The son of Solomon Butcher and Katherine Stephens, Adam married Mary Ann Kelly on 29 Oct 1846 in Monroe County, Indiana. Mary was the daughter of Alexander Kelly, Jr. and Nancy Rafferty.

According to the 1850 Census, Adam owned a parcel of farmland in Salt Creek Township, near Bloomington, Indiana, worth $500 at that time.

In the years preceding the Civil War, Adam and Mary became the parents of 3 children--oldest daughter, Amanda in 1847; then Perry Oliver in 1849; and Nancy Jane* around 1851.

Mary died at the age of 31 in 1856 when the couple's fourth child, a son named Matthew, was still a toddler. She was survived by her husband, Adam, and 4 children under the age of 10.

Children from first marriage: 2 daughters, 2 sons.

Soon after Mary's death, Adam married Mrs. Frances "Jane" (nee Tillett) Alexander on 16 Jul 1856 in Monroe County, Indiana. She was a recent widow and the mother of 2 young children from her first marriage. Adam and Jane's first child, Mary, was born in 1858; 2 sons, Willie and Tillman, followed soon after.

In 1863, southern Indiana was invaded by a daring band of Confederate soldiers known as Morgan's Raiders. The greatest fear for many was that General John Hunt Morgan's men would turn towards Indianapolis with plans to free the 6,000 Confederate soldiers imprisoned there and then capture the weapons stored at the state arsenal.

Heeding the Indiana governor's special call to arms, Adam enlisted in Company A of the 112th Regular Minutemen of Monroe County on 09 Jul 1863 when he was 38-years-old. Adam's regiment was assigned to an Indiana brigade under the command of a General Hughes whose mission was to delay Morgan until reinforcements could arrive.

After the Confederates finally made their way into Ohio, Adam's regiment proceeded to Indianapolis, where it was mustered out on 17 Jul 1863. Morgan's reign of terror finally ended nine days later when he and his men were captured.

Adam and Jane's youngest child, a daughter named Emma, was born 19 days before President Lincoln's assassination, as the Civil War drew to a close in 1865.

Children from second marriage: 1 step-daughter, 1 step-son, 2 daughters, 2 sons.

Amid scandalous accusations, Adam took his own life in Feb 1869. His wife, Jane, died 6 years later.

Ranging in age from 10 to 17 when they were orphaned by their mother's death, the 4 youngest Butcher children--Mary, Willie, Tillman and Emma--ran the family farm by themselves until 1880.

Father of:
Amanda Butcher Jeffries
Perry Oliver Butcher
Nancy Jane Butcher Swango Livingston Brown*
Matthew Butcher
Mary Catherine Butcher Cox
William A. Butcher
Tillman Howard Butcher
Emma L. Butcher Vint Minton
John Lewis Butcher

Step-father of:
Sarah Adaline Alexander Jacobs
James Samuel Alexander

Adam's siblings:
Hiram Butcher
Mary Katherine "Polly" Butcher Robertson
George Washington Butcher
Barnabas Butcher
Sarah J. "Sallie" Butcher Kelly Richardson
Dr. Lewis Harrison Butcher
Nancy Jane Butcher Robertson
Rebecca Eleanor Butcher Brummett
Jacob David Butcher
Elizabeth Ann Butcher Hensley
James Henry Butcher

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Newspaper article excerpt:

Adam Butcher, who resided in Salt Creek township, six or seven miles southeast of Bloomington, took down his rifle on Thursday morning last, remarking that he would go out and shoot some squirrels. He proceeded to the stable, took off his coat and hat, emptied his pockets of knife and pocket-book, hung the guard of the rifle over a peg which was almost on a level with his head, placed the muzzle behind his right ear, and shot himself. He exhibited no depression of spirits, and the motives that impelled him to the rash act, can only be conjectured. Various stories are afloat, to account for the suicide, but nothing was developed at the inquest, to sustain the charge which has been brought against Mr. B. since his death.

(Bloomington Progress; 03 Mar 1869)

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*The birth year of Adam's third child, Nancy Jane Butcher, varies within a range of 6 years according to different sources. Her headstone is marked 1846, but her obituary gives the year of birth as 1848.

The matter is further complicated by census records which strongly support the probability that she was born in 1851 or 1852. Nancy's older siblings, Amanda and Oliver Butcher, were enumerated on the 1850 census with their parents (who were married in late 1846), but Nancy Jane was not. She first appears on the 1860 census and is listed as being 8-years-old.

The birth date of her youngest child, Everett, also supports a birth year for Nancy Jane in either 1851 or 1852. He was born in 1893. If she were born in 1846, as her stone claims, she would have turned 47 a few months later. However, if the census records of 1851 or 1852 are correct, she would have turned 41 or 42 the summer after her son's birth.

Very extensive in-depth research indicates the following birth dates are most likely to be correct for Adam's children from his first marriage:

22 Sep 1847 - Amanda
16 Dec 1849 - Perry
30 Jul 1851 - Nancy
08 Feb 1853 - Matthew