Views of the Butler Family plot at Crown Hill Cemetery

Description:	These color photographs highlight different views of the Butler Family cenotaph at Crown Hill Cemetery. The first photograph shows the cenotaph from a distance and the surrounding headstones. The next photograph presents the side of the cenotaph that lists Ovid Butlers parents, Chauncey Butler (sometimes spelled as Chauncy, Chancey, or Chancy) and Demia Bullen, as well as his stepmother Mary (nicknamed Polly) Norcross. Chauncey Butler was a Disciples of Christ preacher (named changed to the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in 1968) and an early participant in their Restoration or Stone-Campbell Movement. The third photograph shows another side of the cenotaph, which highlights Butler University founder Ovid Butler, his wives, and some of their children. This side of the marker lists the three children of Ovid Butler (1801-1881) and his first wife Cordelia Cole (1809-1838) that did not survive infancy, as well as their daughter Cordelia (1828-1866), who married William Wallace (1825-1891). The infant children listed are Dyer (February 13, 1830-May 9, 1830), Edith (October 16, 1833-August 15, 1834), and Julia (September 26, 1835-May 31, 1836). The couples other children, Maria (1831-1911) and Ovid Dyer (1837-1919) are not listed here. The listed childrens names are followed by the names of their parents as well the name of Ovid Butlers second wife, Elizabeth Anne McOuat (sometimes spelled as McQuat or McQuate). The fourth and fifth photographs highlight another side of the cenotaph, which lists some of the children of Ovid Butler and his second wife Elizabeth Anne McOuat Butler (listed here as E. Anna Butler; also known as Elizabeth Anne Elgin). The children listed are Ovid Butlers stepdaughter, Georgiana Elgin (also spelled Georgeann and Georgia Anna), as well as Tommie (his full name was Thomas Lockerbie), Demia, Janet, and Thomas McOuat (called Mack, his name can also be spelled as McQuat and McQuate). Their other children, Scot (1844-1931), Chauncey (1848-1937), and Anne Elizabeth (1857-1937) are not listed here. This may have something to do with the age of the cenotaph as any of Ovid Butlers children who passed away after his death are not included on the monument. Demia was the first woman to graduate from Butler University with a B.A. in 1862. She married George Ellis Townley in 1866, but died soon after in 1867. In her honor, her father created an endowment for the Demia Butler Chair of English Literature that he presented to North Western Christian Universitys Board of Directors (renamed Butler University in 1877) on March 10, 1869. This was one of the first chair endowments in the United States that was meant specifically for a woman. Ovid Butler endowed the position in perpetuity through a generous endowment of lands whose sale provided the funds. Catharine Merrill was the first woman appointed to the chair on April 21, 1869, becoming one of the first female professors in the United States. Evelyn M. Butler, Ovid Butlers granddaughter also held the Demia Butler Chair from 1918 to 1930, and was the Universitys first Dean of Women from 1923 to 1930. Scot and Chauncey both graduated from the University and served on its Board of Directors. Scot also taught at the University and served as its president from 1891 to 1904 and again from 1906 until 1907. The final photograph shows the fourth side of the Butler Family cenotaph, which simply has the familys name, Butler, carved into the base of the monument.
Origin:	2010-08-21
Created By:	Childs-Helton, Sally Carr, 1953-
Source:	http://palni.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/BldgsGrnds/id/237
Collection:	Butler University Buildings and Grounds Collection
Rights:	https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-EDU/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
Geography:	Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 39.820226, -86.174637 39.820226 -86.174637
Subjects:	Sepulchral monuments Butler, Ovid, 1801-1881 Butler, Ovid, 1801-1881--Tombs Butler, Ovid, 1801-1881--Family Crown Hill Cemetery (Marion County, Ind.) Butler, Elizabeth Anne, 1818-1882 Butler, Scot, 1844-1931 Butler, Chauncey, 1775-1840 Butler, Demia Bullen, 1778-1812 Butler, Polly Norcross, 1773-1840 Wells, Georgiana Elgin, 1838-1861 Tommie, 1853-1853 Townley, Demia Butler, 1842-1867 Anderson, Janet Butler, 1846-1868 Butler, Thomas McQuat, 1854-1872 Butler, Dyer, 1830-1830 Butler, Edith, 1833-1834 Butler, Julia, 1835-1836 Wallace, Cordelia Butler, 1828-1866 Butler, Cordelia Dyer Cole, 1809-1838 Butler, Maria, 1831-1911 Butler, Ovid Dyer, 1837-1919 Butler, Chauncy, 1848-1937 Butler, Evelyn Mitchell, 1871-1934 Wallace, William, 1825-1891 Townley, George Ellis, 1841-1900 Anderson, Marion T., 1839-1904 Wells, Graham Albert, 1827-1897 Gravestones Headstones Tombstones

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