Stephen Butler
BIOGRAPHY
My great grandfather, Stephen, was baptised the first of five sons to James and Mary Butler (nee Connery) in Slieverue, Waterford, Ireland, on 25th December 1819.
He had an older sister, Ellen, baptised on 16th January 1814 and a younger one, Johanna, baptised on 1st November 1834.
His younger brothers were Edmund (baptised 1st May 1822), John, (24th February 1824), another John (born 4th February 1824) and James (21st August 1828). Although I have yet to find any evidence to that effect, it seems likely the older “John” may have died soon after his birth.
I was fortunate enough to visit Waterford in August 2017 and guided by Michael O’Connor of Waterford Heritage Services was able to explore the area around Slieverue where the family lived at the time of Stephen’s birth. Although there is no way we can be sure exactly where, we do know that it was in Councillor’s Road between Larkfield and Peafield about 6 km north-east of Waterford – as is shown on the map below:
We have little knowledge of Stephen’s early life, but he would have to have undertaken an apprenticeship at shipyards in Waterford, (where there was considerable shipbuilding at the time) or, later in England, to have gained employment as a Shipwright with the Royal Navy.
That he probably completed his Apprenticeship in Waterford and was recruited by the Navy appears to be supported by the following extract from the Journal of the Old Waterford Society’s Journal “Decies” of Autumn 1992:
“Between the years 1806 and 1880, ship-building was Waterford’s chief industry, and the five firms previously mentioned repaired or built all kinds of seagoing craft at their respective yards. Ships of sail or steam designed by Waterford’s craftsmen earned the reputation of the port, unequalled by any in the British shipyards. At times the local yards experienced difficulty in keeping their staffs of skilled tradesmen at home, so keen was the canvassing of their English and Scottish rivals to grab the Waterford workers. The employers had no fear in this regard in their own country, for in no part of Ireland was there a ship or repair yard to compare with the up-to-datedness and the efficient equipment of the local builders. At the beginning and well beyond the middle of the last century, Waterford held the signal honour of being one of the principal ship-building centres of western Europe, and the clang of hammers, roar of furnaces, and dull thudding sound of boiler-making, with the ‘heaving’ and ‘hauling’ associated with the life of a busy shipping port, were heard all day, and sometimes all night – making music for the ears of the old-timers of ‘Waterford of the Shippes’.”
In trying to get a better understanding of the role of a shipwright and the training needed to qualify as one, I came across the following excerpt from “Dockyard Shipwrights” by Bert Shardlow and Dr David Penney.
I’d be surprised if you do not find it as informative as I did.
This is the link: http://www.djbryant.co.uk/dockyard/links/index-links.htm
I have, so far, been unable to establish when he emigrated to England, but it was probably in the late 1830s or early 1840s.
He married Jane Jago, the daughter of Richard and Elizabeth Jago (née Cross) in the Chapel of East Stonehouse, Devon, on 5 March 1848. At the time of their marriage, Stephen was 28 years of age and Jane 38.
They had a son, Richard Jago born on the 11th December 1948 and another, William James Jago, on the 29th June 1850.
An entry in the 1851 UK Census was the first indication I had that Stephen was born in Ireland and Waterford in particular. It is from this Census that we learn that the family lived at 7 Cannon Street, Stoke Damerel, Devonport, only about a mile and a half from the Royal Naval Dockyards where he was employed. From recent reading, I learned that Cannon Street was one of the earliest laid down near the Devonport dock when, in the early 1700s, residential buildings were first allowed to be built in the vicinity of the dockyard.
1851
Thus far, I have been unable to trace any record of his service at the Dockyards either through the National Archives of the United Kingdom or the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre but will keep trying.
Whether or not as a result of advancement at the Dockyard and/or an accompanying improvement in income, the Census entry for 1861 tells us that the family had by then moved to another property in Cannon Street, namely No 40.
Stephen passed away at home on 26th June 1863 at the age of 44. According to his Death Certificate, the cause of death was consumption, a condition he had suffered for twelve months. A copy of the entry in the Stoke Damerel Anglican Parish Burial Register is included in the Evidence section and, for Latin scholars, a transcript from the entry in the Church register that I obtained on a visit to Plymouth in 2005 is shown below.
According to one article I have read, there were few Catholic churchyards – and the Catholic Church at Stoke Damerel certainly did not have one – so the majority of Catholics were buried in Anglican ones. This may explain how Stephen came to be buried in a churchyard associated with a neighbouring Anglican church – and that his burial is recorded again in the registry of the Anglican Parish of Stoke Damerel. I wonder how many other Catholics are “blessed” with entries in the registers of two denominations.
