Ancestral Profile

Ruth Ann Butler was my Second Great Grand Aunt, daughter of Barney Butler and Hannah Chase Butler, sister of William Butler, my Great Great Grandfather, namesake of my Great Grandmother, Ruth Ann Butler Mattice. She was born, probably in Roxbury, Delaware County, New York in about 1833.

She's an example of a large number of ancestors for whom there is little information.  She was born way before vital records had begun to be officially kept.  And, in the rural parts of the country, even then many births were not always registered.

The only documents I have of her life are census records.  The first time that the names of all family members were enumerated on the U.S. census was in 1850, so the first record of Ruth Ann's existence is on the 1850 U.S. Census in Roxbury, New York and she was already 17 years old.  She also appears, with her parents and siblings, on the 1855 New York State Census and the 1860 U.S. Census, still in Roxbury.  In 1860, she was 27. I have found no record of her after that.

This is not unusual, not just for my family branches, but for thousands of families.  Think about it; you're born, you live and you die and, except for a handful of family members, there is no record of your life.  It's one of the reasons I do this; to record all of these people who I'm related to.

In order to write this post about Aunt Ruth Ann, I've done some recent research.  Whether she died shortly after the 1860 Census or got married, I've found no record, yet.  My research always includes searching online family trees, official records, old newspaper sites and various other genealogical sites.  So far, I've found nothing.  Had she married and had children, there may have been mention of her in a variety of records; but I've found none, so far.  This is one of the frustrations of family history.  She existed; there are a few census records, but nothing else has been found.  

I revisit these ancestors from time to time because you never know where you'll find some little bit of family information, but I'm researching ALL my family branches and each individual so revisiting specific individuals who have little documentation is rare.

And, it's sad that someone in the family lived and died and we know little about her:  Ruth Ann Butler was probably born in Roxbury. She was last seen, age 27, in Roxbury.  She was my Great Great Grand Aunt on my father's side.

That's it for now.