with Levi and his large family, though their relationship is unknown. Levi was not quite three when his father died, and it has been written that he was eventually bound out to a tanner who was cruel toward him. Even in his old age, Levi would show people the scars left by his master so long ago. He ran away at age 14 to become his own master. There is not the slightest hint who Elisha Butler’s father might be, and I wonder if he, too, was orphaned, and Levi took him under his wing. That, however, is complete speculation, so don’t write it down!
Apparently, there was a group of land surveyors camping near the Coppenbarger settlement, and Elisha wanted to work with them. They said he was too young, but the Coppenbargers agreed to allow him to stay with them until he reached the acceptable age. (Levi Cantrell continued north to the other side of the Sangamon River and settled in a place where the village of Cantrall would later be named after him.) Elisha was born in 1802, so he would have been 16 then. I have no idea what the age requirement was for a government surveyor at that time – 16, perhaps? Elisha wouldn’t have turned 16 until mid-December. At any rate, I would bet that he did eventually work with the surveyors, and that is how he became acquainted with the terrain in what is now Tunbridge Township. (Speculation again – don’t take it to the bank!) The original survey of that township was submitted to the land office, then in Vandalia, on 19 Feb 1822. As you can see, there is a LOT of prairie, but there are also quite a few acres of timber, the preferred real estate in the early days. The light meandering line on the map depicts Salt Creek, and the darker line represents the outer reaches of the timber surrounding it.
One account of the history of DeWitt County says that Levi Cantrell and Elisha Butler happened upon the Coppenbargers in (now) DeWitt County and that Elisha and Mary Ann Coppenbarger were the first couple married here. We know the first part of that account is not accurate, and the second part is questionable. Elisha and Mary Ann were surely husband and wife before striking out to create a settlement, though I’ve searched high and low for a record of their marriage without luck. I can’t imagine that Jacob Coppenbarger would allow his daughter to leave home unwed, though she turned 17 on 21 Sep 1824, the age of consent. She, Elisha and the Sugarts built that first cabin in October. A letter written by Edom Shugart many years later as well as a biographical profile of their son George both describe them as husband and wife when they came here. Zion Shugart’s marriage record of 1 Jan 1826 was registered in Sangamon County, probably because the county seat of Fayette County (that we were then) was in Perryville. (Perryville is now a ghost town that was located south of Vandalia.) DeWitt County wasn’t established until 1839, and no record could be found for Elisha and Mary Ann in Clark, Bond, Madison, Fayette, Tazewell, Shelby or Macon county.
Once John Coppenbarger (Mary Ann’s brother) arrived with his family in the spring of 1825, Elisha and Mary Ann removed to Sangamon County. Son George’s profile states they built the third cabin in what is now Springfield, though that doesn’t necessarily mesh with the history of Springfield. It’s just as likely that he built a cabin at Cantrall amongst his old friends. It is believed he worked as a shoe maker during this time. He and Mary Ann had a son named John, who died in infancy, and another son named William. By September of 1829, they had returned to DeWitt County (then Macon) where their son George Washington Butler was born. (George liked to brag that he was the first male white child born in DeWitt County. The first white child, a female, was Nancy Marvel in 1827.)
Elisha soon started buying government land, making improvements, then selling it to new settlers. Many well-known homesteads were originally owned by Elisha Butler or by him and an associate. For example, Elisha and George Coppenbarger (Mary Ann’s brother) bought 80 acres of land in section 7, Tunbridge Township, then sold it to Andrew Wallace, patriarch of a well-known DeWitt County family. Elisha later bought the 80 acres next to that and sold it to William Randolph for cash and a wagon. The Randolph family lived there for several generations, and it is the location of Randolph Cemetery. In 1834, he sold 80 acres to Mahlon Hall in section 33 in Barnett Township. This parcel evolved into “Old Hallsville,” and the Old Hallsville school was eventually built across the road to the south. Elisha bought 80 acres with Mason Paine in section 12, Tunbridge Township, where they laid out part of it in the village of Franklin in 1836. Unfortunately, Paine died later that year, leaving Elisha the sole owner, and he soon sold his interest in the little town as well as the 25 acres surrounding Franklin and the 35 acres of the original parcel lying north of Salt Creek, across from Franklin. That would eventually be the location of Pastime Park, though many years later. Franklin never took off and eventually dwindled into a ghost town.
The Butler family lived on section 35 in Barnett Township. Elisha purchased 80 acres of government land there in 1833 and another 80 acres adjoining it to the north in 1834. (Those are the dates on the government-issued certificates, but he likely took physical possession of that land long before that.) Both these parcels were listed in his sons’ names, which I’m pretty sure was illegal. Generally speaking, one had to be 21 years of age to purchase government land, though there were some exceptions for younger people. William and George would have been between the ages of 4 and 6 and did not fit the criteria for age requirement exceptions. I can’t figure out what Elisha had to gain by putting these two parcels in his sons’ names unless it was to assure Mary Ann that he wouldn’t sell their home out from under them. Here is an image of the 1833 certificate:
All of these properties plus a few more were located in the timber except one.