This left Jane a widow, possibly but not certainly with a pension, caring for the two boys, Richard aged 15 and William, 13.
Whatever the circumstances the family found itself in, Jane must have been instrumental in ensuring that her elder son, Richard, at least, continued his education. My evidence for this belief is an item from the “Journal of the Society of Arts” dated 12th June 1868, where we learn that as an engineering student at the Devonport Mechanics Institute, he won 1st Prize (valued at £5) for Conic Sections and 2nd Prize (valued at £3) for Principles of Mechanics.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/41323875
Whether or not as a result of her widowhood, the Census for 1871 shows that Jane had moved to 12 Albert Road, Devonport, where her occupation is listed as Housekeeper. Her second son William, who by this time is aged 21, is shown as a carpenter.
Perhaps he was thus able to provide her with the economic support she needed. In fact, as far as I can ascertain, she lived with him for the rest of her life – and being as long-lived as she was, this was not until 1902 when she was 93 years of age.
ANECDOTES & STORIES
LOCATIONS
Maps or photos
PICTURE GALLERY
DOCUMENTATION
ANCESTORS
b:
d: 26 Jun 1863
Priest: Fitzpatrick J.
Church: Counsellors Road(Research):According to the 1851 census, your Richard was the son of Stephen & Jane
Butler:
Head: BUTLER, Stephen Neighbors 75510
Name Relationship Mar Age Sex Occupation Birthplace
Stephen BUTLER Head M 30 M Shipwright Waterford-IRE
Jane BUTLER Wife M 36 F --- Plymstock-DEV
Richard BUTLER Son - 2 M --- Plymstock-DEV ******
William BUTLER Son - 9m M --- Devonport-DEV
Address: 7 Cannon Street, Devonport
Census Place: Stoke Damerel Stoke Damerel, Devonshire
PRO Reference: HO/107/1882 Folio: 31 Page: 57 FHL Film: 0221031(Medical):Certified copy of Death Certificate (dated 15 June 2005) held.
- 25 Dec 1819 - Christening - ; Slieverue, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland
- 26 Jun 1863 - Death - ; 10 Cannon Street, Devonport, Devon, England
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| PARENT (M) James Butler | |||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| Marriage | to Mary Connery | ||
| Father | ? | ||
| Mother | ? | ||
| PARENT (F) Mary Connery | |||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| Marriage | to James Butler | ||
| Father | ? | ||
| Mother | ? | ||
| CHILDREN | |||
| F | Ellen Butler | ||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| M | Edmund Butler | ||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| M | John Butler | ||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| M | John Butler | ||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| M | James Butler | ||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| F | Johanna Butler | ||
| Birth | |||
| Death | |||
| M | Stephen Butler | ||
| Birth | Waterford, Ireland | ||
| Death | 26 Jun 1863 | 10 Cannon Street, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 5 Mar 1848 | to Jane Jago at Chapel of East Stonehouse, Devon, England | |
| PARENT (M) Stephen Butler | |||
| Birth | Waterford, Ireland | ||
| Death | 26 Jun 1863 | 10 Cannon Street, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 5 Mar 1848 | to Jane Jago at Chapel of East Stonehouse, Devon, England | |
| Father | James Butler | ||
| Mother | Mary Connery | ||
| PARENT (F) Jane Jago | |||
| Birth | 1809 | Plymstock, Devon, England | |
| Death | 18 Nov 1902 | 16 Pasley Terrace, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 5 Mar 1848 | to Stephen Butler at Chapel of East Stonehouse, Devon, England | |
| Father | Richard Jago | ||
| Mother | Elizabeth Cross | ||
| CHILDREN | |||
| M | Richard Jago Butler | ||
| Birth | 11 Dec 1848 | Plympton, St Mary, Devon, England | |
| Death | 4 Mar 1931 | 17 Wynnstay Gardens, Kensington South, London, England | |
| Marriage | 9 Jul 1907 | to Ethel Emily Northcott Cottell at Church of Our Lady and St Philip Neri, Lower Sydenham, Lewisham, London, England | |
| Marriage | 13 Dec 1879 | to Elizabeth Ann Greetham at Parish Church Of St John, Battersea, Surrey, England | |
| M | William James Jago Butler | ||
| Birth | 29 Jun 1850 | 7 Cannon Street, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Death | 26 Feb 1919 | 59 Pasley Street East, Stoke, Devonport, Devon, England | |
| Marriage | 26 Dec 1874 | to Mary Ann Gray at Church of St Mary & St Boniface, Plymouth, Devon, England | |
| [S5] | Private Family Reseach |
EVIDENCE
Sources and citations
