Patrick Henry Butler is the son of Christopher Columbus Butler and Mahala Cole. He was born in Shelby Co. AL in 1826 after his parents moved there from Georgia about 1819. When Patrick was four years old, he moved with his parents to adjoining Coosa Co. AL. About 1848, he married Agnes Terry Daniel, daughter of Thomas Daniel. In 1852, they adopted Harriet Catherine Butler, daughter of Patrick's brother Russell Benjamin, when Harriet's mother died. Patrick and Agnes' adopted daughter, Harriett is their oldest surviving child.
By 1860 Patrick and Agnes had moved to Fayette Co. AL. They lived next door to Patrick's sister Mary Ann who had probably married Agnes's brother, James Daniel. Patrick's mother Mahala Cole Butler is living with Mary Ann and James Daniel. About ten miles away in adjoining Walker Co., Patrick's brother James is living on a land grant that he received in 1854.
Patrick served in both the Confederate and the Union Army during the Civil War. The 1900 census record lists him as a "pensioner" indicating that he received a pension for this service. His military service is detailed in a separate page on this web site.
Around 1870, Patrick and his brother James moved their families north into Lauderdale Co. AL. George Handley also moved from Fayette Co. about this same time and may have traveled with the Butler's north. George Handley is in Lauderdale Co. by 1870. By 1880, Patrick and his family are living in Lauderdale Co. while James and his family have moved further north to Decatur Co. TN.
At some point, Patrick and Agnes moved to a 100 acre farm in the seventh civil district of Wayne Co. TN. They raised seven surviving children who married and blessed Patrick and Agnes with numerous descendants. By 1900, in their seventies, Patrick and Agnes are living with their youngest surviving daughter Elizabeth Blasingame in Wayne Co. TN. Agnes died in 1903 and Patrick in 1908. They are both buried at the Mt. Pleasant Cemetery near Cypress Inn in Wayne Co. TN.