Death of a Stranger Solves a Family Mystery 103 Years Later

The stranger checked his pocket watch. Almost 9:15 pm. The train from Milwaukee should pull in to the Missoula train station any minute now. He began to gather his belongings - two large suitcases full of his wallpapering and painting tools. In 1911 it didn't do to leave your luggage out of your sight so he tried to keep it by his feet whenever possible.

When the train stopped, the man picked up his luggage, ignoring the twinge of pain across his chest. He was a short man, only 5' 8" and heavy, weighing almost 215 lbs. At 55 years old he figured he wasn't in as good shape anymore and wasn't surprised that his chest and arm ached.

Carrying these suitcases as he went door to door looking for odd jobs was enough to make anyone have aches and pains! He was a drifter and went from town to town in the Western states, barely making enough to pay for his travel expenses. But that was how he had chosen to live.

He liked being alone and going places where no one knew who he was and the cries of "There goes N****r Joe!" ^FN no longer rang in his ears. For that was what the townspeople called him in the town where he grew up. His grandfather, a free man of colour from Pennsylvania, married an Irish woman and his father married a German woman so he could, and did, pass for white among those who had not known his family.

It was growing dark and was drizzling a bit, so he picked up his pace. Even though it was a comfortable 67' he was sweating as he hurried towards the stairs to the Higgins Avenue Bridge.  Trudging up the stairs he noticed he was out of breath and his chest was tingling with bursts of sharp pain. He hoped he'd find a room to rent fairly close by once he crossed the bridge into town.

The bridge was crowded with townspeople but he barely noticed as the pain in his chest increased. Halfway across the bridge, he stopped and set down his heavy cases, gasping for breath as a lightning jolt of pain hit. He leaned against the railing and then suddenly fell and lay there, not moving. A woman screamed and a few men rushed to him to see if they could help him up. But the stranger lay dead. One of the men shook his head and told his friend to run and get Doc Walsh or the town police.

The body was taken to the Undertaker where Doc Walsh went through the man's belongings. Letters revealed that his name was Joseph E. Butler and he had relatives in Grafton North Dakota. A telegram was sent to the local police in Grafton and a brother came forward. Jake Butler provided the police with Joseph's wife's name and address in Seaforth Ontario Canada and a telegram was sent to her. While we do not have that telegram we can imagine what it said

Regret to inform you of passing of your husband Joseph E. Butler. Please advise what to do with body.

It must have been a shock to Carrie Butler, his wife. Joseph had deserted the family about 10 years earlier and had not been heard from since.  He left behind his wife and 6 children ages 7 to 20. There was no love lost between Carrie and Joseph and in later years she would not talk about him or his disappearance, only saying "he went out west" when asked by her granddaughter Mary. Nothing more was said and no one had the nerve to ask Carrie for details. Again, while we don't have the telegram Carrie sent back to Missoula, we can imagine her terse words

Bury him in Missoula

And so Joseph E. Butler, my husband's great-great grandfather, was buried alone in the Missoula Cemetery in Missoula Montana. It took me over 15 years to find his death but last night was my genealogy breakthrough. I followed a hunch I had that he had ended up in North Dakota near his brother Jake, and finding a grave online for a J. E. Butler prompted me to look for records of this J. E. Butler. None were found, it was as if he had come out of nowhere. No census, no marriage, no sign that he had ever lived in or near Missoula Montana. So why was he buried there and with an actual marker?

A phone call by my husband's cousin Judy to the Cemetery and to the Funeral Home that handled his autopsy and death provided us with the following information:

Name Joseph E. Butler. Died May 17, 1911. Place of death Missoula Bridge. Coroner said Heart Disease. No name of coroner. Buried May 27, 1911. Paid cash but no name of who paid. 

The Daily Missoulian, May 18, 1911, p12

With that I went on a hunt for a death certificate or newspaper notice, something that would give us a place of birth or spouse's name. I still was not sure this was "our" Joseph at this point. At that is where luck and friends came into play. I found an index entry to a newspaper death notice placed in The Missoulian on May 18th and put out a request on Facebook for anyone with access to this edition to copy and send it to me. 

At the same time I began a search online and found that the Missoulian was available for free at Chronicling America. As I was pulling up that date, a Facebook friend sent me the article.  I eventually found 3 articles about Joseph and his lonely death in Missoula on the Higgins Avenue Bridge. 

Our cousin Judy mentioned how said it was that he died alone, but I don't think it was the saddest part of this story, for he chose the life of a drifter. 

For me the sad part was that his granddaughter Mary (my husband's grandmother) is not with us to learn what happened to her grandfather. It was a mystery she longed to solve and I would have loved to share this with her.

And so the story ends. 103 years later, Joseph has been found. Perhaps one day we may be able to visit his grave in Missoula and pay our respects.

