George S. Butler

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Compiled by his great grandson David M.H. Butler from articles in Middletown Press of Middletown, CT, from "Cromwell CT, 1650-1990, a history of a river port town," as well as memories of his grandson, Sewall T. Butler

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George Sylvester Butler was born March 20, 1866 in Cromwell, Connecticut. His parents were George Henry Butler and Lucinthia Hutchinson Butler. As a young man in high school he began to cultivate fruits at home. After graduating from high school in 1884, he decided to go into the nursery business full time. In 1886 at the age of 20 George "took up the thread where it lay nearest him" and began a berry business. He seems to have inherited his life in fruit raising from his father, Deacon George H. Butler, who grew strawberries for family use. In 1890 the homestead on the Plains became known as "Oak Grove Fruit Farm." George formed a partnership that year with Harvey Jewell. His first year he set and cared for one acre of blackberries. He soon added 2 acres of grapes and another three in strawberries. By 1896 the operation included five farms and a nursery of 240 acres. Long after George's fruit business this area remained an agricultural site, growing tobacco under acres of cheese cloth.

The Farm Journal of October 1894 reported that "Mr. Butler had grown more berries than any other man in the Connecticut Valley." He grew large orchards of cherries, peaches, plums, apples, pears, blackberries, currants, and a vineyard of over 1200 vines. He planted 12 acres of raspberries, including an early variety of his own creation, the "Cromwell blackcap". In all he had over 300 acres of fruit and nursery stock.

"The Cromwell" was a very profitable berry. According to an article of the time, it was usually four to eight days earlier than the other standards. It could open the raspberry season at 18 to 22 cents per quart, having the monopoly on the market. When the other berries got ready and lowered the prices to 14 to 16 cents the Cromwell was gone and the yield and the profits were big. For summers droughts its massive foliage shaded the ground and allowed a fair crop where others would fail. Butler tells the story of a competitor who called at the store of one of his customers. The man's pleasure was beaming in his face and he announced that he would 'bring in the first raspberries of the season tomorrow'. 'But' he was told 'Butler has been bringing Cromwells here for a week'. The man began growing a field of Cromwells.

In 1891 George married Carrie Savage, daughter of Ralph Bulkley Savage and Sarah Ann Strickland. They had three children; Sylvester Benjamin, Lucinthia and Ralph.

On January 31, 1898, Butler and Jewel was incorporated with a capitol stock of $25,000. The directors included George as president and manager, C. S. Butler (Carrie I imagine) and Harvey Jewell as secretary and treasurer; E. C. Jewell and Charles A. Jewell (treasurer of the Jewell Belting company of Hartford); and Edward S. Coe (president of J. & E. Stevens Company. The five farms employed 50 people and the Cromwell Nursery employed another 15 and sold 5000 fruit trees and 50,000 berry plants each season. In addition the nursery also sold farm machinery, fertilizer, wagons and grain. An award from the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 shows they won a bronze medal for their Satsuma plums.

He marketed his produce in Hartford, Willimantic, Middletown, Meriden and Waterbury and as far away as Boston, Providence, RI and Brattleboro, VT. He was one of the principles in the Cromwell Poultry Company, which offered its share-holders a guaranteed supply of eggs and first call on poultry.

Along with his farming, he became known for his writings on horticultural topics, was tax collector, deputy registrar, Grange secretary, Treasurer of the Ecclesiastical Society and Sunday school librarian. He also represented the town in the legislature.

George and Carrie moved into the homestead on Main Street in the 1930's. The house had been willed to the unmarried daughters of Ralph Bulkley Savage. Lucy, the last of the unmarried daugthers, was still living there, as was George and Bill Savage. When Lucy died in the 1940's, she willed the house to the children of George and Carrie.

During the 1930's George worked for the Metropolitan District Commission, helping to buy up land in the Hartford area for building reservoirs. He would work in his garden each morning until about 8 am. Then he would come in and take a bath and go off to work. When he got home he would often go right back out to his garden and work some more. As he got older and his sight started to fail him, he put up ropes that he could follow to get from the house to the garden. There was one time when he got lost or confused so that he couldn't make it back to the house. He had the presence of mind to just sit down where he was rather than risk getting in deeper trouble. It was a very hot and sunny day and he sat for almost 3 hours before the housekeeper realized something was wrong and went looking for him.

He drove a Franklyn in the 1920's and 30s, but his last car was a 1939 Ford which he gave to his son Sylvester in the mid-1940's, when his eyesight started to fail. There is a story, told by our Mother (Jacqueline Butler) that it took a while for him to admit he couldn't drive and he would get his car tires into the gutter on the right side of Main street and use that as a guide for traveling up to Rocky Hill and back.

Before she died Carrie would sometimes say, "George. I don't know why the good Lord doesn't just take us." To which George would reply, "Carrie. Speak for yourself." However, after Carrie died in 1955, he repeated a couple times, "I don't know why the Lord didn't take me when he took Carrie."

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I, of course, didn't meet Great-grampa George until shortly before we moved into the homestead in Cromwell in 1956. He was blind and Great-Gramma Carrie died the summer before. I remember him sitting in an old broken down easy chair, in what later became known as the grown-up's living room. He had a large old tube radio he would listen to. Dad (Sewall Butler) used to tell us how he would try to get Grampa to the dinner table and the process was a laborious chore. However, if Nathan or I went in and told him it was time to eat, he'd hop up and hustle right along with us to the table.

He died at night only a few months after we moved into the house. Though the time frame doesn't exactly jibe, I remember hearing a car pull into our driveway and the sound of chains rattling that night. Even though I was so very young I remember thinking that maybe Great-grampa had died. (It's a possibility that it happened a day or so later but that is not how I recall it). Anyway I do know that Dad carried me downstairs the next morning on his shoulders to show me Great-grampa George's empty room and explain to me that Great-grampa was dead. [notes by David Butler]

See Also:
Decendants of George S. Butler in text form

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