Eli was born in 1832 in either Indiana or Illinois.  It appears he was actually married twice, the first time to an unknown person who died sometime between 1861 and 1867.  The first marriage produced at least four children–John S, Eliza, Mary C, and Naomi.  I have been unable to locate an 1860 census for this family so the mother can be identified. Based on the birth locations of the children, they probably resided in Illinois at the time.  Eli served during the Civil War in the 98th Illinois Infantry.  They mustered at Noble, IL which is west of Olney.  After the war, he then moved to Knox County and married Amanda.  The whereabouts of his first family are unknown after the 1870 census.

Amanda was born in 1840 in Ohio and married Eli Butler in 1867 in Knox County, IN.  They had eight children, five of which were still alive in 1900.  The children that have been identified through census records are Robert, Nancy, Annie, Benjamin, and Sarah. Nancy did not appear in the 1880 census so it is assumed she died.  It’s possible there was at least one additional birth after 1880, most likely a girl.  Amanda died in 1901 and Eli followed in 1911.  According to his obituary, he had five surviving children.  Sarah, Robert, and Benjamin were called out by name, however, there were two additional daughters that were not so easily identified–Mrs. A Myers and Mrs. John Ridgeley.  One of them is Annie, however, which is a mystery.  Annie married Henry Williams in 1897, but their whereabouts are unknown after the 1900 census.  I haven’t been able to determine if Henry died or they were divorced.  I’m assuming Annie remarried, but have not been able to match her up with either a Myers or a Ridgeley.  Residential locations for the five survivors was not included in the obituary.

Parents for both Eli and Amanda are still questionable.  In fact, Amanda is wildcard prior to 1867.  She was 27 when she married Eli which is old by standards for the day for first marriages.  This made me consider that she was remarrying as well.  A search came up empty for an Amanda Newcome(b) in 1860, however, there were several Newcome households in Johnson Township, Knox County very near each other.  In one household was an Amanda Crisap, servant age 18.  In another was a Nancy with several younger children, likely related to Amanda.  The Newcomes were originally from Ohio, as were the Crisaps.  The question now is: was Amanda married to one of the Newcomes between 1860 and 1867? or did she assume their last name for some reason?  It’s a mystery and one that probably won’t be answered easily.