William Buttle 1817-1878

Parents: Thomas Buttle(1) and Mary Taylor(2)
Born: 1817 in Abington, Cambridgesire
Baptised: ?
Married: Sophia Whiting, spinster of Burton End, Haverhill, daughter of John Whiting, weaver, on 30th July 1838 at St Mary's Parish Church, Haverhill. Witnessed by John Whiting and Sarah Mead(1)
Children: Eliza Buttle b.1840, Emma Buttle b.1843, George Buttle b.1846, Jabez Buttle b.1848 died in infancy, Elizabeth Buttle b.1851, Thomas Butler b.1854, Mary Ann Butler b.1855, Frederick William Butler b.1857, Henry Butler b.1859 and Ellen Florence Butler b.1862(?)
Died: 4th August 1878 in Blinman, South Australia. Buried in Blinman Cemetery, South Australia.(4,5)

Bio: It appears William's parents were the Thomas and Mary Buttle who lived in Haverhill at the time of the 1841 and 1851 censuses. William is shown on the 1851 census as being born in Abington in 1817, and the parish registers for Little Abington shows a Thomas Buttle and Mary Taylor married there on 1st February 1817(2). Couples often tended to marry in the home town of the bride, and Mary had been born in Abington, as the 1851 census indicates. Thomas was born in Horseheath, Cambs, in around 1794.

The family must have moved to Haverhill, and William married Sophia there in 1838. They appear on the 1841 census in Burton End, Haverhill with their 10 month old daughter Eliza. Then, at the time of the 1851 census they are living with Sophia's parents, still in Burton End. They had four children.

In the following year, the Buttle family decided to emmigrate to Australia. They did this alongside Thomas Whiting and his family, and set sail upon the barque China, 658 tons, captain George McMillan, from Plymouth on 26th July 1852. The China arrived at Port Adelaide, South Australia at midnight, Thursday, 12th November 1852.

For more background information, see Thomas Whiting.

It appears that after they settled in Australia the family became known as 'Butler' instead of Buttle. Sophia and William had several more children who went by that surname, and there are many family trees on the web that list these children and the Adelaide birth registration references - 'The Buttles emigrate to Australia' posted by Paul Baird in the Public Member Stories section of Ancestry is a useful place to look.

After the family settled in South Australia, William found work as a labourer.

William died in Blinman a year before Sophia, and his death was attributed to inflammation and disease of the kidneys.(5) They were both buried at Blinman cemetery.

Many Thanks to Kym at Dead Search (hosted by rootsweb) for the photo of William and Sophia's gravestone. (Click on photo to enlarge)

Sources:

(1) Suffolk Records Office, Bury St Edmunds, Parish Registers of St Mary's Church, Haverhill. Fiche 578/4/p23 of 37
(2) www.familysearch.org, Parish Registers for Little Abington, 1687-1880, Batch No. M134021, Source Call No.1040363
(3) Marriage Register. 3rd Quarter 1838, Risbridge District, Volume 12 Page 477
(4) www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~aussa/archives/.../tran008_blinman.pdf
(5) Death Certificate Ref: 89/338 - thanks to Fiona Errington for details.