The History of Butler Town in Amite, Louisiana

Butler Memorial Park
Photo Credit: Antoinette Harrell

In Amite, Louisiana, there is a black settlement called Butler Town. Amite is 70 miles north of New Orleans, LA. Lawerence Williams embarked on a genealogy quest to find out how and when this black settlement was established and to discover the ancestry of his maternal line. Almost a decade has passed since Lawerence began researching his family history. My question to Lawerence was how did he start researching his family history? My mother told me we're related to the Butlers. His mother Idella Williams is a 2nd great-granddaughter of Fredrick Butler. As a result, he shares his findings with his mother, who is his motivator. His Butler roots date back to 1808, with Fredrick's father and mother. Winifred Butler and Julia Ann Butler were from the East Coast. But their children was born St. Helena, Louisiana and this is where his Louisiana roots starts. There is something mysterious about Lawerence Butler's Butler family history that led him down the lonely gravel dirt roads of St. Helena Parish, which are filled with whispering pine trees. Fredrick was born in St. Helena Parish, which makes perfect sense. due the fact that Tangipahoa Parish was created  in 1869. 

In 1876, Frederick Butler bought most of the land, which was later named Butler Town. African Americans interested in owning land and building their own houses started buying lots from him. In the 1880 United States Census, Winnie Butler was listed as his spouse. They were the parents of: Waterson Butler, Leander Butler, Julia Butler, Dora Butler, Newsom Butler, William Butler, Minerva Butler, Amanda Butler, Conway Butler, Sherman Butler, and Coot Butler.   A black owned cemetery, Butler A.M.E Church, and Butler Memorial Park can be found inside Butler Town.

Butler A.M.E. Zion Church
Photo Credit: Antoinette Harrell

From slavery to sharecroppers to a large landowner, Fredrick was determine to purchase land as a form of freedom for himself and his family. One year after the issuing the United States Declaration of Independence in July 4, 1776 from Britain. Fredrick embraced what he defined  as freedom in the United States.

Frederick and several of his children signed a Freedmen Bureau Labor Contract with George Phillips McMicheal in 1867 in St. Helena, Louisiana and worked as sharecroppers before purchasing his own land. According to the 1870 United States Census, his Real Estate value was one thousands dollars. The follow people was listed on the Freedmen Bureau Contract: Jack Bulter age 51, Janet Butler age 41, Fred Butler age 48, Winey Butler age 38, Minerva Butler age 17, Amanda Butler age 15, Lee Butler age 11, Judy Ann Butler age 9, Pinky Butler age 7, Steel Butler age 5, Bobby Butler age 4, Joseph Butler age 46,  Waterson Butler age 13, and Emily Butler age 38. 

Fredrick's son William Butler donated the land for Butler A.M.E. Zion Church  in 1894.  On the cornerstone of the church says the church was established in 1874. The  land for the cemetery was donated to the church in 1904 by John Butler and Barrow Butler. John and Barrow descend from Jack Butler lineage. Lawerence believes that Jack and Fredrick were brothers.  Lawerence have spent long  hours in the Amite Clerk's Office looking through hundred of records on his Butler family. He also use the Amite Genealogy Library to help find the missing pieces  to his family puzzle. 

Butler Cemetery in Amite, LA
Photo Credit: Antoinette Harrell

Lawerence to  continue researching his Butler family tree. Specifically, he wants to know when Butler Memorial Park was established. It was revealed to him that his grandmother Idella was buried by the church, and that the cemetery had been relocated. People who live next door to the church told him that the cemetery was moved when the new church was built. Lawerence is very proud of his history and want to share it with others. Butler Town is over one hundred and forty years old. 

Tangi Voter Drive Pioneers Honored by Area Citizens (Reprint from the Drum Newspaper)

Alvin Holden

The Pear Ridge Church was filled to capacity on February 21 as the church and the Magnolia Peace Officer Association recognized civil rights activist "Bobby" Jackson for his pivotal role in advancing the ability of African Americans to vote in Tangipahoa Parish.

