Portal to Our Buttery Roots

Last night I accidentally stumbled upon the 1978 British miniseries Lillie. Always a fan of British TV, period dramas and miniseries, I rented it not even knowing what it was about, and until I read the back of the DVD envelope, I didn't realize it was based on the life of Lillie Langtry (see www.jaynesjersey.com/lillielang.htm).

In the first scene, on a rocky beautiful beach, a man asks this girl if she is from Jersey, and then he mentions St. Hellier. He is a soldier in the regiment. Well, naturally, I jumped online and did some quick research, and it turns out she was born and raised in the same era and place as our Buttery ancestors! 1852 or 3. SO, it's really cool to watch this--like a portal into our past!

FYI: This is one interesting woman! Lillie was the semi-official mistress to the Prince of Wales, Queen Victoria's son Albert Edward ("Bertie"), the future king Edward VII.

Benjamin Buttery and Jane Griffiths

I'm very excited we have a history buff and researcher in the family (he lives in Wales.) According to James' findings, we are half Welsh and half English.

William Buttery's (1789-1869) mother (Jane Griffiths) was Welsh. His father Benjamin (our Patriarch) is buried in St. Mary's Churchyard in Monmouth, Wales.

Thanks, James. Keep up the good work!

My visit to Swansea, Wales, in 1987 (or 88) was pretty much accidental. On the plane trip over to college in England, I sat with an American girl of the same age who was living in Wales. At one point in the school year, I jumped on the train and stayed with her for the weekend. She introduced me to Prawn chips!

Welsh Buttery Branch

Thanks to my blog, a welsh cousin (James) has made contact with me. Very cool. He says:

"I was born in the county of Pembrokeshire, in a small (and absolutely stunning) fishing town in west wales called Fishguard, all the surviving Butterys are still there including my mam and aunt."

James said this about his family in his first email:

"My mother Suzanne Dyer (formerly Buttery) was sorting through her attic at Christmas time and stumbled upon her Grandfathers (Joseph Henry Buttery) medals from world war I. She passed them to me to keep them in the family and because of my interest in military history. By researching his military number which is engraved on the medal I opened up some interesting avenues for research, including your website."

Fishguard, Wales

Out-of-This-World Tourism Videos

First Phone Call to Newfoundland

Download Buttery Family Chart PDF
Today I placed a call to Hazel Kettle in Grand Bay! We had a delightful chat and I was able to gather a little more info. for the chart, as well as correct some errors. Hazel is the 11th and final child of John Edward Buttery (1885-1971). She is also the last surviving child. John was Eliza's (Gammy) brother, so Hazel is my 1st cousin 2x removed. Hazel was a very good niece to Gammy. She stayed in touch and sent most of the photos and postcards I found in Gammy's possessions. I hope I can meet her in person one day soon. Here are some photos.

Hazel is in the center between her sisters.

Hazel is 2nd from left-1970

Hazel on left with Dad and oldest sibling Sadie

In 2009 with great grands

Deep Rooted Thoughts

Why isn't everyone interested in discovering their heritage? And why is it that the ones that ARE interested are usually the "over 40" crowd? Nearly 25 years ago I spent my first year of college in England. I visited Scotland and Wales and never knew until this past year that I had cousins in all of these places. But if I HAD, would I have cared? Why didn't my mother and grandfather have an interest in learning about all of their cousins? If they had, I might have spent my summers in Newfoundland!



Buttery Branches

With the new discovery of a third cousin in Wales, UK, I thought it interesting to map the branches geographically from William Buttery. This will obviously be a continuing exercise as I slowly gather info. William (1789-1869) and Alega (wife # 2) had 10 children, and their descendants landed as follows:

1. William Buttery (Jr.) 1845*: Channel Islands
2. Elizabeth Buttery 1846: Channel Islands
3. Eliza Buttery 1847: Ireland
4. Joseph H. Buttery 1850: Wales
5. Charles Buttery 1852:
6. James E. Buttery 1855:
7. Richard Buttery 1856:
8. **Albert Edward Buttery 1858: Newfoundland, USA
9. Emily Buttery 1861:
10. Rosa Duncan Buttery Nugent 1866: Ireland, Canada