Jacqueline & Sewall
1967
198819671988Sewall Butler: born August 25, 1920
Jacqueline Williams: born March 16, 1919
Married: July 26, 1943 at Woodstock, VT
Jacqueline: born April 28
Susan: born June 17
Tolbert: born March 25
David: born November 19
Nathan: born February 1
Compiled by David Butler from an evening of notes taken at
Mom and Dad's Trailer at the Leisure Time resort at Echo Glen,
WA. April 26 and 28 1990. See also a biography devoted to Jacqueline Williams Butler.
On September 30, 1942, in the midst of War-time America, Mom and Dad (Jackie and Sewall Butler) had their first date at the Iceland Restaurant in New York City. The picture to the left was taken at the Iceland, which was located at 1680 Broadway. The cover that contains the photo advertises "Caberet, Smorgasbord and Popular prices." On their way to dinner, Dad asked Mom where she would like to eat. Mom was somewhat noncommittal and said besides the man she married would get off easy since 2 can live as cheaply as one and she ate like a bird, anyway. Dad insists this is proof that Mother was proposing to him on their first date. Mom tells the story that after that, Dad proposed to her on every subsequent date. It got to the point that Mom said she'd only go out with him if he'd stop proposing to her. Anyway at the time of their first date, Dad was in the Merchant marines just back from a trip to England. Mom was attending Bank Street College, and student teaching at Rosemary Jr. School in Greenwich CT. She was living with Nanny's Sister Florence (Housie) House at 502 W. 121st. Dad was living at the Sloan House (a YMCA hotel on W. 34th Street) and on board his ship "Robin Adair".For their honeymoon they borrowed Grampy's tires and headed
to Cape Cod. They were planning to spend one week there. At the
end of the week, they were having such a good time they decided
to stay another. They didn't bother notifying anyone and Grampy
got characteristically nervous about their tardiness and about
whether he would get his tires back.
After their honeymoon they dropped Dad's car off in Ledyard and
took the Train to New York. They stayed with Tommie (Priscilla)
Simon whose husband Harry was a ship's carpenter on Dad's Ship.
Mom and Dad found an apartment around the corner from them above
a Gay bar in Greenwich village.
Around Thanksgiving they sublet their NY apartment, Mom took maternity
leave and went to Woodstock. Dad entered Officer Candidate School
at Fort Trumbull in New London on December 14, 1943. They lived
in the little house behind Gram and Gramp's house on Gallup Hill
Road in Ledyard. Dad had bought the house from Gram by sending
money back while he was at sea. When Dad got out of school in
April 1944 they took the train up to Woodstock. Jackie was expected
soon and Mom wanted to be with Nanny when that occurred.
Mom and Dad were sleeping in one of the twin beds in Mom and Aunt
Jean's bedroom when Mom's water broke about 4 in the morning.
They hustled off to the Hospital in Hanover NH and Jackie was
born 24 hours later on April 28th. When the Doctor came to announce
that the baby had been born, Dad was sound asleep in the waiting
room making it hard for the doctor to believe he was the father
and that this was his first child.
Dad had to leave the next morning to get back to his ship which
was heading for the Mediterranean. A month later Dad was passing
through the straights of Gibraltar when he heard the news of D-Day.
Mom stayed in Vermont until after Sue was born. She lived with
Nanny and Skipper and paid room and board.
Dad was in NY when VE day was announced on May 7 1945, but by
virtue of being too slow the rest of the mates got off the ship
before he did to celebrate and he had to stay on-board to tend
the engine room. Dad was at Sea when Sue was born on June 17.
And in August on VJ Day he was in Lorenzo Marques, East Africa.
This time he was one of the first over the side of the boat and
headed for a bar. When they got back to the ship, Dad's main hope
was to get a few hours to sleep it off before his duties began.
The first assistant engineer came and told Dad (who was second
assistant) to get below and warm the engines. Dad said that's
the third's job. First says I can't wake him. Dad says pretend
you can't wake me. Dad's argument fell on deaf ears and he was
soon down warming the engines.
Dad got off his last boat in February 1946. He got his official
release papers in April 1946. Sue was about 10 months old when
they bought a trailer, hitched it to their '39 Plymouth and headed
off for Albuquerque. This mobile-home was probably smaller than
the travel trailer I was sitting in while the two of them told me these
stories. It didn't even have a bathroom. But it was Mom, Dad, Jackie
and Susie's home for the next year.
