Tombstone Tuesday: Butler-Caldwell Monument at Oakland Cemetery

Sisters Clarissa Boalt Butler and Susan Boalt Caldwell are buried with their husbands in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Mr. and Mrs. Butler's names are inscribed on the side of the monument which faces east, and the Caldwell inscriptions are on the side of the monument which faces west. Susan and Clarissa were daughters of John and Ruth Boalt, early settlers of the Firelands. Samuel B. Caldwell was born in Washington County, New York in 1792, and he died in Sandusky on July 11, 1873.



According to A STANDARD HISTORY OF ERIE COUNTY, OHIO, by Hewson L. Peeke, S. B. Caldwell was an early Associate Judge of the Common Pleas Court, and he served as Sandusky's Mayor in the 1830's. Susan Boalt was the second wife of Judge S. B. Caldwell, his first wife Mary having died in 1825. Mrs. Susan Boalt Caldwell died on May 7, 1886. An obituary for Mrs. Caldwell, which appeared in volume 4 of the Firelands Pioneer, stated that the characteristics by which Mrs. Caldwell were known were "her domestic virtues, benevolent spirit, and universal kindness."








S. W. Butler was a prominent commission merchant in Sandusky. He and Mrs. Clarissa Boalt Butler were the parents of five sons. (Sometimes Clarissa's first name is listed as Clara.) Their son John M. Butler married the daughter of Civil War financier Jay Cooke. Another son, Jay Caldwell Butler, served in the 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Jay's letters to and from home were arranged in book form, by Jay's son, Watson Hubbard Butler. You can read about the book LETTERS HOME at the Sandusky History website. S.W. Butler died in Sandusky on August 7, 1896. Mrs. Clarissa Boalt Butler passed away on May 15, 1897.A letter from Judge Caldwell, in which he invites S.B. and Clara Butler to Thanksgiving dinner in 1846, is pictured at the Sandusky History website.

Jay C. Butler, 1885-1980

According to the book GENEALOGY OF THE BARNEY FAMILY IN AMERICA, by Eugene Dimon Preston, (Barney Family Historical Association, 1990), Jay Caldwell Butler was born on October 22, 1885 to George Reber Butler and his wife, the former Susan Caldwell Barney. He was named after his father's brother of the same name, Jay Caldwell Butler. The elder Jay Caldwell Butler was a veteran of the Civil War who had died in July of 1885. In the 1930 U.S. Census, Jay C. Butler, the son of George and Susan Butler, was living with his wife Helen in Cleveland, Ohio, and was working in the real estate business. Jay Caldwell Butler died on December 30, 1885. He was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Helen Butler died in 1981, and she too was buried at Oakland Cemetery.

Leontine E. Butler

At the time of her death, Leontine E. Butler was the only child of Sandusky residents Jay C. Butler and his wife Elizabeth Hubbard Butler. An article in the September 5, 1877 issue of the Sandusky Register reported that Leontine E. Butler died at Mackinac, Michigan on Monday, September 3rd, at the age of nine months. She was buried in Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery. Leontine's father, Jay Caldwell Butler was a Veteran of the Civil War. His letters were published in 1930. A picture of Leontine's mother and younger sister can be seen at the Sandusky History website.

Watson Hubbard Butler

Watson Hubbard Butler, born November 19, 1874, was the son of Jay Caldwell Butler and Elizabeth Hubbard Butler. Watson's father was Captain of Company B, 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. Watson's mother was the daughter of Watson Hubbard, a Sandusky business man who had lumber businesses in Michigan and in Sandusky. Watson Hubbard Butler was named for his maternal grandfather.

In 1930, Watson Hubbard Butler had his father's Civil War letters published privately. The book was entitled LETTERS HOME.For many years, Watson Hubbard Butler was the president of the Percheron Society of America. Mr. Butler had a large stock farm on South Hayes Avenue in Erie County, before he moved to Franklin County, Ohio. His farm near Columbus was called Woodside Farms. Watson H. Butler was always a lover of horses, according to his obituary found in the 1944 OBITUARY NOTEBOOK at the Sandusky Library. One of the horses owned by Butler was "Sir Laet."

