Biography of Goold Taylor Butler, St. Augustine, St. Johns Co., FL

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Transcribed from:  The History of Florida:  Past & Present, The Lewis Publishing Co., Vol. 
II, page 118, 1923.

BUTLER, GOOLD TAYLOR.  It is difficult for an outsider to appreciate the work accomplished 
by one of those men who are essentially an outcome of twentieth century progressiveness, the 
civil engineers; for the public generally has no realization of the importance of the work 
of those who labor for the service of mankind in this special direction.  No man can enter 
upon this important field of endeavor without a careful and complete preparation if he expects 
to succeed.  The history of St. Augustine's achievements as to engineering shows that this 
city has been the home of several master minds of the profession, among whom one who takes 
important rank is GOOLD TAYLOR BUTLER.

Mr. BUTLER was born at Tarrytown, New York, June 22, 1857, a son of JOHN and SARAH A. (WILSON) 
BUTLER.  His grandparents on his mother's side were JOHN and SARAH A. WILSON, who came from 
Edinburgh, Scotland, and located at New York City at an early date.  On the paternal side 
his great-great-grandfather was Gen. LEWIS BUTLER, of Gen. George Washington's army, which 
entitles Mr. BUTLER to membership in the Order of the Cincinnati and the Sons of the American 
Revolution.  JOHN BUTLER was born in New York City, in 1816, and was one of the prominent 
railroad men of his day, being one of the organizers of the Belt Railway of New York City, 
of which he was president up to the time of his death, owning fifty-three per cent of the 
road's stock.  During the Civil was he was special commissioner from the United States to 
South America, and included among his intimate friends President Lincoln, General Grant and 
Thurlow Weed, the noted American journalist.  Mr. BUTLER was also port warden of the port 
of New York for a number of years and a prominent and influential republican of his day.  
He died in 1868, at the age of fifty-two years.  Mrs. BUTLER was born in Greenwich Village, 
now a part of New York City, in 1821, and died in 1870.  She and her husband were the parents 
of two sons and two daughters, of whom three children are living.

The youngest of his parents' children, GOOLD TAYLOR BUTLER, received his early training in 
public and private schools of New York, and was then sent to the Pennsylvania Military Academy, 
now Pennsylvania Military College.  He then pursued a course in civil engineering at Segler's 
Academy, from which he was graduated in 1876.  Prior to this, in 1872, he had visited Florida 
for a short stay, and in 1878 returned to this state which since has been his home.  He has 
carried on his profession without interruption, but at times has also engaged in orange 
growing, saw-milling and the lumber business at Jacksonville up to 1898.  Mr. BUTLER surveyed 
the old Green Cove Springs & Melrose Railway in 1881, and was the assistant engineer in 
building a part of the Jacksonville & Tampa Key West Railway, now included in the Atlantic 
Coast Line system.  He also was identified with the Atlantic & Western Railway and the 
Atlantic Coast & Indian River Railway, now included in the Flagler system.  On February 6, 
1898, he was engaged by Mr. Flagler as chief engineer of the Florida East Coast Hotel System, 
and retained that position until 1912, when he resigned and opened an office at St. Augustine 
for the general practice of his profession.  Since then he has been county engineer for St. 
Johns County for four years, and at this time is chief engineer in the building of the city 
sewers of St. Augustine.  He is likewise consulting engineer of E. L. Barnett, Inc., of New 
York City, and vice president of the Fountain of Youth Hotel Company, capitalized at 
$15,000,000.  Mr. BUTLER is a member of the American Association of Engineers and the 
Florida Engineering Society.  In politics he maintains an independent attitude.  His 
fraternal, social and civic connections are numerous.

On July 22, 1885, Mr. BUTLER married Miss HATTIE E. REWEY, who was born in Utica, New York, 
and to this union there has been born one daughter, MARY REWEY.  Mrs. BUTLER is a direct 
descendant of Capt. ZACHARIA TOWNSEND, who commanded one of Commodore Perry's battleships 
at the Battle of Lake Erie, and she and her daughter are members of the Society of Colonial 
Dames and the Daughters of the American Revolution.