Series 1: Alexander and Maud Spence Butcher papers, circa 1910-1988, inclusive
Scope and Contents
Series 1: Alexander and Maud Spence Butcher papers, circa 1910-1988, consists of records related to the lives and work of Alexander and Maud Spence Butcher. Types of materials include correspondence, notebooks, citizenship and identification papers, ephemera related to church and organizational memberships, and paperwork related to renting and purchasing property in Brooklyn.
Alexander Butcher's Panama Canal employment records include applications for retirement benefits. His shipwright employment records include details of an incident of discrimination at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.
Certificates of Black Star Line stock and Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) membership (both organizations founded by Marcus Garvey) from New Orleans indicate Alexander Butcher's support of Pan-Africanism. Publications in the folder of Black liberation readings include Reverend Herbert Daughtry's "Seize the Future" (1979), "Onward, Jamaica!" from the Jamaica Progressive League of New York (1937), and "A Negro Looks at War" by John Henry Williams (1940).
Correspondence from 1923 to 1925 gives insight into the family's life in New Orleans, Maud's death, and caring for the children after her death.
Alexander Butcher wrote several affidavits of support for relatives coming from Barbados and Panama, which include information about Alexander Butcher's employment, salary, and address at the time. Folders titled with addresses are homes Alexander Butcher rented or bought and include rent receipts, letters to tenants, and deeds.
Arrangement
This series is arranged chronologically.
Biographical Note
Alexander Butcher was born in Barbados on June 4, 1892 (according to his passport) or June 13, 1893 (according to his naturalization papers) or January 16, 1888 (according to a resolution from the Consulate General of Barbados on his 99th birthday) to John Butcher and Mary Archer Butcher.
Alexander Butcher left home when he was 12 years old to earn money for his family. He immigrated to Panama in 1906 and worked as a carpenter on the Panama Canal. Butcher met Maud Spence in Panama. Maud (also spelled Maude) Carmen Spence was born August 28, 1899 in Panama City, Panama to Rebeca Gable and Alfred Spence. Maud and Alexander moved to Cuba after the 1920 Panama Canal workers strike and married on November 8, 1922 at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana, Cuba. The Butchers had four children: Lloyd Franklin (1918-circa 1918), George Earl (Ernest) (1920-1996), Ina Louise (1921-2025), and Laura (1923-1991).
The family moved to New Orleans, LA in 1923. Alexander Butcher moved to Brooklyn in 1924 and first lived at 485 Herkimer Street, planning to send for Maud and the children once he was settled. However, Maud Butcher died July 17, 1924 in New Orleans, LA and the children moved to New York City.
In 1928, Alexander Butcher became a naturalized citizen. He and his three children were living at 162 Jefferson Avenue in Brooklyn at that time. Alexander Butcher worked as a carpenter and was employed by the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He was a member of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and was active in the First AME Zion Church at 54 MacDonough Street. Alexander Butcher owned several properties in Brooklyn: 113 Hancock Street, 565 Halsey Street, and 80 Kingston Avenue.
Alexander Butcher died in 1988.
[Panama Canal employment records], circa 1910-1948, inclusive
[Lloyd Franklin Butcher baptismal certificate], 1918
[Notebook], circa 1920, inclusive
[Maud Butcher health examination], 1920
[Black Star Line stock certificate], 1921
[Passports], 1918-1922, inclusive
[Maud and Alexander Butcher marriage certificates], 1922
[Maud and Alexander Butcher naturalization and citizenship papers], 1922-1928, inclusive
[Universal Negro Improvement Association membership certificate], 1923
[Laura Butcher Hinkson baby book], 1923
[Maud Spence Butcher correspondence], 1923
[Correspondence between Maud and Alexander Butcher], 1924
Correspondence, 1924
[Correspondence], 1924
Correspondence, 1925
[Payment to Mary Butcher], 1926
[Correspondence], 1926-1927, inclusive
[162 Jefferson Avenue], 1927
[Visa application affidavits of support], 1927-1952, inclusive
[Union cards and dues booklets], 1927-1985, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1929
[Ernest Butcher papers], 1929-1973, inclusive
[Evening elementary school certificate], 1932
[Correspondence], 1935-1937, inclusive
Rose of Sharon Lodge, 1937-1941, inclusive
Processing Information
The hat band included with these materials was unstitched during processing so the ribbon could lay flat in a box.
[Life insurance policies], 1937-1946, inclusive
[Black liberation readings], 1937-1979, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1938-1939, inclusive
40 Watkins Street, 1938-1939, inclusive
[Carpenter employment records], 1939-1971, inclusive
565 Halsey Street, 1939-1974, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1940-1942, inclusive
[Shipwright employment records], 1941-1950, inclusive
[Affidavit of residence and citizenship], 1942
[Paragon Progressive Community Association], 1943-1963, inclusive
113 Hancock Street, 1943-1973, inclusive
[Department of Welfare, Application for Home Relief], circa 1945, inclusive
[Rent collection notebook], 1945-1971, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1946-1947, inclusive
Baptismal certificate, 1946-1950, inclusive
Brevoort Savings Bank, 1946-1950, inclusive
[80 Kingston Avenue], 1946-1954, inclusive
[First AME Zion Church], 1947-1977, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1948-1949, inclusive
[Driver's licenses and vehicle registrations], 1949-1956, inclusive
"A Message Addressed to the Civic Forum of All Saints", circa 1950, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1951-1957, inclusive
Business items, circa 1955-1978, inclusive
[Political involvement], 1957-1980, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1960-1969, inclusive
[Programs], 1969-1986, inclusive
[Correspondence], 1970-1979, inclusive
[1930 and 1940 census copies], 1971
Afro-centric wedding invitation, 1972
Scope and Contents
This folder includes a wedding invitation for Alexander Butcher's grandson Elliot B. T. Johnson and Inez Delores Smith.
[Health insurance], 1973-1979, inclusive
[Robbery police report receipt], 1978
[Correspondence], 1980-1989, inclusive
[Edits to will], circa 1983, inclusive
[99th birthday celebration recognitions], 1987
Scope and Contents
Includes recognitions from the White House, New York State, and the Consulate General of Barbados.
