![]() Both John Gregg and John Reagan signed the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, adopted on March 11th, 1861. Reagan of Anderson County, was also a delegate. The brother of her brother-in-law William Reagan, John H. Among the seven representatives from Texas was Judge John Gregg of Freestone County, a figure familiar to most people in Fairfield, including Mary Butler. Almost immediately, it sent delegates to the provisional Congress of the newly-formed Confederate States of America, then assembled in Montgomery, Alabama - where on February 18th, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi had been sworn-in as President. On March 2nd, 1861, with over forty-six thousand of its citizens having voted in favor of secession (as opposed to less than fifteen-thousand against), Texas officially seceded from the Union. How her husband might have voted had he still been alive can only be imagined. Of course, being a woman, Mary Butler could not vote. When that day came, the vote in Freestone County was five-hundred and eighty-five for secession with only three votes in favor of remaining in the Union. ![]() Only seven delegates voted against it.įollowing the convention, the ordinance of secession was printed and copies widely distributed throughout the state in advance of a general referendum to be held on February 23rd. When a vote of the one-hundred and seventy-four delegates was called on February 1st, both Gregg and Peck voted in favor of secession. ![]() Sent to represent Freestone County were Judge John Gregg, the lawyer who had signed Alfred Butler's dying deed of gift to his wife, and William M. In Texas a special convention was called to meet in Austin during late January to consider secession. One by one they seceded: Mississippi, on January 9th Florida, on January 10th Alabama, on January 11th Georgia, on January 19th and Louisiana, on January 26th. "The Union is Dissolved," proclaimed The Charleston Mercury.īy early 1861, feelings ran high in Texas and in other Southern states in favor of following South Carolina's lead. In South Carolina, threats turned to reality when on December 20th, the state legislature unanimously adopted an ordinance of secession. Convinced that Lincoln and the Northern states were bent on dominating the national government, to the detriment of the South, many Southern leaders threatened secession. In Texas and most other Southern states, the name of the former Illinois lawyer hadn't even appeared on the ballot. With the election of Lincoln as President of the United States in November 1860, the South was thrown into turmoil. ![]() Unfortunately, during the years immediately following Alfred's death, Mary Butler not only had to cope with running a farm and raising five young children but she was forced to do so under wartime conditions. James Butler, her oldest son, seems to have been especially devoted to his mother. ![]() Instead, it appears she devoted the rest of her days to her children, most of whom remained close to Mary throughout her long life. Butler never remarried, nor is there evidence to suggest she ever considered it. Steven Butler's Genealogy Website: Mary ButlerĪlthough she survived her husband by fifty-seven years, Mary F. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |