Photo: Bain News Service, via Library of Congress, Dr. Amos W. Butler (1925). Public Domain. Source.
BY TERRI GORNEY LEHMAN
Amos William Butler was known as the Father of Indiana Ornithology when his Catalogue of the Birds of Indiana was published in 1898.
Amos was born in 1860 in Brookville, Indiana. He attended Brookville College, Hanover College and graduated from Indiana University. In later years, he served as a trustee for Hanover College.
The Butler family had deep roots in Indiana prior to statehood. Amos was named for his Quaker grandfather, Amos Butler, who was the first pioneer in Brookville in 1804. He was proud of his heritage. He wrote about his family’s origins in the state in a 1928 article for the Society of Indiana Pioneers. In 1916, he was a founding member of this organization and served as its second president.
He was a co-founder of a number of organizations and societies, including the Brookville Society of Natural History, the Anthropological Club of Brookville, and the Indiana Academy of Science. All were formed all around 1881.
He was the founder of the Indiana Audubon Society (IAS) and a member of the Indiana Academy of Sciences during the formation of the society in the spring of that same year. He would remain active in IAS for the rest of his life. He served as president and in other capacities, and he presented many talks on birds.
At the IAS State Conference in Evansville in May 1914, around 200 people attended. Amos spoke on “Some Birds of Indiana.” Participants took an afternoon trip to Henderson, Kentucky, to visit the old homestead of John James Audubon. Miss Harriett Audubon of Louisville, granddaughter of the great naturalist, was among those who made the trip. It was her first time to visit. There was a nice article in the Jeffersonville Daily Reflector about the conference.
In December 1899, the Indianapolis Audubon Society was formed. It was the second chapter in the state (the Allen County Audubon Society formed in April 1899). The chapter name was changed to the Amos Butler Audubon Society in 1937 after his passing.
Professionally he is best known as the Secretary of the Indiana Board of State Charities from 1897-1923. He was responsible for several legislative measures reforming the treatment of criminals and the insane.
In his retirement in 1930, he spent time researching native populations. He was interested in trade silver and Fort Quiatenon (Lafayette) on the Wabash River.
There is a collection of some of his papers at the Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis.
Cheers to Amos Butler for his outstanding accomplishments and service to the Hoosier State.
This blog post was written by Hoosier historian and naturalist Terri Gorney Lehman as part of her Flight Paths Through History series, exploring the people, places, and moments that have shaped Indiana birding.
Editor’s Note: While Amos Butler’s work helped establish the foundation of ornithology and conservation in Indiana, his public service career also reflected Progressive Era ideals now recognized as problematic, including beliefs in eugenics and institutional segregation. Acknowledging this fuller history allows us to understand his scientific contributions within the broader social and cultural context of his time.
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