Sunday 17th November 2013
Virginia Denton, who lives in Victoria, British Columbia, writes ~
Hello Danny . . .
“As early as 1704, an Ebenezer Butler of Warminster bought pews in the “new Meeting Place” and his house was in front of St. Lawrence Chapel there. On retiring from business, Ebenezer Butler built a villa at Crockerton, adjoining the chapel there. He is said to have been of a mild disposition and to have died about 1775. But his “tomb” near the little door of the church had already disappeared in 1883 when H.M.Gunn’s scarce little book “History of Nonconformity in Warminster” was published and I know of no record of Ebenezer’s death! According to Gunn, Ebenezer’s wife, Mary Bayly, died in 1781, aged 78 and Ebenezer had by her, eight daughters. These are my ancestors . . . they had eight daughters . . . Rachel the oldest, married Capt. John Thompson in 1753 at St Deny’s Church, Warminster, and both are buried there, under a big Yew tree near the front door. I wonder if you have ever come across this family??? Thank you in advance for any reply.
Danny Howell replies ~
Thank you Virginia for your email about your ancestor Ebenezer Butler. I am familiar with the role of the Butler family and the big part they played in the Non-conformist movement in Warminster, hence the numerous mentions of Ebenezer and his family in the book you mention. I have a first-edition copy of Henry Mayo Gunn’s book The History Of Nonconformity In Warminster (1853). Because of the wealth of information it contains I republished it in March 2003 (but this too is now out of print).
It is perhaps not surprising that H.M. Gunn could not find “the tomb [of Ebenezer Butler] near the door of the little church [Crockerton Baptist Chapel]” saying it had disappeared by 1883, and that’s because Ebenezer is not buried there, nor in the little graveyard just a little way behind Crockerton Baptist Chapel. It could be that Gunn was referring to a plaque to Ebenezer Butler near the chapel door ~ a plaque that recorded Ebenezer’s involvement with that chapel or the Baptist cause.
Ebenezer Butler is buried at the churchyard of the Parish of St. Deny’s, The Minster, Warminster. The Burial Register for St. Denys records Ebenezer’s burial there on 10th November 1774. But whoever made the entry in the register spelt Ebenezer’s surname as Buckler (another well-known Warminster family).
Ebenezer Butler’s burial place is near the front door of St. Denys’ Church, beneath one of the table top tombs under the ancient yew tree. Ebenezer’s daughter Rachel is buried in the same grave (the grave you mention in your email to me). The wording on the top of the tomb is readable for the first 12 lines. It reads:
“In memory of EBENEZAR BUTLER
who departed this life
Nov ye 6th 1774 aged 67 years.
Alfo RACHEL THOMPSON
daughter of the above
and wife of
JOHN THOMPSON of LONDON
who departed this life
July ye 4th 1787 aged 54 years.
Alfo JOHN THOMPSON
Obt. 30 May 1800 aged 78.
Alfo . . . .”
The final six lines of the tomb top are no longer readable, but could possibly be to Ebenezar Butler’s widow.
There are some more lines on the eastern side of the tomb, which read:
Also to the memory of
JANE TURNER WELSFORD
the beloved wife of
GEORGE WELSFORD late of Weymouth
who left Hell for Heaven
the 6th October 1838
the righteous shall be in
everlasting remembrance
The last line is from the King James Bible, Psalms 112:6
I think I am right in saying that inside the Baptist Chapel at Banks Buildings, Melcombe Regis, Dorset, on the south wall is a white marble tablet commemorating Frances (died 1833) and Jane Turner (died 1838) “wives of George Welsford”.
Interestingly, I think I am also correct in saying that also on the south wall of Melcombe Regis Baptist Chapel is a monument to a Thomas Butler who died in 1838.
The Melcombe Regis Baptist Chapel opened in 1814.
But I digress, so back to Warminster, and to Ebenezer Butler (or maybe we should write Ebenezar Butler) who died on 6th November 1774.
There was a series of articles published in the Warminster Herald newspaper in 1882 and 1883, called ‘Rambles In And Around Warminster’. In these articles, someone, anonymously recorded many of the inscriptions on tombs and memorials in churches and on tombs and gravestones in churchyards, in Warminster and the surrounding villages, adding biographical details of deceased persons if known. The first article concerned the Parish Church of St. Denys, Warminster, but the writer was at a loss to say anything of note about the Butler tomb I have just referred to above. The writer of ‘Rambles’, in reference to the tombs under the yew tree at St. Denys’, included this: “No satisfactory information can be obtained as to who were Ebenezar Butler, and his daughter Rachel Thompson, whose monument is situated near here. Ebenezar Butler died in 1774.”
We do of course know that Ebenezar Butler was a grocer and we know, thanks to Gunn’s book, about Ebenezar’s role with the non-conformist movement in Warminster and Crockerton. I have an inkling that Ebenezar’s father was a John Butler. At least, Virginia, these notes from me to you, will put paid to you not knowing any record of Ebenezar’s death.
Below are some photographs I took yesterday (Saturday 16th November 2013), which I hope will add something pictorial to your Butler family tree ~
Crockerton Baptist Chapel (now no longer used):
Below: The villa adjoining Crockerton Baptist Chapel:
Below, some photographs of the table top tomb of Ebenezar Butler (and other members of his family) under the yew tree near the front door of St. Deny’s Church, The Minster, Warminster:
Next, some photos of the inscription
on the top of the tomb:
~
Next, the inscription on the eastern side of the tomb:
And finally, a couple of photos showing
the yew tree outside the front porch
of St. Deny’s Church:
