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Rufus was born on September 26, 1774, in Bolton, Massachusetts. All seven of the Butler births are recorded in Bolton, although there is a notation for Moses that he was born in Connecticut. Only for Rufus do we see the alternate spelling; the others are all recorded under the conventional spelling "Butler."
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It is not known exactly when Rufus moved to New Hampshire. Ephraim Butler, Rufus' father, had moved from Bolton to Wendell, Massachusetts, after 1777 (the birth of his daughter Comfort in Bolton). Ephraim died in 1783, and Rufus was named in the guardianship papers. In 1792 (Rufus would have turned 18), the guardianship seems to have been transferred to New Hampshire ("1792 Guardianship of minor (Gilsum, NH) to Capt. Eben. Kilburn").
Rufus would have reached maturity in September, 1795. He was married soon after, in November, 1796, in Surry, New Hampshire, the home of his bride. His first children were born in Surry. He is said to have left Surry between 1801 and 1802, and moved to Pennsylvania. However, there must have been a stay of some years in Vermont, for according to the biographies of his son William, Rufus did not reach Pennsylvania until 1811 or 1812. And it is thought that William, 1807, and his sister Matilda, 1809, were born in Vermont. The evidence for a Vermont birth for William is based on biographies, and the census records of 1850 and 1870. The census record of 1810 from Peru, VT, shows Rufus' household with 1 male to 10 years of age, one male between 26 and 45, 4 females to 10, 1 between 10 and 16, 1 between 26 and 45. Peru is not far from Surry, about 44 miles, on a main road through Bellows Falls.
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| For further biographical information and for a list of descendants, with notes, check here.
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