My Genealogy Hound

Thomas Butterworth, a young and energetic farmer of York Township, and a native of this county, was born April 9, 1855, being the son of Charles Rhodes and Sarah Dean (King) Butterworth. The father was born in Rochdale, England, in 1829, and died in the Confederate army in 1863. His parents, Thomas and Mary (Rhodes) Butterworth, came from England in 1845, and settled in Lonoke County, Ark., being among the earliest of the pioneer settlers of this locality. The mother of Thomas Butterworth was born in Gibson County, Tenn., March 17, 1837, and is now living with him. She bore four children, two of whom still survive, Thomas and his sister, Mrs. Mary Rebecca Robertson, a resident of Lincoln County, N. M. Young Butterworth was educated in the common schools of this county, and at the time of his father’s death was living with his mother and two sisters at Faulkner Gap, the ravages of war having left them almost destitute. Soon after that sad occurrence, Mr. George Melten, an uncle of Mrs. Butterworth, moved the family to Lonoke County (where he resided) to see that they were properly cared for. In 1867 they settled upon the farm on which they now live, which Mrs. Butterworth had purchased, and with the help of Thomas, then a lad of twelve years, began carrying on the place. Rigid economy had to be observed and only bread and milk formed their diet for two years, excepting a little meat occasionally. Indeed at one time they had nothing with which to make bread, and depended on a neighbor for corn to grind until their wheat was matured. The first two years their horse subsisted upon grass. But such a condition of affairs could not always last, and now Mr. Butterworth is in moderate circumstances and owns 260 acres of land, with some seventy-five acres under cultivation, and is worth about $1,000 in personal and real estate property. He was married December 10, 1884, to Miss Margaret Ellen Ringgold, who was born in Pulaski County, January 14, 1870. She was a daughter of William and Sarah Ringgold, early settlers of Pulaski County. Mrs. Butterworth died November 3, 1888, being the mother of one child, also deceased. Mr. Butterworth is a member of the ‘‘County Wheel,’’ and also belongs to the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. He is a prominent Democrat of his county and is a good citizen.