Roderick Randum Butler was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for the 1st congressional district

Tennessee's 1st congressional district

The Tennessee 1st Congressional District is the congressional district of northeast Tennessee, including all of Carter, Cocke, Greene, Hamblen, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, and Washington counties and parts of Jefferson County and Sevier County...

 of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

.

Biography

Butler was born in Wytheville, Virginia

Wytheville, Virginia

Wytheville is a town in Wythe County, Virginia, United States. The population was 8,211 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Wythe County. The town is home to a Chautauqua Festival, held the third weekend in June every year since 1985...

, on April 9, 1827. His father died before Roderick was one year old. In 1832 he was bound out as an apprentice to learn the tailor

Tailor

A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...

's trade in Johnson County, Tennessee. He studied law on his own, attended night school, was admitted to the bar

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

 in 1853, and he commenced practice in Taylorsville (now Mountain City

Mountain City, Tennessee

Mountain City is a town in Johnson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,383 at the 2000 census. It is the northeasternmost county seat in Tennessee; Mountain City is the county seat of Johnson County.-History:...

), the county seat of Johnson County. He was appointed postmaster

Postmaster

A postmaster is the head of an individual post office. Postmistress is not used anymore in the United States, as the "master" component of the word refers to a person of authority and has no gender quality...

 of Taylorsville by President Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore

Millard Fillmore was the 13th President of the United States and the last member of the Whig Party to hold the office of president...

. Butler was married to Emeline Jane Donnelly, the daughter of a wealthy Taylorsville area farmer. The couple had 11 children.

He was a major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

 of the First Battalion of the Tennessee Militia.

Roderick Butler served in the Tennessee Senate

Tennessee Senate

The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the Tennessee state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly.The Tennessee Senate, according to the state constitution of 1870, is composed of 33 members, one-third the size of the Tennessee House of Representatives. Senators...

 from 1859 to 1863 and from 1893 to 1901. During the Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, he served in the Union Army

Union Army

The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...

 as lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry from November 5, 1863, to April 25, 1864. He was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1864, 1872 and 1876. In 1865, he was a delegate to the Tennessee state constitutional

Tennessee State Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Tennessee defines the form, structure, activities, character, and fundamental rules of the U.S. State of Tennessee....

 convention. He was a county judge and the judge of the first judicial circuit of Tennessee in 1865. He was chairman of the first state Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 executive committee of Tennessee. He was also a delegate to the Baltimore Border State Convention in 1867.

After the Civil War, the Johnson County community of Smith's Mill was renamed Butler

Butler, Tennessee

Butler is an unincorporated community in Johnson County in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is located near Watauga Lake. Butler is served by a post office, assigned ZIP Code 37640.-Early history:...

 in his honor.

In 1866 he was elected as a Republican to the Fortieth United States Congress. He won re-election to Congress three times, serving from March 4, 1867, to March 3, 1875. He was the chairman of the United States House Committee on the Militia during the Forty-third Congress. He was censure

Censure

A censure is an expression of strong disapproval or harsh criticism. Among the forms that it can take are a stern rebuke by a legislature, a spiritual penalty imposed by a church, and a negative judgment pronounced on a theological proposition.-Politics:...

d by the House of Representatives on March 17, 1870, for corruption in regard to an appointment to West Point. In 1874 he was unsuccessful in his candidacy for re-election to the Forty-fourth Congress. He was president of the Republican state conventions in 1869 and 1882.

He served in the Tennessee House of Representatives

Tennessee House of Representatives

The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee.-Constitutional requirements:...

 from 1879 to 1885. He was elected to the Fiftieth Congress, serving from March 4, 1887, to March 3, 1889, but he was not a candidate for renomination in 1888. He resumed the practice of law and died in Mountain City, Tennessee, on August 18, 1902. He was buried

Burial

Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

 in Mountain View Cemetery in Mountain City. The "mansion" home in Mountain City that Butler built circa 1870 is a local landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

A grandson of Roderick Butler, Robert Reyburn Butler, represented an Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

district in the U.S. House of Representatives.