During the 1950s and earlier, African Americans were prohibited from registering to vote at the courthouse in Amite. Alvin Holden, a guest speaker at the event, noted that the foundation for the civil rights movement in the parish was established when African American Legion posts convened to address voter registration challenges. Following months of meetings, planning, and strategizing, they developed a plan that ultimately failed, resulting in continued denial of voting rights for African Americans.

Nevertheless, efforts persisted with the establishment of the People's Defense League in New Orleans on October 19, 1945. According to Holden, a branch of the league was subsequently formed in Tangipahoa Parish. On September 20, 1951, after a group of African Americans was again denied registration at the registrar's office, the league initiated legal action by filing a suit in the Federal Courts in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Ernest Wright, an attorney, served as the director of the People's Defense Fund in New Orleans. Through his efforts, the local league engaged the appropriate officials, leading the case to court on October 15, 1951.

Photo Credit: Library of Congress

The league initiated efforts to secure funding for the case's expenses, Holden noted. He reported that the league made an unexpected move by filing its case in the U.S. District Court in New Orleans. The league engaged Louis Berry, an attorney from Alexandria, Louisiana, to manage the case.

The case was assigned to Judge Hebert Christenberry and called Williams vs Williams. However, shortly before the trial commenced, the parish registrar of voters resigned, prompting Christenberry to rule in favor of the league. As Holden noted, "This wasn't the first time blacks attempted to vote in Amite and were denied." An elderly man from Independence, born in Mississippi, sought to advocate for his community and repeatedly attempted to register alongside others, but he was denied the right to vote.

For nearly a century, African Americans in Tangipahoa Parish were systematically excluded from voter registration through threats and coercion. Holden emphasized that black men had served in all wars, sacrificing their lives for the freedom of others, yet they were forcibly denied participation in selecting their governmental representatives. By the 1930s, African Americans grew increasingly discontented, striving to secure their rightful societal position and claim the rights afforded to them under the U.S. Constitution..

Photo Credit: Library of Congress

Despite their concerted efforts, their endeavors proved unsuccessful, remarked Holden. Following World War II, which exposed thousands of young African Americans to global affairs, they were imbued with a renewed resolve to address the political conditions in Tangipahoa Parish.

Veterans mobilized with community backing. However, after the formation of a committee and the initial attempt to register African Americans to vote, it was revealed that the American Legion Charter prohibited the endorsement of political organizations, as stated by Holden. On October 20, 1951, Post Commander Alvin K. Holden officially declared that he could not support a political group under the American Legion, as the Legion's Constitution forbade the fostering of political or religious groups. In this somber moment, the faces of the 300 attendees in the Independence Colored School auditorium reflected profound unease, leading to the committee's dissolution. Thereafter, a political organization known as "The People's Defense League of Tangipahoa Parish" was established, with Post Commander Alvin K. Holden selected as parish president. Additional officers of this organization included:

Rev. E. M. Booker, Vice President

Mrs. Myrtle Gordon, Secretary

Mr. James Elliott, Treasurer

Mrs. Rovan Stanley, Financial Secretary

This organization pursued a voting rights campaign. Attorney Louis Berry of Alexandria, Louisiana, initiated legal action against William Mason, Registrar of Voters of Tangipahoa Parish, and the State of Louisiana. The case was referred to the Eastern District Court in New Orleans, Louisiana, by Judges Herbert J. Christenberry and J.S. Wright in the vicinity of New Orleans, Louisiana. The complaint was endorsed by the following individuals:

Burnell Stevens

1. Mr. Armanda Butler

2. Mr. Robert E. Jackson

3. Mr. Alvin E. Holden

4. Mr. Leonard P. Holden

5. Mr. Clarence Bernard

6. Mr. Blanche Mitchell

8. Mr. John Alvin Clark.