Butler, Algernon Lee, 1905-1978.

Algernon Lee Butler, attorney in Sampson County, N.C., 1931-1959; active member of the Republican Party; and U.S. District Judge for Eastern North Carolina, 1959-1978.

From the description of Algernon Lee Butler papers, 1928-1978 [manuscript]. WorldCat record id: 25465983

Algernon Lee Butler was born on 2 August 1905 in Clinton, Sampson County, N.C. The son of George Butler and Eva Lee, Algernon had two brothers, Edwin and Mossette, and one sister, Francis. George Butler and his brother Marion were both attorneys and were extremely active in the political life of North Carolina for many years. In fact, Marion Butler would become one of the founders of the Populist Party and a United States Senator from North Carolina at the turn of the century. Given this heritage, it is not surprising that Algernon Butler's life would be a mix of politics and law.

Algernon attended the Clinton public schools and worked during the summers in his father's law office. Naturally, Butler could never recall having any question or doubt as to what I would do. He went to Trinity College (now Duke University) in 1924 but soon transferred to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study law. During his college days Algernon was associate editor of the Law Review and president of the campus Republican club.

In 1928, Algernon had completed his studies and was admitted to the bar. Joining his father's law firm that same year, he plunged into both a law practice and a political life, acting as campaign manager for his father's U.S. Senate bid in 1930 and traveling the state extensively to speak for his father. The next year he launched his own political career when he was elected to the North Carolina State House of Representatives from Sampson County. In 1932 he founded and became the state chairman of the Young Republicans of North Carolina and was a candidate for the post of Superintendent of Public Instruction for North Carolina. While the latter post eluded him, Butler did retain a life-long interest in public education and was the attorney for the Clinton School Board for some twenty years beginning in 1939.

In 1935, Butler met and married Josephine Birdwell of Clinton. The couple had three children, Algernon Jr., George, and Eva.

In the ensuing years, Algernon Butler combined a successful law practice with a continuing interest in Republican politics. He was a delegate to Republican National Conventions in 1936, 1940, and 1948 and was a member of the Republican State Executive Committee from 1942 to 1959, serving as assistant chairman from 1946 to 1950. Algernon also served as county attorney for Sampson County from 1939 to 1951 and offered himself as a candidate for the position of associate justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court in 1944 and 1952. He was unsuccessful in both races but, realizing that the chances of a Republican winning were slim, he took the losses with good grace.

In addition to his political activities during these years, Butler was active in other aspects of civic life. He served as president of the Clinton Rotary Club in 1936; president of the Sixth District Bar Association in 1953; and president of the Sampson County Bar in 1958.

In 1959, Butler was appointed by President Eisenhower to the Federal bench for the Eastern District of North Carolina, serving as chief judge from 1961 to 1975. He was senior judge from 1975 until his death.

During his tenure on the bench, Algernon Butler became most widely known for his involvement in a variety of decisions which served to desegregate North Carolina's public schools. In this vein, he presided over the first steps to desegregate schools in Raleigh and, in 1969, he ordered that it was the state's duty actively to promote desegregation. His orders for school busing in Wilmington and New Hanover County in 1971 touched off a storm of protest which frequently erupted into violence. He was also involved in several of the appeals of convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald. Butler also instituted a policy of merit hiring and firing for all judicial personnel.

During his later years Algernon Butler suffered from a variety of heart ailments and wore a pacemaker. On 5 September 1978, he suffered a heart attack and died in Raleigh, North Carolina. His colleagues would eulogize him as a Judge's Judge .

(Biographical data obtained from the papers themselves, a variety of biographical reference works, and the clipping files of the North Carolina Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.)

From the guide to the Algernon Lee Butler Papers, ., 1928-1978, (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.)