Talk:Justin Butterfield

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A fact from Justin Butterfield appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 5 December 2012 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that in 1849, Justin Butterfield (pictured) was appointed commissioner of the General Land Office in preference to Abraham Lincoln?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2012/December. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Justin Butterfield.

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Obituary

The Hudson Star, Hudson Wisconsin, Marriages & Obituaries 1855 which shows its existence, but not its text. 7&6=thirteen (☎) 11:47, 15 November 2012 (UTC)[reply]

Birth Date and Place

Conventional wisdom holds that Justin Butterfield was born in Keene, New Hampshire in 1790. Every biography that I've ever read about him says this is so, but I think that they might all be wrong. I think a fairly compelling (albeit circumstantial) argument can be made for him having been born in Westmoreland, New Hampshire (a few miles west of Keene) on December 27, 1789. The Family Search index New Hampshire, Births and Christenings, 1714-1904 has a record for a "Justain" Butterfield born on that date and in that place to an Isaac Butterfield and Orpha How (Howe). This same index has birth records for four other children born to this couple. One of them, Shubael Butterfield, served as an infantry officer in the War of 1812. In 1820, the United States Federal Census shows Shubael and Justin (on page 10), and father Isaac (on page 8), living in Hounsfield, Jefferson County, New York. Furthermore, Isaac and Orpha are buried in Sackets Harbor, New York, and an obituary for Shubael says that he was a former resident of that place. Justin married his wife there around 1814, and practiced law there prior to moving to New Orleans. Sadly, I can't find any direct references to Justin's parents or siblings, so it's possible this could all be coincidental. That said, I think it's highly unlikely that all those points just happen to line up. What do you think? Robertwaustin (talk) 18:19, 7 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

wp:No original research. -- 208.81.184.4 (talk) 20:36, 15 April 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Middle Initial

I reviewed all the source information that I could find on Justin Butterfield, and was only able to find one reference to him having the middle initial “D.” It’s from a passage reprinted in both The Bench and Bar of Illinois, and a History of Kane County, ILL. In it, several lawyers are mentioned who worked the circuit court in Kane County, including a “J.D. Butterfield, of Chicago.” While I think it’s probable that J.D. Butterfield and Justin Butterfield are the same person, I’m not convinced that this is enough of a basis to say that Mr. Butterfield actually had a middle name that started with D. There is no census record, directory listing, legal writing, land patent record, newspaper article or biographical sketch that I’ve ever seen of the man that supports this notion. Even his monument in Graceland Cemetery gives his name simply as Justin Butterfield. I certainly can’t say that his middle initial wasn’t D, but I also haven’t seen enough evidence to say that is was. At least so far. If anyone has another source for this, I would very much like to see it. Thanks. Robertwaustin (talk) 14:29, 1 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The members of the bar were not that numerous at the time. This was the right place and time. The likelihood that thi ts was someone else is very small (of course, not impossible). Passes the preponderance of the credible evidence standard based on circumstantial evidence, but would not be able to probe it beyond a reasonable doubt if this were a criminal proceeding. IMHO 7&6=thirteen (☎) 16:02, 2 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Checkerboarding was not new

I submit that checkerboarding was not an invention of Butterfield and Douglas. It had been used decades before in the 1820's and 1830's for the Canal Lands grants to states for canal building. See for example 4 Stat. 236 (1827) “granted to the state of Indiana...a quantity of land equal to one half of five sections in width, on each side of said canal, and reserving each alternate section to the United States...” Identical language was used for the Illinois and Michigan Canal grant, 4 Stat. 234, passed the same day. This compares closely to 9 Stat. 466, Douglas' railroad bill of 1850.

see also Draffan, George (1998). Taking Back Our Land: A History of Railroad Land Grant Reform (PDF). Landgrant.org. p. 9. : “The unfortunate checkerboard pattern of the land grants had begun during the canal land grant era, and continued with the railroad grants as a concession to opponents both of land subsidies and of interstate railroads. “

The text of the paragraph about checkerboarding is referenced by Butterfield's memoirs: Wilson, John M. (1880). Memoir of Justin Butterfield. Chicago: Chicago Legal News Company. Retrieved November 14, 2012.. I read nothing about Douglas and Butterfield “inventing” that method in that book.

I propose text that now reads:

Butterfield and Douglas, working together, developed a "checkerboard" system by which a strip of unsold United States...

should instead read

Butterfield and Douglas, working together, adopted a "checkerboard" system by which a strip of unsold United States...

Credit only where it is due.
Roseohioresident (talk) 20:16, 12 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Canal land grants

Great suggestions! By the way, Butterfield had been active in the 1840s restructuring of the Illinois and Michigan canal and privatization of the I&M canal land grants, and may have learned about checkerboarding from this earlier legal work. Bigturtle (talk) 21:03, 13 July 2013 (UTC)[reply]