Robert Butler

Robert N. Butler, M.D., (August, 1784 to July 31, 1853) was a physician and was elected to serve as the State Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving from 1846 until his death. From an old Virginia family based in nearby Surry County, he was a long-time resident of the incorporated town of Smithfield in Isle of Wight County, Virginia.

His daughter, Otelia Voinard (née Butler) Mahone, who married railroad builder, Confederate Major General, and U.S. Senator William Mahone, became a notable character in Virginia in her own right, and is credited with the naming at least four towns currently located along U.S. Route 460| in southeastern Virginia from novels she was reading by Sir Walter Scott.

Biography

The Butler family had been in Surry County, Virginia since the mid-17th century, and his ancestors had included members of the House of Burgesses when Robert Butler was born there in 1784.

Little seems recorded of his youth, but it is known that he attended the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. He served as the Adjutant General of Virginia troops during the War of 1812. [ http://books.google.com/books?id=QNBQsQZEmvUC&pg=PA395&lpg=PA395&dq=john+bracken+butler+virginia&source=web&ots=ZMr0i8wnEf&sig=dzPMlJAALdTOkH1s8dc5acrjoLc ]

Dr. Butler's first wife was Eliza Bracken, whose father, Reverend John Bracken, was rector of Bruton Parish Church, president of the College of William and Mary, and had served as a mayor of Williamsburg. Their son, John Bracken Butler (1812-1857), also became a physician, and married Mary A. Benton of Suffolk.

Dr. Butler and his second wife, the former Otelia Voinard (1803-1855) from Petersburg, were the parents of Otelia Voinard (née Butler) Mahone. In 1855, Otelia Butler married William T. Mahone of neighboring Southampton County. Small of stature, and nicknamed "Little Billy", Mahone was a civil engineer, teacher and at that time, was building the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, which was to become a well-engineered predecessor of Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W) and remains a vital link in modern times for Norfolk Southern (NS).

Said to be from a "cultured" background, and a "character" in her own right, strong-willed Otelia Butler Mahone became almost as well-known in Virginia as her famous husband. She is credited for naming 5 towns in Isle of Wight, Southampton, Sussex, and Prince George counties along the arrow straight 52-mile long tangent main line of her husband's new railroad. Four of the names derived from a novel by Sir Walter Scott she had been reading.

During the American Civil War (1861-1865), "Little Billy" Mahone became a leader and eventually achieved the rank of Major General in the Confederate Army. After the fall of Norfolk in 1862, Otelia worked for several years as a nurse in Richmond, as her husband traveled with the Army of Northern Virginia, serving under Robert E. Lee] . Late in the War, they lived in Petersburg, where he became well-known as the "Hero" of the Battle of the Crater during the Union Siege of Petersburg, credited with quickly reversing the skirmish in favor of the defenders. However, Grant's efforts at the Southside Virginia rail center ultimately led to the fall of Petersburg in April 1865, and thereby, the abandonment of Richmond by Confederacy. Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House a few days later, essentially ending the War.

Lee urged his lieutenants to go home and set about rebuilding Virginia. An illustrious couple, Little Billy and Otelia Mahone did just that, returning to railroad leadership. He set to work helping rebuild and link the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad with two other major trunk lines across Virginia's southern tier, forming the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (AM&O) in 1870. The Mahone family moved to AM&O headquarters in Lynchburg during this time. Wags claimed the initials of the new railroad stood for "All Mine and Otelia's."

The heyday of the AM&O was short-lived, as it fell into default with its English and Scottish bondholders during the Financial Panic of 1873 and came under control of Philadelphia interests who renamed it Norfolk and Western in 1881. Although he lost control of the AM&O, Mahone was apparently aware of the rich bituminous coalfields of western Virginia and southern West Virginia which the AM&O had yet to reach, and retained his ownership of land in the region. When the new owners of the N&W reached that goal, it helped make the Mahones a couple of the wealthiest people of Virginia.

Former General Mahone also became an important politician in Virginia. He was a delegate to the Virginia General Assembly even during the War and served as a mayor of Petersburg. During and after Reconstruction, helping form and lead a unique coalition of newly enfranchised blacks, Republicans and Conservative Democrats which became known as the Readjuster Party. He helped arrange the election of William E. Cameron, the Readjuster candidate as Governor of Virginia, and was himself elected to serve as a Senator in the United States Congress. After his death in 1895 following a massive stroke in Washington, DC, his widow Otelia lived in Petersburg until her own death in 1911.

Dr. Butler's grandson, R. Butler Mahone (1859-1914) was assigned to his father, William T. Mahone Sr., as private secretary for a number of years and afterward was in U.S. government service. He was appointed Consul of the United States at Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, across the U.S.-Mexico border from Laredo, Texas.

Dr. Butler and Otelia Voinard Butler are buried in the cemetery at St. Luke's Church at Benn's Church in Isle of Wight County, near Smithfield, Virginia.

References