Jerry and Linda Butler

John Wesley Butler was born in 1840 in Alabama as the second child of James M. Butler and Sarah Crawford. He moved to Winston Co. MS around 1847 along with the James M. Butler family. John's Mother died after his brother, William was born in 1852. In 1857, John moved with his father and step-mother Amanda Bishop to Walker Co. AL.

In 1860, he moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama and established a household with his new bride, Nancy Ann Dukes. John and Nancy had nine surviving children: Mary Jane, Nancy Andelite, John Wesley Jr., James Emmitt, Andrew W., Sara E., Jasper Henry, Ader and Tinnie.

John Wesley and Nancy made their way with their family north through Alabama into Tennessee. They lived for a while in Decatur Co. TN and Obion Co. TN and settled in Stoddard Co. MO before 1880. They, most likely, traveled this route with other family members who were making the journey from Alabama through Tennessee to southeast Missouri/northeast Arkansas. They moved to Paragould, AR some time in the 1880s. While John and Nancy stayed in Paragould, Emmitt, Andrew and Jasper moved to St. Louis, MO with the remainder of their adult children moving to southeast Missouri.

While John probably farmed at times, it cannot be determined exactly what his occupation was during his lifetime. The later generations felt he must have been a storekeeper or other such clerical job.

John and Nancy lived their remaining years in Paragould. Nancy died in 1906 and John died in 1916. They are buried in Wood's Chapel Cemetery in Greene Co. AR.

The descendants of this pioneering family are proud of the tenacity and fortitude they showed in traveling by covered wagon to forge westward and explore new country.

Source: Millie Wyatt, History & Families of Greene County, Arkansas, Turner Publishing Company; Gary Butler; 1850 census, Winston Co. MS; 1860 census, Tuscaloosa Co. AL; 1880 census, Stoddard Co. MO; 1900 census, Greene Co. AR; 1910 census, Greene Co. AR; Mytrice Butler death certificate.