Thomas Henry and Jenny Butler: Union Pacific Coal Company's Mine Superintendent in Hanna
Page by Bob Leathers
1926
Mr. T. H. Butler, Union Pacific Coal Company's Mine Superintendent at Hanna (UPCCEM, December 1926)
Mr. T. H. Butler (UPCCEM, December 1926)
1928
Hanna. Hanna Band Drum Major T. H. Butler. Superintendent of Hanna Mines (UPCCEM, July 1928)
Hanna Band at the 1928 Old Timers Celebration in Rock Springs (UPCCEM, July 1928)
1929
Hanna. Old Timer Superintendent T.H. Butler (UPCCEM, July 1929)
1940
Thomas "Tom" Henry Butler
When the Hanna band finished, Mr. Eugene McAuliffe, President of The Union Pacific Coal Company, spoke from the stage of the Opera House at Hanna, his speech following:
“Mr. Bayless and my fellow employees of The Union Pacific Coal Company in the several districts:
“Before speaking on matters pertaining to Safety, I wish to say to all those who this evening are sorrowing for the passing of our old friend and fellow employee, and late officer of the Company, Mr. Thomas H. Butler, that I feel the same deep loss that you do, in the death of an old associate and friend. Mr. Butler was a competent employee, a considerate official of the Company, and a fine type of citizen and Christian gentleman.
“The tribute paid to Mr. Butler’s memory by the Hanna band, with which he had much to do in past years, in playing a memorial selection in his honor before the beginning of the Safety program, was a fine tribute to a man whom we all held in deep affection. ‘Tom’ as his friends knew him, was born in old Carbon. There he began work in the mines at the tender age of ten, and it is in old Carbon he will be laid to rest. We will not soon forget him.” (UPCCEM, August 1940)
Butler, Jenny
Cemetery: Carbon
Born: May 14, 1872
Died: Nov. 5, 1958
Age: 86 y's, 5 m's, 21 d's
Note: Shares a stone with Thomas Henry Butler
Cemetery: Carbon
Born: May 14, 1872
Died: Nov. 5, 1958
Age: 86 y's, 5 m's, 21 d's
Note: Shares a stone with Thomas Henry Butler
Butler, Thomas Henry
Cemetery: Carbon
Headstone: "November 27, 1870 - July 9, 1940"; Shares stone with Jenny Butler; IOOF/FLT
Born: Nov. 27, 1870
Died: July 9, 1940
Age: 69 y's, 7 m's, 12 d's
Note: Sorrow was expressed on every side when it became known that Mr. T.H. Butler had passed away at Ogden, Utah, Tuesday, July 9th. Mr. Butler, since his retirement in June 1939, had been in indifferent health, but his death came entirely unexpectedly. It is difficult to write an adequate obituary of him who was a close personal friend of many of The Union Pacific Coal Company staff. While in Hanna on Thursday, July 11th, President McAuliffe said of Mr. Butler: “Men come and go, but there has never been no finer man than Thomas H. Butler. He was of that splendid type of manhood that all who came to know him admired and respected.’’ This fine tribute to a loyal employee of the Company expresses the sentiments of the entire staff. Mr. Butler was known and respected by all with whom he came in contact for his integrity, and it is difficult to believe that the fine friendship which existed between him and his associates has come to an end. The story of Mr. Butler’s life is an interesting one, and exemplifies the fact that, by application and hard work, one may obtain advancement in this country. He was born at Carbon, Wyoming, of immigrant parents, going to work in the mines of Carbon at an extremely early age, continuing in the employ of The Union Pacific Coal Company in many positions until he was appointed General Supervisor of Mines at all The Union Pacific Coal Company districts. No trust was ever placed in Mr. Butler that he failed to carry out in every particular. His early training and wide experience in mining fitted him for positions of responsibility which he was later to hold, as Mine Superintendent at Hanna, Superior, and Rock Springs, and in the administration of his official duties he never lost the human touch which endeared him to those he supervised. At all of the districts in which he resided he gave much of his time for the welfare of the community in which he lived. He took an active part in all community activities, and in times of sickness or trouble among the employees he was always present with his wise counsel, and, in many cases, financial help. He was a member of the Episcopalian Church and was active in all the work of the Church wherever he resided. After funeral service at his home in Ogden, his body was brought to Rock Springs, and services were conducted in the Masonic Temple, with Mr. T.S. Taliaferro, Jr., presiding. Mr. Butler