Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1849-1990 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
2 sub-series
Context area
Archival history
The Butler letters were originally provided to Kerby A. Miller in 1978 by Martin J. Kelly of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, from which the original transcripts were produced. The photocopies of the letters were provided by the Travers family to Miller via Kelly in January 1990.
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Materials regarding 8 letters written by Irish emigrants in the United States to Michael Russell of Johninstown, Rathcoffey, County Kildare between 1849 and 1874. Authors include Michael's brother James in Wisconsin, Michael's sister-in-law Ellen in Virginia, and James' brother-in-law Richard H. Walsh in New York City. James Butler emigrated circa 1847-1848 and went to Wisconsin, working as a carpenter in Milwaukee and in Green Bay, where his first wife, Bridget (née Walsh), died in 1851. When his Green Bay employers went bankrupt in 1852, James went to Illinois where he remarried in 1861. The series includes copies of the 8 letters, and research centred on James Butler.