Butler, Jessie June 8, 1892 – June 17, 1926 Grave 728

Jessie Butler June 8, 1892 – June 17, 1926 Grave 728 Jessie Butler was born in 1892 in Georgia to Lemmie Grant Butler and Joseph Butler. By 1910, Lemmie Butler was widowed and had moved with her three children to Jacksonville, where they lived in a boarding house. Mrs. Butler and her teenage daughter, Sallie, worked as laundresses. Brother Joe worked as a laborer and 17 year old Jessie listed his occupation as bartender. Butler served in World War I as part of the 807th Pioneer Regiment, an elite regiment of African-American enlisted men and Caucasian-American officers. The regiments were designed to free Caucasian-American troops for infantry service. They served in a technical capacity, building roads and bridges, in France near the front lines. His Veterans Administration record shows that Butler served as a wagoneer. Butler returned to Duval County and the 1920 U.S. Census shows that he and his mother were living on South Eighth Street in what was then known as Pablo Beach, now known as Jacksonville Beach. He listed his occupation as laborer. His 1926 death record indicates that he died as a victim of homicide from a shotgun blast to his abdomen. In 1932, his brother, Joseph Butler, applied for a veteran’s headstone. [Information from U.S. Census and vital records. Note that his death certificate lists his father’s name as Jessie, but the U.S. Census in 1900 lists his name as Joseph.]