Rufus Butler land patent
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of a patent of land issued to Rufus Butler of Umpqua County, Oregon on August 8, 1866, and filed at the land office in Roseburg. The patent lists the township, range, and section coordinates for the land, which totaled 320 acres. The patent is signed by President Andrew Johnson.
Dates
- 1866 August 8
Creator
- Butler, Rufus, 1812-1884 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Please contact Special Collections and University Archives in advance of your visit to allow for transportation time.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Rufus Butler was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1812 to Rufus Butler Sr. and Jane Hardin Butler. As a young man, he spent twelve years aboard an ocean vessel. In 1849 he and twelve companions came west to the gold fields of California; just a year later, as the only surviving member of the original twelve, Butler struck out for Oregon. In fact, Butler, along with Major Thorp, Job Hatfield, and William Golden, was one of the first white men to explore the Umpqua Valley.
After securing his claim on land on the Umpqua River, Butler began work cutting and hauling lumber up and down the Umpqua. He assisted in organizing the first school district on the Umpqua River, and served as the Justice of the Peace.
Butler's first wife, Henrietta Jones, died August 1851, having given birth to two children, Joseph and Ann (Etta). He married his second wife, Sarah Wells of Kentucky, in 1853; she bore him eleven children (Mary, David, Jesse, Cordelia, Walter, Abraham, Benjamin, Sarah, George, James, Obediah, and William). Rufus died of paralysis November 9, 1884. Sarah died May 6, 1897.
[Sources: http://genealogytrails.com/ore/douglas/biography/biographies_3.html]
Extent
0.1 linear feet (1 container) : 1 folder
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Rufus Butler (1812-1884) was an Oregon pioneer who settled in the Umpqua River valley, where he served as a Justice of the Peace. Collection is comprised of a patent of land issued to Rufus Butler of Umpqua County, Oregon on August 8, 1866.
Arrangement
This collection contains a single item.
- Frontier and pioneer life Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Land titles Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Legal documents -- Oregon Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Pioneers -- Oregon -- Umpqua County Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Pioneers -- Oregon Territory Subject Source: Library of Congress Subject Headings
- Umpqua County (Or.) Subject Source: Local sources
- Title
- Guide to the Rufus Butler Land Patent
- Status
- Preliminary Description
- Author
- Rachel Lilley
- Date
- 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository