Jeremiah Butterfield

As printed in 1882

JEREMIAH BUTTERFIELD.

Jeremiah Butterfield was born on the 4th of March, 1776, in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. When he was twelve years old his father removed to the State of New York. In 1797 young Butterfield left his home to seek his fortune in the West. lie traveled to Pittsburg, where lie embarked on a fiat-boat and descended ‘lie Ohio River to Marietta. Here lie remained in the family of Doctor Spencer for the Winter. In the following Spring he started on board a flat-boat to Cincinnati. The place was then only an inconsiderable village, con- naming not more than one thousand inhabitants. The boat’s crew proceeded on their voyage down the Ohio to Louisville, and from thence to Fort Massac, on the north bank of the Ohio, thirty-six miles above its mouth. Butterfield remained at the fort only a short time. lie purchased a pirogue, and, in company with a Kentuckian, set out for St. Louis. The trip to St. Louis was made by taking the river. From St. Louis he went to St.

Charles, a small village on the north side of the Missouri River, eighteen miles above its mouth, where he remained one year. Mr. Butterfield, not liking the manners and customs of the people, returned to St. Louis, and from there crossed the country to Vincennes, on the Wabash. While crossing the prairie he encountered vast herds of buffalo. From Vincennes he went into the interior of Kentucky, where he remained for three months and then set out for the East. He arrived at his father’s house, in !

New York, in the Winter of 1799. He was now twenty three years old, and determined to take unto himself a wife, a Miss Polly Campbell, whom he married in 1800. He now began to look for some place to live. After some delay, he again took the flat-boat for Cincinnati. The company, of which Butterfield was a part, made arrangements to work at harvesting for Colonel.John Riddle, who, at that time, lived two miles north of Cincinnati, on the Hamilton road. One corner of his land was where the Brighton House used to stand. Israel Ludlow, who was at that time employed by the govern- ' ment to run the boundary line between the United States j and the Indian nations, employed Butterfield to act as i one of his chain carriers. Ou this expedition they were three months without seeing a dwelling-house, and at one time came near starving, being five days without food.

Early in the ensuing Spring he visited and explored the valley of the Great Miami, the bottom lands of which pleased him very much. He, with a company of others, in the Spring of 1801, made a purchase of two full and as many fractional sections, beginning at the mouth of Indian Creek and extending down the river for about two miles. The land was divided, and Butterfield became the owner of about eight hundred acres, near where Venice now is. His friends, who had come on with him, returned to New York, and he remained to make a home for his young wife. After some work, he returned for his wife and sister, and when returning, brought with him the seeds of various fruit trees, from I ° ! which he afterwards raised hue, fruit.

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

In the Winter of 1819 Mr. Butterfield drove a large number of bogs through the woods from the neighborhood where he lived to Detroit, a distance of more than two hundred and eighty miles. For most of the distance on the route which he those there were no roads, and what rendered the trip more difficult, a severe snowstorm set in. Some of his men became disheartened and returned, but he pushed forward, breaking a path in the snow with his horse for his hogs to follow. After many days of hardship he arrived safely, sold out to a good advantage, and returned home with his saddle-bags full of silver. Three times he shipped his hogs from his own door down the river to New Orleans, going with them himself in each instance. From Ne9 Orleans he shipped his hogs to Cuba, and in 1828 was shipwrecked. When the vessel neared the shore she struck a rock, and the captain and the crew took to the long-boat. Mr. Butterfield would not leave until he had cut open the pens containing the hogs, which were on deck, and let them into the sea. They nearly all swam to the shore, so that he lost but few, and in selling them received twelve dollars pker hundred weight, weighing them alive, so that,, notwithstanding lie was shipwrecked, and had to pay three dollars’ duty on each hog, he made a profitable voyage.

He died at his home, near Venice, on the twenty-seventh day of June, 1853, aged seventy-seven years.

All his children but one are yet living. Sherebiah, the oldest son, lives on a part of the land purchased by his father in Hamilton County. John, the second son, and Jeremiah, the third son live in the same neighborhood, in Hamilton County. Nathaniel lived to raise a family, but died several years ago. Elijah, another sou, lives in this township. Mary, a daughter, married James Eadclifie, and lives near New Baltimore in Hamilton County, Ohio. Elizabeth, another daughter, married Mr. Mavnard. All the children are in comfortable circumstances and are much respected by the community. John C. was born in 1808. and was married in 1845 to Caroline Brown, bora in Butler County in 1818. They had seven children. Alary Elizabeth, w ifcof John Kleinfelder, lives in Venice: Elijah lives in Ross Township; Jesse is married and lives in Ross; Rachel is the wife of John Ivuox, and the others are John \V., 8a rail E., and Susan C. He is a farmer, and owns one hundred and five acres, part of which belongs to the original two hundred acres his father purchased. He lives in the old homestead built by his father.

As printed in A history and biographical cyclopaedia of Butler County, Ohio, with illustrations and sketches of its representative men and pioneers (1882). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.