BUTLER, William, Congress, SC (1759-1821)

BUTLER, William, (father of William Butler [1790-1850] and Andrew Pickens Butler and grandfather of Matthew Calbraith Butler), a Representative from South Carolina; born in Prince William County, Va., December 17, 1759; attended grammar schools; moved to South Carolina; served in the Snow campaign under General Richardson in 1775 and in Gen. Andrew Williamson’s expedition against the Cherokee Indians in 1776; lieutenant in Pulaski’s legion, under Gen. Benjamin Lincoln, in 1779; served under Gen. Andrew Pickens at the siege of Augusta in 1780, as captain under General Henderson in 1781, and as captain of Mounted Rangers under General Pickens in 1782; member of the State convention which adopted the Federal Constitution; member of the State house of representatives in 1787-1795; sheriff of the Ninety-sixth District in 1791; elected major general of the upper division of State militia in 1796; elected as a Republican to the Seventh and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1801-March 3, 1813); was not a candidate for reelection; major general commanding the troops raised for the defense of South Carolina during the War of 1812; retired to his plantation on the Saluda River, near Mount Willing, Edgefield County, S.C., and died there November 15, 1821; interment in the family burial ground at Butler Methodist Church, near Saluda, Edgefield (now Saluda) County, S.C.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present