A HOUSE RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE THE LIFE OF REVEREND ISAAC BARTLEY BUTLER OF EASTOVER AND TO EXTOL HIM FOR HIS COUNTLESS ACTS OF GOOD DEEDS AND HIS FERVENT FIGHT FOR IMPROVING THE LIVES OF SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE STATE.
Whereas, Isaac Bartley Butler was born November 12, 1906, in Pelzer to Reverend Thomas Bartley Butler and Mary Elizabeth Moore Butler; and
Whereas, Reverend Butler attended Morris College and graduated from Benedict College with a major in mathematics. He went on to pursue graduate work at South Carolina State College before he began teaching; and
Whereas, while teaching at the Texas School in Lugoff he became the pastor of the Daughters of Zion Baptist Church in Eastover. It was here that he met and married Emma Angeline Harris Butler. They have six daughters, Angeline Emma Butler, Mary Alice Butler Walker, Mettie Delores Butler Hardy, Aretha Louise Butler Pigford, Emma Margaret Butler, and Elaine Butler Shirley; and
Whereas, Reverend Butler served as the educational, agricultural, and religious leader in the development of his farming community in Eastover; and
Whereas, Reverend Butler has ministered four churches since he began preaching in 1934, including Siloan Baptist Church in Horrell Hill, Daughters of Zion Baptist Church in Eastover, Pleasant Grove Baptist Church in Gasden, and Saint Mark Baptist Church; and
Whereas, in 1937, Reverend Butler became principal at the Crossroads Elementary School in Eastover where he stayed and influenced the minds and lives of children and teachers for thirty years, both as principal and a teacher of mathematics; and
Whereas, Reverend Butler continued in the field of education as assistant principal when Crossroads Elementary merged and became Webber Elementary School; and
Whereas, a true servant to his people, Reverend Butler was involved in the early registration campaigns for black voters in the South; and
Whereas, Reverend Butler was also active in community activities including, the Farm Bureau of South Carolina, 4H Clubs, adult education programs in his church and in school, and improving race relations, in addition to his preaching for over sixty years; and
Whereas, throughout his life Reverend Butler has been an outstanding educator, minister, farmer, and community leader to the citizens of Richland County and the State of South Carolina. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the House of Representatives of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, recognize the life of Reverend Isaac Bartley Butler of Eastover and extol him for his countless acts of good deeds and his fervent fight for improving the lives of so many people in the State.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Reverend Isaac Bartley Butler of Eastover.
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