Polly Butler (Middleton)

Wife of Pierce Butler, Signer of the US Constitution.

*************************** http://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-constitution-amendments/women-b... http://www.womenhistoryblog.com/2011/08/mary-middleton-butler.html

Mary “Polly” Middleton (1750 – 13 Nov 1790)

• She was the daughter of Mary Bull and Thomas Middleton,
  • a wealthy South Carolina planter and slave importer of Prince William Parish.
  • Mary’s uncle, Arthur Middleton was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
  • Mary’s grandmother Mary Brandford Bull willed her holdings, including Toogoodoo Plantation, to her four granddaughters.
    • Three of the granddaughters died soon after receiving their inheritance and Bull’s vast fortune was all transferred to Mary.
• Husband: Pierce Butler (1744-1822) of South Carolina
• Married on 10 January 1771
• It was an advantageous marriage for Butler as he inherited Mary’s plantations and slaves, as women were not allowed to own property at that time. However, the couple lost a majority of their wealth in the British occupation of South Carolina during the Revolutionary War.
• Together they had eight children,
  • three of whom died young:
  • Sarah (c. 1772-1831; married 1800),
  • James Mease of Philadelphia),
  • Anne Elizabeth "Eiiza" (1774-1845; unmarried twin),
  • Fraunces (1774-1836; unmarried twin),
  • Harriot Percy (c. 1775-1815; unmarried),
  • Pierce Jr. (1777-1780),
  • Thomas (1778-1838; married in1812 Eliza de Mallevault of Paris)
• Mary died in Manhattan, New York on November 13, 1790 from a drawn out illness.
• She was buried in Saint Michaels Church Cemetery in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, her hometown.

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[S306] page 461.

[S620] (The Reprint Company, Spartanburg, South Carolina), page 155.

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Mary Middleton Butler

• Birth: 1750
• Death: Nov. 13, 1790 jn Manhattan, New York County (Manhattan), New York, USA
• Wife of Pierce Butler.
  • South Carolina marriage records list a marriage between Pierce Butler, born 1744 and Mary Polly Middleton, born 1750 in South Carolina, married 10 January 1771.
• Her father was Colonel Thomas Middleton {b.1719 Goose Creek South Carolina-died December 17, 1766 Beaufort, South Carolina}.
  • He was the son of Arthur Middleton and Susan Amory and was a great uncle to Thomas Middleton
• Family links:
  • Parents: Mary Bull Middleton (____ - 1760)
  • Spouse: Pierce Butler (1744 - 1822)
  • Children:
    • Sarah Butler Mease (1772 - 1831)*
    • Pierce Butler (1777 - 1780)*
    • Thomas Butler (1778 - 1838)*
• Burial: Saint Michaels Church Cemetery in Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina, USA

******************************** Additional info at these sites:

https://books.google.com/books?id=wJwrx_H74ZUC&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=Ma...

• Major Butler's Legacy: Five Generations of a Slaveholding Family, pages 6-7. By Malcolm Bell, Jr.

https://books.google.com/books?id=VL5wUgW0RssC&pg=PA33&lpg=PA33&dq=...

• Women of the Constitution: Wives of the Signers pages, 33-35. By Janice E. McKenney, Daughters of the American Revolution. District of Columbia

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