The Butler family appears in the 1830 Federal Census in (then) Macon County. The age categories are as one might expect; 2 males under age 5 (William and George), one male age 20-30 (Elisha, 28) and one female age 20-30 (Mary Ann, 23). Mysteriously, it shows the total household as 5 persons, not four, and is marked with one “deaf and dumb” person over the age of 25. In the 1840 Census, the household lists 5 boys under age 15, one male in his 30’s (Elisha), one female in her 30’s (Mary Ann) and one female in her 50’s. Again, one person over 25 who is “deaf and dumb,” which must be this mysterious female in her 50’s. It’s not Mary Ann’s mother – could it be Elisha’s? In all, Elisha and Mary Ann had seven sons and two daughters, but three died in infancy. Mary Ann died in June of 1846, and the circumstances of her death are in question. One popular story is that she was tending to some Indians nearby who had some variety of “spotted fever” (could be a couple different diseases) and she contracted the illness herself. Her son George, however, many years later indicated that she died in childbirth. With no official death records from that era, it’s impossible to say for sure. Just six months after Mary Ann’s death, the oldest son, William, was killed at Camargo, Mexico, in the Mexican War.
Elisha, meanwhile, had developed a taste for alcohol and fell out of favor with the Coppenbargers and the community at large. It is said that Mary Ann’s family didn’t allow Elisha to attend his own wife’s funeral. (Mary Ann is buried at the Hayse / Coppenbarger Cemetery, while Elisha was laid to rest at Old Union.) Elisha himself died 22 December 1847, just a year and a half after Mary Ann. His demise is also debatable, with one account being death due to pneumonia and George stating he died from alcohol use. Either one could be true. (Speaking of George, he was quite the interesting subject, He might just appear in a future profile!)
Elisha’s probate record is on file at the DeWitt County Genealogical Society, and it held some surprises. For one, he married again during the year and a half he was a widower! Just like his marriage to Mary Ann, I was unable to find a record for this marriage. Her name was Hannah, and as his widow, it was her right to administer his estate. (He apparently didn’t think he was going to die soon, because he did not leave a will.) Hannah relinquished this right, as shown in this document:
Hannah soon remarried Truman Mason and moved away. That marriage is on file in DeWitt County, 27 December 1849.
At the time of Elisha’s death, his children were all still minors, with the oldest being George, who was 18. The court appointed Robert F. Barnett as administrator of Elisha’s estate, per Hannah’s request. They also appointed John J. McGraw as guardian of George. This does not mean he took George into his household; rather, a guardian’s duty was to look after a minor’s financial interests until he or she came of age. The younger children, Elisha Jr., Peter, Levi, and Eliza Jane fell under the guardianship of Mary Ann’s brother John Coppenbarger.
The final document in Elisha’s probate file has something to do with a land deal. This petition to the court is written by the attorney representing the Butler heirs, one C. H. Moore. This would be fairly early in his career, long before he moved into the house now known as The Homestead. I can’t make out the entire document, but it mentions William and the “act of Congress passed Feb. 11, 1847,” which granted 160 acres of government land to Mexican War soldiers. Since William died in the war, Elisha, being his next of kin, was entitled to the land, but he died before that process could be completed. Therefore, right of ownership would pass to his children. See if you can read it:
Elisha’s tombstone at Old Union Cemetery has been cleaned, but is leaning badly and needs attention. The only known record of his birth is the date engraved here. The date of death is incorrect – he died in 1847, as evidenced by his probate record. Clearly, Elisha Butler was a complicated man. In my opinion, he should be remembered for his contribution to the early development of DeWitt County.
Sources:
DeWitt County Probate Records
DeWitt County Land Records
DeWitt County Marriage Records
Portrait and Biographical Album of DeWitt and Piatt Counties, Ill., Chapman Bros.,
Chicago 1891
The Cantrell Family, A Biographical Album and History, Carmi G. Cantrell, Illinois
State Register Printing House, Springfield, 1898
Terri Lemmel was born and raised in DeWitt County near Kenney. Upon completing her education at Clinton High School, she lived in Bloomington for several years before returning to Clinton in 1990. Her interest in genealogy was piqued in the mid-90s when she found unidentified obituaries in her late grandmother's scrapbook that family members could not identify. While she initially dabbled in the subject, it wasn't until her retirement in 2018 that she jumped in with both feet. Terri joined the Genealogical Society and has been serving as its President since 2022. Research is a passion of hers, and there are lots of interesting stories to uncover! You can find Terri in the DeWitt County Genealogical Society room at the Vespasian Warner Public Library every Thursday completing research and helping others with their family and local history research.
To learn more about the DeWitt County Genealogical Society, feel free to reach out to them via phone at 217-935-5174, email at dewittcgs@gmail.com, their website, or their Facebook page.
The Vespasian Warner Library, located at 310 N. Quincy St. in Clinton, IL, features an extensive collection of local history and archives. To learn more, visit our Local History Page on the website or stop by in person! We are always excited to showcase our local history resources and discuss DeWitt County's local history.