William H. Butler, Sr.
William H. Butler, Sr. had energy and talent, which, under normal circumstances, would be enough for an enterprising young man. But he was born a slave and that was simply not enough. So he learned a trade – carpentry – and through intense work, he literally worked his way out of slavery to freeman status and eventual affluence. By 1860, he became one of wealthiest free blacks in Annapolis.
In 1863 William H. Butler “a free person of color” bought 148 Duke of Gloucester Street, a relatively new Italianate townhouse, one of a limited number in the city.
With the end of the Civil War in 1865, new opportunities opened for an already established African American. Due to a flourishing in a true emancipation and sufferage during reconstruction, many African Americans in Maryland were afforded real opportunities that they would not have had as slaves and, in less than a generation, would have taken away from them again. These opportunities included chances to acquire and own property and to be allowed to vote and hold office for the first time.
In 1873 Butler became the first African American to be elected to the city council. Significantly, this also represented the first time any African American was elected to any office in Maryland. He served with distinction until 1875.
He then turned his attention to continued property acquisition and development and at one point in the 1880s he owned much of Market Street. He built many of the homes there today and sold two for the establishment of a Maryland Colored Baptist Congregation. He was truly an extraordinary early entrepeneur.
Butler dies a very wealthy man in 1892. He life spanned many facets of Annapolis’ history. The struggle for freedom and sufferage was ever present in his early life. The blooming of more liberal policies toward all citizens and civil rights were key influences in his later life. His son, William H. Butler, Jr. was to serve as Alderman as well.
He lived long enough to definitely prove that it was possible for people of color to accumulate wealth – even if it was much more difficult for them to do so. Perhaps it is fortunate that he died before this window of opportunity slammed shut again in the early 20th century. Although no great memorials exist for this most extraordinary of men, the beauty of his ordinary homes on Market Street speaks volumes about this ground breaking individual.