Leaving for Albuquerque (Woodstock, VT): Gladys Williams,
Jackie Butler, Edward Williams, Eva Butler, Jackie, Sewall, Sue,
Sylvester Butler. (Cromwell, CT) Carie & George Butler
host Ralph and Sylvester's families. (Rochester, NY) Stopping to visit
Aunt Lucinthia and family. Sewall, Sue, Ruth Carroll, Jackie, Gladys, Lucinthia,
Jackie. Front:Alan and Marge Carroll.
On their way out to Albuquerque, Dad was ready to stop one evening
but Mom urged him to go on for another hour or so, since it wasn't
that late yet and the girls were doing fine. Dad decided that
he'd had enough and stopped anyway. Getting out of the car and
going back to the trailer he found that the trailer hitch had
fatigued and split. It was not far from being history.
They spent a year in Albuquerque. Dad started school there and
then quit because he couldn't support the four of them. He worked
at Creamland Dairy and picked up milk from the Farmers in the
county. He also worked for Major Von Renselear who bottled Tropical
Treat. They lived in three trailer parks one off Central Avenue
near the Fairgrounds, a second near Harvard and a third on Cochiti
road a block off Central.
In May 1947 they sold their trailer-home and bought a small utility
trailer. They also sold the Plymouth and bought a '41 Chevrolet
woody station wagon. They had decided they would like another
baby and knew they couldn't have it in the small trailer in Albuquerque,
so they decided to head back to Connecticut. Aunt Jean flew down
to visit for a few days then drove back with them.
In the Pennsylvania Dutch country they pulled over to the side
of the road to sleep one night. Mom and Susie were on one seat
Aunt Jean and Jackie were on the other and Dad was tucked into
the back somehow. Dad somehow managed to end up with his head
in the diaper pail (clean mind you) but sleeping like a baby.
Mom woke in the early dawn and heard the clop-clop of horse hoofs
and a carriage. the Two men in the cart stopped by the car and
Mom heard one ask the other, "Do ya think they're dead?".
"No" the other didn't reckon so. "Look at that
one's got his head in a bucket".
They moved back into the little house in Ledyard. Dad did odd
jobs then sold Airway Sanitizer vacuums. Tol was born on March
25, 1948 in New London Connecticut.
Next the family moved to Castine Maine. The house they rented
there, owned by the La Boutlier family, was a former hotel. Mom
and Dad shut off 10 bedrooms to conserve heat. Dad taught fourth
and fifth grades in a school there.
Back to Ledyard, Dad went to school in Willamantic and taught
8th graders as part of the training. They sold the little house
and moved it up Gallup hill road. Next to Goshen, CT where Dad
taught sixth and seventh graders in the public school. Next the
family lived with Gram and Gramp for a year. Uncle Ralph helped
Dad get a job at Travelers Insurance company.
Dad bought the house on Glen Hills Road in Meriden in 1952. This
is where David was born in November 19, 1952 and Nathan was born
February 1, 1954. In the summer of 1956 we moved to the Savage/Butler
homestead in Cromwell.
SUE: We held a Carnival in the back yard of Meriden house.
Lynnie Bon (Lynn Yvonne) was the fat lady, tho Sue says that Lynnie
Bon was actually very skinny. Other "performers" included
Tommy DeMonte and the Rodrigues' though Sue doesn't remember the
details.
DAVID: I remember a large wooden box with a board nailed across
the top as a wing and another on the front as a propeller. I seem
to remember a number of kids in the yard at the time and suspect
this might have been part of the carnival, though sometimes I
wonder if it might have been a dream. I couldn't have been more
than 3-1/2 at the time.
TOL: In 1955 he watched the very first Mouseketeers show with Richie DeMonte over at the DeMonte's house.
TOL: While we were living in Meriden Tol went with Dad to pick up a tent at someone's house. [not sure if this tent is the same as the umbrella tent.] On the way Dad wanted to make sure Tol knew the difference between "projects" and a "development".
Dad used to tell the story how we had two singing canaries but that the male canary never sang a note until the day the female died.
Nathan stepped on a tack in the drive way the day we were moving to Cromwell. Making him the first of the family to visit Dr. Nelson.
DAVID: I remember a trip back to Meriden, probably a week or so after we had moved. I remember the house was empty except for a few odds and ends we were picking up. I think one thing we picked up was a green record player.
