Roderick R. Butler

American politician (1827–1902)

Roderick Randum Butler (April 9, 1827 – August 18, 1902) was an American politician who represented Tennessee's 1st district in the United States House of Representatives from 1867 to 1875, and again from 1887 to 1889. He also served several terms in the Tennessee state legislature, and briefly served as a state court judge. An opponent of secession, Butler represented Johnson County at the East Tennessee Convention in 1861, and afterward joined the Union Army. Butler was censured by the House of Representatives in March 1870 for receiving payment in return for recommending someone for admission to the U. S. Naval Academy.

Butler was born in Wytheville, Virginia, on April 9, 1827, the youngest son of George Butler. At age 13, he was bound out as an apprentice to John Haney of Newbern, Virginia, to learn the tailor's trade. After a six year apprenticeship, he moved to Taylorsville, Tennessee (modern Mountain City) to work as a tailor. At the age of 21, Butler began reading law with Carter County attorney Carrick W. Nelson. He was admitted to the bar in 1853, and practiced in Johnson County and Carter County in partnership with Nelson until the outbreak of the Civil War. He was appointed postmaster of Taylorsville by President Millard Fillmore, and was elected to a county judgeship in 1855. He was also a major of the First Battalion of the Tennessee Militia, having been elected to the rank around 1850. Described by fellow Unionist Oliver Perry Temple as "unshrinking" and "outspoken," Butler was arrested by Confederate authorities and charged with treason in 1862, but was acquitted due to lack of witnesses. He was arrested on a similar charge a short while later, but was released with the help of friends, and fled to Kentucky. He was authorized by General Ambrose Burnside to raise a Union Army regiment, but this new regiment was consolidated with the 13th Regiment Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry under Colonel John K. Miller in late 1863.

In 1867, Butler was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth United States Congress, winning over 86% of the vote in a race against Democrat James White. He ran virtually unopposed in 1868. He was finally defeated for reelection in 1874, garnering just 44% of the vote against the Democratic candidate, William McFarland. During the 40th Congress (1867–1869), Butler served on the Committee on the Revision of Laws (now part of the Judiciary Committee). During the 41st Congress, he served on the Committee on Elections and the Committee on Revolutionary Pensions. For the 42nd Congress, he was a member of the Committee on Freedmen's Affairs, and for the 43rd Congress, he was a member of the Committee on Indian Affairs.

Butler married Emeline Jane Donnelly, the daughter of a wealthy Taylorsville area farmer, in 1849. After the Civil War, the Johnson County community of Smith's Mill was renamed Butler in his honor.