^FN This description of the nickname the townspeople had for Joseph came from the grandson of a man who knew Joseph personally. 

The Daily Missoulian., May 19, 1911, Morning, Page 10

The Daily Missoulian., May 23, 1911, Morning, Page 10,

Lost Faces Civil War Photo Franklin Amos Pratt Connecticut

This is a very nice cabinet card of F. A. Pratt, a Civil War soldier from Olive Tree Genealogy private collection. It is a  copy of an earlier 1862 Cartes de Visite.

The man is Captain F. A. [Franklin Amos] Pratt. He was born in Connecticut circa 1836 and was in Battery M, 1st Connecticut Artillery during the Civil War.

He is found in the 1880 census for the city of St. Louis Missouri and this cabinet card was done in St. Louis in 1890.

In 1870 he was in Hartford Connecticut.

Closeup of period handwriting on Cabinet Card F. A. Pratt

My research indicates he is almost certainly the Franklin Amos Pratt born in Waterbury, New Haven, Connecticut in 1836 to Francis and Emiline Pratt. He is found with his parents and siblings in the 1850 census for Waterbury. By 1900 he was in Montana and is buried in Mountain View Cemetery, Livingston, Park County, Montana

His Civil War history is as follows:

HDQRS. SECOND VOL. BRIGADE ARTILLERY RESERVE,
November 17, 1863.
CAPTAIN: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by the several batteries composing the Second Volunteer Brigade, Artillery Reserve, in the late action:
In compliance with order received from headquarters Artillery Reserve, November 6, 1863, Battery M, First Connecticut Artillery, Captain F. A. Pratt, marched from the camp of the Artillery Reserve, near Catlett's Station, at 4 a. m. of the 7th instant, and reported at General French's headquarters near Germantown, and proceed thence to Kelly's Ford, where it took position, and soon afterward opened fire on the enemy, with good effect, as will be seen by the report of Captain Pratt, a copy of which is hereunto attached.

[Source: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies]

Numbers 16. Report of Captain Franklin A. Pratt, Battery M, First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, of action at Kelly's Ford.
KELLY'S FORD, VA., November 12, 1863.
SIR: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by my battery in the action of the 7th instant at Kelly's Ford:
In compliance with orders from headquarters Army of the Potomac, the battery moved from the camp of the Artillery Reserve, near Catlett's Station, at 4 a. m. of the 7th instant, reporting at the headquarters of General French, near Germantown, at daybreak, from which place it moved at the rear of the First Division, Third
Corps, by way of Morrisville, to Mount Holly Church. When near the latter place I was ordered to move at once to a position on the road about 500 yards to the left of the church, and 1,500 yards from Kelly's Ford, which it commanded with the plains beyond. As I came up there was a scattering musketry fire at the ford, and the enemy were throwing forward infantry from the woods into the rifle-pits and buildings on the opposite bank. Being directed by General Birney to "open on them as soon as possible," the battery was soon in position, and the second to open fire.
The enemy being under cover, General Birney directed me to fire on the brick store in which their riflemen were sheltered. My first shot struck the building between the second-story windows, passed through the roof of the one intended. My fire was then directed at a battery of brass pieces the enemy were using on our infantry from the edge of the woods, distant from me about 2,500 yards. They effected, the enemy advanced a line of infantry from the edge of the woods to oppose the advance of our forces. I threw three shells at them that apparently struck their line, which broke in much confusion, so much of it as was not covered by rising ground.
The ammunition used was Schenkle percussion shell. I expended but 15 rounds, but its effectiveness was very evident. They carried with great precision, few failing to explode.
In closing the report I have to express my belief that the merit of the 4 1\2-inch rifle for field service is not properly considered, and that if more generally into action, they would add much good to the result.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
F. A. PRATT,
Captain, First Regiment Conn. Arty., Commanding Siege Battery M.
P. S. JASTRAM,

Acting Assistant Adjutant-General.

[Source: Chapter XLI. ADVANCE TO THE RAPPAHANNOCK, VA]

Verso of Cabinet Card

Here is more information about Cptn. Pratt

U.S. Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles 

Name:	Franklin A Pratt
Residence:	Hartford, Connecticut
Enlistment Date:	23 May 1861
Rank at enlistment:	Qtr Master Serg
State Served:	Connecticut
Survived the War?:	Yes
Service Record:	Enlisted in Company S, Connecticut 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment on 23 May 1861. Promoted to Full 2nd Lieutenant on 06 Nov 1861. Promoted to Full 1st Lieutenant on 13 Feb 1862. Promoted to Full Adjutant on 01 Mar 1862. Promoted to Full Captain on 08 Aug 1862. Mustered out on 11 Nov 1864.
Sources:	Connecticut: Record of Service of Men during War of Rebellion. Source: Ancestry.com

In 1898 Franklin filed for his Civil War pension in Montana

Source: Ancestry.com