Frederick Butler (1820 - 1903)

Born 22 Oct 1820 in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann Clay — married 11 May 1851 in St. Mark's, Old Street, London, England

Husband of Sarah Howliston — married 22 Sep 1867 in Old Street, London, England

Descendants

Died 1903 at about age 82 in Islington, London, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Frederick Butler (1820-1903) was the third son of William Butler and Elizabeth Jane Paine. Frederick was born in Hounslow on 22 October 1820. He was baptised on 19 November 1820 at St Leonards, Heston, which for a long time served as the parish church for Hounslow, as there was no church there until 1829 when the church of Holy Trinity was built on the ruins of the old Hounslow Priory.

At the age of fifteen, when his father died, he was old enough to take on an apprenticeship and learn a trade, so he became a carpenter.

In the census of 1851 he was shown living at 1 Witchampton Street, Hoxton near Shoreditch and it was whilst living there that he married Mary Ann Clay at St Mark’s Church, Old Street on 11 May 1851. His brother, William Henry, was one of the witnesses.

The story goes that Frederick’s wife left him, but this cannot be corroborated. However, they had two sons. The first was Frank Thomas, born in Hoxton in 1857. He was baptised at St Jude’s Islington on 26 December of the same year. The second son, Charles Edward was born in 1860 but died the following year. There is a suggestion that in his early years, Frank Thomas may have been brought up in Hounslow by Frederick’s youngest brother, William, and his wife Mary Ann. His cousin Edward John Butler was the same age, also born in 1857. Edward’s daughter Mary made the claim that he at one stage lived with his cousins in Hounslow.

Frederick’s first wife must have died because in 1867 he married Sarah Howliston, known in the family as “Granny”. The marriage took place at the same church as his earlier marriage, St Mark’s Old Street on 22 September 1867. From then on, this branch of the Butler family was known as the Howliston Butlers.

Sarah was born in Thames Ditton, near Kingston in Surrey on 20 April 1834. Her parents were John Howliston, born in Scotland in about 1811 and his wife Mary. They may have been Presbyterians because Sarah was christened at the Weston Green Independent, Thames Ditton on 18 May 1834.

At last, Frank Thomas had a new mother and a new family in the Howlistons. Later, this was to have fortunate consequences for him. At some stage, Frederick Butler, his wife and son moved from Witchampton Street to Islington. The 1881 Census shows them living at 135, Downham Road, Islington. They were still there at the time of both the 1891 and 1901 Censuses. In 1881, Frederick’s occupation was shown as carpenter and living with them in Islington was Sarah’s now widowed father, John. At this stage, Frank Thomas was no longer living at home. He was then aged 24, a draper’s assistant, living in lodgings at Spencers Lodges, 7 Harwood Street, Marylebone.

Sources

• The Paines of Richmond by Merv Shearman.

1851, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses.

London, England births and baptisms 1813-1906.

England & Wales death index.

Biography and original research by Merv Shearman.