Nathaniel Butler was born in Cabot, Caledonia County, Vermont, on October 30, 1802, the son of James Butler
and Esther Wadsworth. James was from Connecticut, served in the Revolutionary War, and died in 1812 at the age of seventy years. His mother, Esther, came to Jefferson County, and died here in 1840 at the age of
eighty. Nathaniel married Rebecca Barnett, daughter of Joseph Barnett, on October 30, 1827. They were the parents of five sons..