Butterfield Papers

Putnam County NY History Collections

Letter to Daniel Butterfield from C. Morrell - Image Source

Collection Facts

Extent:

Dates of Original:

1811-1913

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Historical Context

Julia L. Butterfield was born in 1823. After the death of her first husband, Julia married General Daniel Butterfield in 1886. Daniel Butterfield was the son of John Butterfield and Malinda Harriet Baker. He graduated from Union College in 1849. Butterfield joined the Army after the Civil War began, rose quickly through the ranks and served in several major campaigns. He arranged the bugle call "Taps" and designed the system of corps badges used by the federal army. After leaving the Army in 1870, Butterfield worked for The American Express Company, which was co-founded by his father.

The Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library was constructed between 1923–1925, with the Library established in 1927, based on the bequest of Julia’s will. Along with funds for the building and a vision for the layout and arrangement, she also bequeathed the Butterfield Papers, original artworks including paintings by Hudson River painters, as well as furniture to the Library.

Please contact the Julia L. Butterfield Memorial Library with questions about this collection: 10 Morris Avenue. Cold Spring, NY 10516. (845) 265-3040.

Scope of Collection

The Butterfield Papers contain some information regarding Julia L. Butterfield and her life prior to and subsequent her marriage to Daniel Butterfield, but the bulk of the Butterfield Papers are correspondence, deeds, Civil War letters, field notes, notebooks, telegraphs, newspapers, and scrapbooks directly relating to Daniel Butterfield’s early life in Utica, NY, his involvement in his father’s company (what would become The American Express Co.), his time in the Union Army during the Civil War, and his later civic involvements through to his death and internment at West Point Military Academy, West Point, NY.