Watson Hubbard Butler passed away on July 19, 1944, in Blendon Township, Franklin County, Ohio. His daughter Anne Hubbard Butler had died before him in 1926. (Anne was the daughter of Watson H. Butler and his first wife, the former Susan Quay.) Mr. Butler was survived by his wife Miriam C. Butler of Columbus and a daughter Elizabeth H. Butler, from a former marriage.He was buried in the family lot at Sandusky's Oakland Cemetery.

Frank B. Butler

Frank B. Butler was one of five sons born to Samuel W. Butler and Clarissa Boalt Butler. As a young man, Samuel settled in Venice, Ohio, where he operated a grist mill. Later, he moved to Sandusky, where he operated a large commission business. (See article 18 of Helen Hansen's book AT HOME IN EARLY SANDUSKY to read more about the Butler family and their former home on Wayne Street in Sandusky.)

For several years, Frank Butler worked as a cashier in his brother's business, George R. Butler & Co. The firm manufactured doors and sashes. Frank's brother John M. Butler married Sarah Cooke, a daughter of Civil War financier Jay Cooke. Frank was mentioned in the book entitled LETTERS HOME. During his service in the Civil War, Jay Caldwell Butler wrote letters home, and his son later compiled the letters written to and received by Jay Caldwell Butler. In his letters, Jay told of how he missed his brothers back at home in Sandusky.

After a lengthy illness, Frank B. Butler died in Manitou Springs, Colorado, on January 25, 1899. He had gone west in hope of improving his health. An obituary for Frank Butler, from the January 31, 1899 Sandusky Register. reported on Frank Butler's funeral: "The deceased was well and favorably known and many friends attended..." Rev. Claude Kelly conducted the funeral service, and burial was at Oakland Cemetery. Mrs. Anabel Butler died in 1912, and she is also buried at Oakland.

Anne Hubbard Butler's Memorial Monument by Tiffany Studios

Anne Hubbard Butler was the adopted daughter of Watson Hubbard Butler and his wife, the former Susan Quay. Anne was born in 1918. Her maternal grandfather was Senator Matthew Quay of Pennsylvania. Anne's paternal grandfather was Jay Caldwell Butler, a Sandusky native who was the Captain of Company B, 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry, during the Civil War. Anne Hubbard Butler's mother, Susan Quay Butler, died when Anne was only six years old. Sadly, Anne passed away at the age of eight, following an episode of whooping cough, on March 25, 1926. Anne's funeral was held at the home of her grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth Hubbard Butler. The following article about the memorial for Anne Hubbard Butler appeared in the January 1, 1927 issue of the Sandusky Register.

FINE MEMORIAL IS PLACED IN CEMETERY HERE

A beautiful statuary, white Vermont marble headstone, noted for its simplicity of line and its unusual fineness of design, has recently been placed in Oakland Cemetery to mark the last resting place of Anne Hubbard Butler. The beauty of the memorial has attracted much admiring attention.

At the top of the front of the stone there is a sculptured cherub head, below which is an all-over design of delicate Easter lillies exquisitely carved in low relief, and across the center of this carving is the inscription:

"Anne Hubbard Butler
1918-1926"

which stands out in high relief, below which, at the base of the stone, is carved the text, "A little child shall lead them"

The back of the stone is without ornamental carving, deriving its beauty from the richness of the marble itself, on which appears a further inscription:

"Adored Daughter of Watson Hubbard Butler and Susan Quay Butler."

The memorial was designed, modeled, and made by the artist and sculptors of Ecclesiastical department of the Tiffany Studios of New York City, under the personal direction of its president and director, Louis C. Tiffany.