Butler-Huntington-Smith family papers

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Description: The Butler, Huntington, Smith, Cooke, and Clinch families were united through intermarriage and included prominent lawyers, architects, doctors, judges, politicians, scientists, and land owners hailing from New York City, Long Island, Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Marblehead, Stockbridge and Worcester, Massachusetts. This collection spans multiple generations and consists of mostly 19th and 20th century family correspondence, financial and legal documents, diaries, writings, scrapbooks, personal miscellany, photographs and genealogical research. The papers reflect the personal, social, economic, and professional histories of these related families.
Names: Butler family (Creator)
Dates / Origin: Date Created: 1734 - 1991
Library locations: Manuscripts and Archives Division; Shelf locator: MssCol NYGB 18243
Topics: Butler, Charles; Butler, Charles Edwards, 1818-1897; Butler, Lawrence; Haight, Sarah Rogers; McKim, Charles Follen, 1847-1909; Stewart, Alexander Turney, 1803-1876; White, Stanford, 1853-1906; McKim, Mead, and White; Architects; Doctors; Lawyers; Europe -- Description and travel; Lowell (Mass.); Massachusetts -- Genealogy; Massachusetts -- Social conditions -- 19th century; New York (State) -- Genealogy; New York (State) -- Social life and customs -- 19th century; New York (State) -- Social life and customs -- 20th century; Real property -- Massachusetts; Real property -- New York (State) -- Long Island; Real property -- New York (State) -- New York
Genres: Account books; Architectural drawings; commonplace books; Deeds; Diaries; ledgers (account books); Correspondence; Documents
Notes: Biographical/historical: The Butler, Huntington, Smith, Cooke, and Clinch families were united through intermarriage and included prominent lawyers, architects, doctors, judges, politicians, scientists, and land owners hailing from New York City, Long Island, Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Marblehead, Stockbridge and Worcester, Massachusetts. Charles E. Butler (1818-1897) was born in Virginia and moved with his family to New York City in 1828 at the age of ten. He received most of his formal education in New York, practiced law, and became a partner at the prestigious firm of Butler and Evarts, later Butler, Evarts, and Southmayd. At the age of 40, Butler retired to devote himself entirely to his estate, Linwood, at Stockbridge, Massachusetts, but soon became restive and returned to his legal practice in New York. He entered full retirement two decades later. He married twice. His first wife Louisa Clinch, died in childbirth with their 6th child in 1852. In 1855, he married Susan Sedgwick. They had three children who all died in infancy or childhood. Prescott Hall Butler (1848-1901) was the son of Charles E. Butler (above) and Louisa Clinch Butler. He attended Harvard University, became a lawyer, and entered into his father's firm. He married Cornelia Smith (1846-1915), the daughter of Sarah Nicoll Clinch (1823-1890) and John Lawrence Smith (1816-1889), a prominent judge and landowner in Smithtown, Long Island. Prescott and Cornelia split their time between New York City and their summer residence, Bytharbour, at St. James, Long Island. Cornelia's sister Bessie Smith (b. 1862) married the famed architect Stanford White (1853-1906), whom she met through her brother-in-law Prescott Hall Butler. Both Cornelia and Bessie inherited large properties on Long Island and Stanford White and his firm McKim, Mead, and White played a large role in designing the homes and grounds of these estates. Stanford White also designed Prescott and Cornelia's mansion in New York City at 22 Park Avenue. In addition, the four were good friends and traveled in the same social circles in late-19th century New York City. Prescott Hall and Cornelia Smith Butler had three children. Lawrence Smith Butler (1875-1954) was the oldest, attended Harvard, and became an architect in New York City and Paris. Charles Stewart Butler (1876-1954) followed in his father's footsteps, went to Harvard, and became a lawyer. He practiced on his own in New York City for most of his career. Susan Butler Huntington (1879-1957) was the youngest child and only daughter of Prescott and Cornelia. Her marriage to Francis Cleveland Huntington (1865-1916) linked the Butler and Huntington families. The Huntingtons represented in this collection were originally from Massachusetts and had a professional history in science and public service. In about the year 1826, Elisha Huntington (1796-1865) received his medical degree from Yale, moved to the small town of Lowell, and became a respected physician and surgeon. In addition to his medical career, Dr. Huntington was devoted to charitable causes and involved in politics. He was the mayor of Lowell for eight years and in 1853, became the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. He was also involved in State Prison work and President of the Massachusetts Medical Society. His daughter Mary remembered him by saying "he was always ready to give to the poor and afflicted, being singularly indifferent to any compensation for his services; and by his generosity and kindness he won Saint Luke's name of 'The Beloved Physician'." He married Hannah Hinckley (1800-1859) of Plymouth colony and Mayflower origin and they had five children: James, Mary, Frank, William Reed and Isaac, the youngest who died in infancy. Mary Huntington Cooke (1833-1911) was the daughter of Elisha and Hannah Hinckley Huntington. Like her father, mother, and brother, she was drawn to philanthropic pursuits. She served as president of the Female Humane Society, which strove to relieve the needs of the poor. She was also one of the founders of Radcliffe College. She married Professor Josiah Cooke (1827-1894), who taught Chemistry and Geology at Harvard. He was instrumental in the measurement of atomic weights and received America's first Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He took great interest in the relationship between religion and science, and had a close relationship with Mary's brother, the clergyman William Reed Huntington. William Reed Huntington (1838-1909) was the youngest child of Elisha and Hannah, and like his father, graduated from Harvard. He was the class poet for that year 1859, and taught chemistry for a year following his graduation. Soon after, he entered into a theological career, becoming a prominent figure within the Episcopal Church. He was affiliated with three different institutions, and eventually became the rector of Grace Church in New York City, winning wide recognition for his efforts toward the revision of