DEMPSEY DANIEL BUTLER

A prominent philanthropist, Mr. Butler used his wealth to further the cause of civil rights in Camden at a time when South Jersey citizens were hostile to the idea of civil rights for former slaves and the city was in the firm grip of Jim Crow. In the 1870s, blacks who wandered into white neighborhoods were driven off and, on several occasions, lynch mobs were formed, leading Mr. Butler to despair, "If I have any rights which a white man is bound to respect, I scarcely know what they are." (1)

During his lifetime, Mr. Butler:

• Was an abolitionist and ardent supporter of the Underground Railroad.

• Established the Knights Point area of Camden (now called Kaighnsville) for Freed Slaves and "colored" Camden residents; an 1830s map shows a garden in Kaighnsville set aside "for the people of color."

• Established Butler Cemetery at Ferry Avnue and Charles Street in Camden to provide a resting place for local African-American veterans of the Civil War.

• Endowed the Cooper Hospital, Philadelphia Hospital, and the Camden School for Colored and Destitute Children with generous gifts of money and/or land.

• Endowed Rising Sun Lodge No.1 with $3000 and land for construction of Butler Masonic Hall, formerly located at Kaighn Ave. and Ann St. (now called Maurice St.), and served as Past Grand Master for the New Jersey State Chapter of Prince Hall Masons.

• Owned Butler Hotel in Atlantic City, where he provided employment for freed slaves and colored residents of Southern New Jersey.

By the time of his death in 1900, Mr. Butler's wealth was estimated at more than $100,000 in monies and assets which, at that time, equaled the holdings of the various banks in the City of Camden and made him the wealthiest African American in Camden County.

Both Dempsey Butler and his wife, Eliza, are buried in Butler Cemetery.

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(1). Our Town: Race, Housing and the Soul of Suburbia; Kirp, Dwyer and Rosenthal; c. 1995