was a member of the Blue Lodge of Masons, Wyoming Consistory No. 1, Cheyenne, a member of the Mystic Shrine at Rawlins, and a 33rd Degree Mason, as well as a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Odd Fellows lodge. At the conclusion of the services at Rock Springs, the body was taken to Hanna where he had resided and was Superintendent for so many years for the final services, which were conducted by the Episcopalian Church and Knights of Pythias. He was buried in the old cemetery at Carbon, Mr. Butler’s birthplace and former home. Although no one resides at Carbon today, it is truly a ghost town, but old Carbonites, when they die, are returned to the cemetery there for burial. That, we know, was Mr. Butler’s wish, that he rest in that quiet God’s acre among old friends and associates of more than fifty years. Our sincerest sympathy is extended to Mrs. Butler and his family and relatives. (UPCCEM, August 1940)
Cemetery: Carbon
Headstone: "November 27, 1870 - July 9, 1940"; Shares stone with Jenny Butler; IOOF/FLT
Born: Nov. 27, 1870
Died: July 9, 1940
Age: 69 y's, 7 m's, 12 d's
Note: Sorrow was expressed on every side when it became known that Mr. T.H. Butler had passed away at Ogden, Utah, Tuesday, July 9th. Mr. Butler, since his retirement in June 1939, had been in indifferent health, but his death came entirely unexpectedly. It is difficult to write an adequate obituary of him who was a close personal friend of many of The Union Pacific Coal Company staff. While in Hanna on Thursday, July 11th, President McAuliffe said of Mr. Butler: “Men come and go, but there has never been no finer man than Thomas H. Butler. He was of that splendid type of manhood that all who came to know him admired and respected.’’ This fine tribute to a loyal employee of the Company expresses the sentiments of the entire staff. Mr. Butler was known and respected by all with whom he came in contact for his integrity, and it is difficult to believe that the fine friendship which existed between him and his associates has come to an end. The story of Mr. Butler’s life is an interesting one, and exemplifies the fact that, by application and hard work, one may obtain advancement in this country. He was born at Carbon, Wyoming, of immigrant parents, going to work in the mines of Carbon at an extremely early age, continuing in the employ of The Union Pacific Coal Company in many positions until he was appointed General Supervisor of Mines at all The Union Pacific Coal Company districts. No trust was ever placed in Mr. Butler that he failed to carry out in every particular. His early training and wide experience in mining fitted him for positions of responsibility which he was later to hold, as Mine Superintendent at Hanna, Superior, and Rock Springs, and in the administration of his official duties he never lost the human touch which endeared him to those he supervised. At all of the districts in which he resided he gave much of his time for the welfare of the community in which he lived. He took an active part in all community activities, and in times of sickness or trouble among the employees he was always present with his wise counsel, and, in many cases, financial help. He was a member of the Episcopalian Church and was active in all the work of the Church wherever he resided. After funeral service at his home in Ogden, his body was brought to Rock Springs, and services were conducted in the Masonic Temple, with Mr. T.S. Taliaferro, Jr., presiding. Mr. Butler was a member of the Blue Lodge of Masons, Wyoming Consistory No. 1, Cheyenne, a member of the Mystic Shrine at Rawlins, and a 33rd Degree Mason, as well as a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Odd Fellows lodge. At the conclusion of the services at Rock Springs, the body was taken to Hanna where he had resided and was Superintendent for so many years for the final services, which were conducted by the Episcopalian Church and Knights of Pythias. He was buried in the old cemetery at Carbon, Mr. Butler’s birthplace and former home. Although no one resides at Carbon today, it is truly a ghost town, but old Carbonites, when they die, are returned to the cemetery there for burial. That, we know, was Mr. Butler’s wish, that he rest in that quiet God’s acre among old friends and associates of more than fifty years. Our sincerest sympathy is extended to Mrs. Butler and his family and relatives. (UPCCEM, August 1940)
(Image by Bob Leathers, 2021)
Henry and Jenny Butler's Plot in Carbon Cemetery. (Image by Bob Leathers)