the Episcopal liturgy. He married Theresa Reynolds (1837-1872) and they had four children. The only son of William Reed Huntington and Theresa Reynolds, Francis Cleveland Huntington (1865-1916), also graduated from Harvard. He taught political economy for one year and began law school at Harvard. He practiced law in New York City and was active in the affairs of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. The only interruption to his career came upon the advent of the Spanish American War, when he became a member of Troop A of the the New York State National Guard and served in Puerto Rico. He married Susan Butler and they had 3 sons, Prescott Butler Huntington (1905-1988), William Reed Huntington (1907-1990) and Christopher Huntington (1911-2000). After her husband's death in 1916, Susan Butler Huntington attended to the care and education or her sons and traveled with them often. She was also active in the Episcopal Church and the treasurer for the Causeries du Lundi, a ladies literary group. Prescott Hall Butler and Cornelia Smith were half-first cousins once removed. Their link was through the Clinch family. James Clinch was the grandfather of Cornelia Smith Butler and half uncle of Prescott Hall Butler. He was one of the leading business figures of maritime New York in the period preceeding the Civil War, and acquired much real estate in both lower New York City and east of Smithtown, Long Island. His brother Charles was also a notable New Yorker of the time. As a result of financial losses incurred after The Great Fire of 1835, he was prompted to take a position in the Customs House. He had great success there and in his New York Times obituary, it was stated that he possessed more knowledge on the subject of American customs revenue and navigation laws than any other living man. Cornelia Mitchell Clinch was the sister of James and Charles and was also great aunt to Cornelia and Bessie Smith. She married the wealthy merchant, Alexander Turney Stewart. The Stewarts were very close to the Smith children and since Alexander and Cornelia were childless, much of their wealth was inherited by Cornelia Smith Butler and her siblings.; Content: This collection spans multiple generations and consists of mostly 19th- and 20th-century family correspondence, financial and legal documents, diaries, writings, scrapbooks, personal miscellany, photographs and genealogical research. The papers reflect the personal, social, economic, and professional histories of these related families. The papers are divided into eight series. The first five are devoted papers of the Butler, Clinch, Cooke, Huntington, and Smith families. These papers fall into some combination of correspondence, financial and legal documents, and personal papers. The personal papers contain such material as diaries, writings, scrapbook content and other personal miscellany. The three remaining series are given over to photographs, genealogical papers, and the Davis family papers, which contain land deeds and a map. Correspondence in this collection is copious, especially in the Butler and Huntington papers, and gives descriptions of family affairs and everyday life in the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries. Although the bulk of the correspondence is personal, there are some letters regarding professional issues and associations. These types of letters can be found within the Custom House papers of Charles P. Clinch, letters regarding Josiah Parson Cooke's academic career, James Clinch Smith's letters received and the letters of Charles E. Butler and his son Prescott Hall Butler, which give insight into their careers as prominent lawyers in New York City. In addition, notable correspondents within the Butler papers include George Santayana and Charles McKim. Santayana had a life-long friendship with Lawrence Smith Butler, and his letters are in Lawrence's correspondence. Mention of Stanford White along with McKim, Mead and White's designs, are present in correspondence between Prescott Hall Butler and Cornelia Smith Butler. Financial and legal papers throughout the collection reflect the numerous homes and large amount of land that the families owned in the 19th and 20th centuries, especially the Butlers and Smiths. Many of these properties ended up with the Huntington children and later financial documents concerning these properties are within the Huntington financial and legal papers. Legal documents kept in Charles E. Butler's scrapbook are also of interest. In addition to some 18th-century deeds, there is also a release from mortgage signed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was one of Charles E. Butler's clients. Diaries and travel writings give insight into the lives of the family members. Hannah Hinckley Huntington and her twin sister Mary Hinckley's diaries and writings from the early to mid-19th century document life from a woman's perspective in small town Massachusetts. In contrast, Prescott Hall Butler's diary is written from the perspective of a wealthy lawyer in late-19th-century New York City. The children of Prescott Hall Butler and Cornelia Smith Butler also kept diaries, both personal and travel. Lawrence Smith Butler's diaries date from 1885-1916 and then again from 1941-1953. He and his sister, Susan Butler Huntington's travel writings from the early 20th century, document their excursions around the world. The photographs consist of many portraits of family members, and also numerous images which depict the travel and leisure activities of the families. There are also many photographs of the families' properties in New York City, Long Island, and parts of Massachusetts. The genealogical papers reflect Madge Huntington Cooper and other family members' research into the family genealogies. A rough draft of Charles S. Butler's "Butler and Allied Families" gives detail on the lives of many members of the families in this collection. Within all series, folders are filed alphabetically; married woman in the collection are filed by their married names with maiden names expressed as the middle name. In many of the folders, there is a list of folder contents in the front of the folder prepared by Madge Huntington Cooper. When this is the case, it is stated in that line of the container list.
Physical Description: Extent: 32.1 linear feet (77 boxes, 1 oversized folder)
Type of Resource: Text; Still image
Identifiers: NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b18668091; MSS Unit ID: 18243; Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): dcd51d30-c528-013c-8f76-0242ac110002

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Butler-Huntington-Smith family papers

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