The only land owned by James M. Butler and Amanda Bishop that has been found recorded is in Walker Co. AL. James M. Butler entered this land January 5, 1857. He received a land grant for 80 acres in Walker Co. on March 1, 1858. They acquired 80 additional acres that were granted to John Cargile on March 1, 1858. They sold the total 160 acres shortly afterwards on February 27, 1860 to Noah and Mary Ann Parris. It is believed that this is the time that the Butler family left Walker Co. AL and moved to Franklin County near Tuscumbia, AL. For some reason, the deed transfer was not recorded until January 2, 1882 when the land was resold.
Click here for a map that shows the location of the land grants given to James M. Butler and John Cargile. This information was taken from the book, Walker County Alabama Ancestral Homesteads, published by Bill and Sue Tubbs of Jasper, Alabama. To purchase this book, please go to the Tubb's web site. The Tubb's have published similar books for several other Alabama counties.
In the 1860 census, Noah and Mary Ann Parris are living in nearby Fayette Co. AL adjoining Patrick Henry Butler and Mary Ann Butler Daniel. The records at the Bureau of Land Management tell us that Noah Parris received a land grant in Fayette Co. AL on December 1, 1859. His grant was in section 33 of Township 14-S, Range 10-W while James M. Butler's land grant was in section 8 of Township 14-S, Range 9-W. Simple math tells us that in 1860, James M. Butler lived about seven miles from his brother Patrick Henry Butler and his sister Mary Ann Butler Daniel. Their mother was living in the James Daniel household with her daughter.
George Handley, whose sons would later marry Patrick Henry Butler's daughters, received land grants in section 2 and section 3 of Township 16-S, Range 9-W in Fayette Co. AL. This would put him about 11 miles from James M. Butler and 10 miles from Patrick Henry Butler in 1860.
